Masquerade: A Political Diner?

[Abishai100]

What is it about Halloween and masquerade that stirs the human imagination?

When we transform ourselves or see ourselves as other characters/beings (when we wear costumes/masks), we may see ourselves experiencing 'otherness' or the fantasy of escaping reality. Through this form of 'escapism,' we may be able to meditate on the geometry/contours of self-image and self-awareness, which is why perhaps kids like Halloween so much (since kids like creating 'virtual realities' or 'pretend-worlds').

Imagine therefore a hypothetical politico-cultural dialogue between a warlock dressed up as an American horror-film avatar/ghoul such as Leatherface (the eerie fictional chainsaw-wielding cannibal from the iconic Texas Chainsaw Massacre film franchise) and a costumed/masked terrorist (or vigilante) perhaps working for ISIS (or the Hell's Angels). Such a symbolic dialogue would illuminate some interesting ideas regarding American values and 'pedestrian philosophy.'

What would President Trump (a man much-criticized for cultural biases) say?


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WARLOCK: I like dressing up as a monster to incite ideas about Samhain and masquerade.
VIGILANTE: Maybe costumes/masks remind you of alternative realities/identities/sexualities!
WARLOCK: I'm not homosexual. I simply want to create a 'virtual world' of anarchism.
VIGILANTE: Well, homosexuals and transvestites sometimes masquerade as 'drag-queens.'
WARLOCK: The ritual of costume-wearing and all its revelry represents humanism and bohemianism.
VIGILANTE: Why do you think American kids like Halloween so much?
WARLOCK: America's brand of confluence/consumerism (e.g., Facebook) caters to 'virtual democracy.'
VIGILANTE: You're saying kids like wearing masks so they can 'pretend' they're patriotic?
WARLOCK: Exactly. They're subliminally 'embracing' American populism through the ritual of Halloween.
VIGILANTE: Why do you say Halloween is linked to populism/democracy?
WARLOCK: When people revel in costumes/masks, it's a gesture of trust.
VIGILANTE: Maybe the American comic book villainess Poison Ivy (an eco-terrorist) symbolizes wrath.
WARLOCK: Poison Ivy costumes are popular during Halloween, since women like politics.
VIGILANTE: That's not unlike Tarzan jungle-man Halloween costumes signifying 'naturalism politics.'
WARLOCK: Exactly. It's why many action-figures for kids come complete with miniature tools/weapons.
VIGILANTE: Perhaps American films such as Inspector Gadget symbolize 'political paranoia.'
WARLOCK: That seems correct. You should realize that Halloween is a lot like the Mummers Parade.
VIGILANTE: Maybe!

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[IsaacNewton]

All these festivals and traditions began in the human race thousands of years ago and all for the same reasons in various cultures. To appease the gods of the corn (wheat, corn, etc.), the gods of fertility, the gods of the wood, the god of the harvest, etc. Dressing up in costume was a way to ward off evil or ensure a good harvest and was gradually incorporated into ritualistic 'plays' to show 'the god' or evil being killed, or exiled, or fooled to leave and return in a year. Halloween is a direct descendant of one of these rituals.

The main difference between then and now is, then they actually believed all these things were real. Their rituals were real events meant to ward off or appease real gods that held sway over their lives. All these beliefs then gave way to monotheistic 'gods' that became the current major religions. The major religions, if you research them, have as their core values the mainstays of the previous beliefs and rituals of mankind for the last tens of thousands of years.