Material RHETORIC

Since the beginning of mankind, we often judge people based on their looks. The way they dress, the way they wear their hair, and the way they speak. At times we won’t even personally know someone before we pass judgment on them. The vibe you get from someone may be positive or negative, either way you tend to notice someone’s exterior before anything. But isn’t that ultimately what we want? For people to make some sort of assumption about us? If we didn’t want people to assume something about us we wouldn’t dress the way we dress or carry ourselves. We often use the phrase “don’t judge me” in today’s society because it is believed we don’t “judge” people like we used to based on their dialect or the color of their skin. In my opinion we judge people more now than ever. But is that such a bad thing? We choose to dress a certain way because it lets people get a little taste of our personalities.

            I would like to think of my material rhetoric as something that is constantly evolving. I don’t like to conform to the way society would necessary want me to as a young adult. I’m not the skinniest girl in town, but that’s okay with me. One thing that makes me unique is that I’m so different than the typical “theater kid.” I have piercings, and directors are often surprised when they see my wardrobe. There it goes again—the judgment of a typical theater kid. When directors told me that I wasn’t the typical theater I figured it was the way I dressed. I would look around a room in an audition, and every girl would be wearing a long pencil skirt and a plain shirt, and there I was in a black dress that only Wednesday Adams would wear and bright red hair. Needless to say I got the role that I wanted, which was the villain.

In theater, we are often constantly defining our material rhetoric of the characters we play. In every play there is an antagonist, and a protagonist. They each dress a certain way. The hero of a story is often dressed in brighter, happier colors. For a male, maybe it’s just a white t-shirt in jeans. And for a female lead depending on if they’re the villain or hero of course, may wear something short and sweet or dark and flowy. Society makes us think that darker clothing makes a certain negative statement. The way the characters dress tells a lot about their material rhetoric as their own being. We can connect our material rhetoric through our characters which makes an excellent connection. In every single production I had been in, I had been casted as a villain. After wondering why I never got to be a hero, I realized that that I would probably always be casted as the villain. I’m tall, my voice isn’t the squeakiest, and I have dark features. Being casted as these roles is ultimately me being “judged” by directors.

My inspiration!

            Overall, I choose to dress the way I dress because each of my clothing pieces remind me of someone or something. Whether it’s a celebrity who I ADORE, or it could be something that I have experienced. Dressing the way I do is almost like a never ending art project. It’s so fun to play around with your hair and experiment with how we look to the way we feel. I would like to think that all of my outfits say “Hey this is me, nice to meet you!”