Masks

“The Mexican, whether young or old, criollo or mestizo, general or laborer or lawyer, seems to me to be a person who shuts himself away to protect himself: his face is a mask and so is his smile.” (Octavio Paz, The Labyrinth of Solitude, 29)

In this article, Paz believes that Mexicans wear masks to protect themselves.  What is a mask?  A visible mask hides the true identity of the person.  Invisible masks also hide something.  They hide the person’s true emotions and feelings.  Paz referred to this when he said that a person “shuts himself away to protect himself” and his face and smile are not true emotion but a mask.

I recently watched a movie with my kids called Radio Rebel.  It was about a teenager who is shy, vulnerable and scared to show her true self.  Her step-dad, the manager of a radio station, allows her to become “radio rebel” for a radio broadcast time.  As she is radio rebel, she expresses her true feelings and emotions without vulnerability.  As she does this, she finds other teenagers feel these same feelings.  She becomes a role model for hundreds.  She finds herself struggling to take off her mask of being “radio rebel” and be her true self.  She is afraid people will not like her once they find out who she is.  As the show ends, she comes to realize that sometimes you have to take risks, become vulnerable and allow people to see our true selves to realize that we can be accepted for being who we are.

The attachment theory comes in to play here.  We have an attachment to other people to feel safe, secure and happy.  Some people are too afraid to attach themselves to others for fear of rejection and insecurity.  People who wear masks fall into the category of being afraid to attach themselves to others for fear of rejection and insecurity and as a result become sad.  If they are willing to take a risk and allow themselves to become vulnerable by showing their true selves, then they will find acceptance from others and feel happy with that attachment.