Between professional wrestling and the public arena: construction of the public persona

118 BETWEEN PROFESSIONAL WRESTLING AND THE PUBLIC ARENA: CONSTRUCTION OF THE PUBLIC PERSONA Russell Gilbert Professional wrestling as a form of live performance has existed in a variety of different manifestations for hundreds of years and masks, both literal and figurative, have been documented as being utilised as a means of creating stage personas and archetypal figures in professional wrestling since the nineteenth century. recent collection Performance and Professional Wrestling (2017), regarding the utilisation of a popular persona in Mexican culture to promote a specific political narrative, this article utilises examples of both masked and non-masked performers from different professional wrestling cultures, in conjunction with Jungian and post-Jungian theories, to provide an alternative perspective on existing studies of persona and archetypes. It considers sociological notions of identity, social presentation and individual self-conception as well as theories such as separation and integration of the self from the pers and the Semiotics of The Haunted Stage (2001), and how the persona can engage with a broader pub s The Theatrical Public Sphere (2014). This article also considers not only how the professional wrestling mask functions as an autonomous entity but also its role in the creation of mythopoeia and how personas created within a professional wrestling context can, effectively or otherwise, transfer from the confines of the wrestling arena into the public arena. Professional wrestling as a form of live performance has existed in a variety of different manifestations for thousands of years, from classical antiquity at least, and masks, both actual and figurative, have been documented as a means of creating stage personas and archetypal figures in professional wrestling since the nineteenth century. Between Professional Wrestling and the Public Arena 119 s essay in Chow, Lane collection Performance and Professional Wrestling1 regarding the utilisation of a popular persona in Mexican culture to promote a specific political narrative, this article will draw on examples of masked performers from different professional wrestling cultures, in conjunction with Jungian and post-Jungian theories. Its objective is to provide an alternative perspective on existing studies of persona and archetypes within performance. It will consider sociological notions of identity, social presentation and individual self-conception as well as theories such as separation and integration of the self from the persona, found in Michael 2 g rmeates into the public consciousness highlighted in Marvin The Haunted Stage,3 and how the persona can engage with a broader The Theatrical Public Sphere.4 This article will also consider how personas created within a professional wrestling context can, effectively or otherwise, transfer from the confines of the wrestling arena into the public arena. It contemplates the question of where the person ends and the persona begins. It is firstly important to establish a distinction between persona and character. In many definitions, including translations from Latin, the two terms are interchangeable, and both can precipitate different interpretations dependent upon the context within which they are used. Character in a moral sense, for instance, is a wholly different concept than the character one might adopt within a performance context. In this instance, and for the purposes of clarity, the term persona will be used in accordance with the definition given in Jungian psychology: the guise which one adopts in social situations and subsequently transmits to others. It will be utilised alongside performance-based examples from professional wrestling as a means of establishing a framework for studies into the integration and interaction of professional wrestling personas within the public realm. In 2002, masked professional wrestler The Great Sasuke was elected into the Iwate Prefectural Assembly, a local branch of the Japanese parliament. His election 1 Performance and Professional Wrestling, ed. Broderick Chow, Eero Laine and Claire Warden (Abingdon and New York: Routledge, 2017) 59-69. 2 New Theatre Quarterly, 6.22 (1990): 154-61. 3 Marvin Carlson, The Haunted Stage: The Theatre as Memory Machine (Ann Arbor: The University of Michigan Press, 2001). 4 Christopher B. Balme, The Theatrical Public Sphere (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2014). Russell Gilbert 120 and appointment were not considered particularly unusual: he was certainly not the first professional wrestler to have been appointed to political office, nor was the fact that he continued to perform as a wrestler during his time in office. However, it was -inspired mask during parliamentary meetings, and when attending official public engagements, which proved to be particularly problematic for a number of his political contemporaries. It was felt that Sasuke, as a political tenure.5 In considering this scenario, several interesting theoretical arguments surrounding identity and persona are brought to the fore. Firstly, if we consider the sociological notion of identity, which focuses on the persona one presents when in public, alongside the etymology of the term persona itself, we see several references to the metaphorical mask. Danielle Jackson, for instance, states that act in ways acceptable b 6 Jackson, in this instance, is not referring to a solid form, at least in the conventional sense. Her inference is that the face one presents to others is fluid, it is not a constant it is malleable, dependent upon situation and circumstance. It is most cer that politicians wanted to see the face of Masanori Murakawa, the person behind the physical mask. In this instance they saw Sasuke as a pe - an inauthentic version of the self. However, even if Sasuke were to have would have appeared. Indeed, as an article in The Japan Times referenced shortly presents a real mask knowing that the public will accept it as a 7 By doing so, Sasuke is providing us with an interesting dichotomy; as the wearer of an 5 The Japan Times, 4 May 2003, https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2003/05/04/national/media-national/the-great-sasukefaces-up-to-political-reality/ (accessed 10 July 2019). 6 Danielle Jackson, Persona of Anime: A Depth Psychological Approach to the Persona and Individuation, PhD Dissertation (Carpinteria, CA, and Santa Barbara, CA: Pacifica Graduate Institute, 2017) 14, ProQuest Dissertations Publishing, 2017, https:// search.proquest.com/openview/7eb29f4d3bfa5a71ce5903619c74ed13/1?pq-origsite=gscholar &cbl=18750&diss=y (accessed 28 March 2019). 7 Brasor. Between Professional Wrestling and the Public Arena 121 actual mask he is seemingly being more transparent than those decrying him of deception. He is permanently displaying his mask for all to see, unlike his colleagues and the invisible masks they adorn at different times. of the self, because we can read its emotions or expressions which would otherwise be hidden behind a mask. Similarly, it cannot be assumed that because the actual mask does not change it cannot be just as situationally malleable as a metaphorical mask, as not see the 8 Judith Butler references culturally embodied norms in regards to verbal 9 while also ponde the subject of speech also seek to inhabit and craft the embodied life of the 10 -quo of his environment and his refusal to remove it is a threat to the accepted appearance of political figures within the public arena. Considering the creation of a persona from a theatrical perspective, it is persona, or personae 11 Yet there is a risk that the person may become lost behind the persona that has been created. Sasuke and Murakawa, although intrinsically linked through their physical embodiment, are two distinct political entities. The Great Sasuke was voted into office. Sasuke exists within the public consciousness through his work in professional wrestling. Nothing is known of Murakawa, himself by means of his mask, S myriad of video footage, photographs and articles that refer to him as such. be looking at a different persona, one that has never licly and certainly not the one that was voted into parliament. Quinn references this merging of the self with the role in regard to the actor, yet it can also apply to the e personal 8 Bruce Wilshire, Role Playing and Identity: The Limits of Theatre as Metaphor (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1982) 41. 9 Deconstruction: A Reader, ed. Martin McQuillan (New York: Routledge, 2001) 254. 10 Butler 255. 11 Wilshire 204. Russell Gilbert 122 con 12 In the light of this statement it becomes apparent that prioritising the persona over the person has implications beyond not just the parameters of theatre and performance studies. It raises issues pertinent to studies of ontology for instance, in regard to the permanence of the public persona, its origins, malleability and authenticity. It also brings to the fore issues surrounding ownership and control of the persona and whether, once created, it can ever be erased. In 2009, several years after he left political office, Sasuke was arrested for assaulting a man on a train who had tried to take his picture. Interestingly, Sasuke 13 seemingly contradicting his previous assertions that the mask was his professional wrestler and politician, not a man wearing a mask on public transport. Subsequent articles referencing his arrest stated it was indeed Sasuke, not Murakawa, who was arrested and the accompanying headshot showed, in keeping with his public persona, his masked face. Contrasting the performers playing a role and the public persona, the following s his characters after each performance of them, while the person must die with the personae on his head. He remains forever responsible for them in a way in which 14 However in this instance it is the persona, The Great Sasuke, who is deemed the more responsible for their actions. Indeed, in allowing greater acceptance of the persona over that of the individual, it is quite fair in this instance to state that Murakawa did not commit the assault, Sasuke did. This embracing the persona, that is, both normalising and authorising it as the public figure called Sasuke, makes it responsible for the attack on the man with the camera. noticeably different from the norm. It is easier to accept that The Great Sasuke is a persona adopted for public consumption because of this difference. Due to this he is afforded both positive and negative exemptions from regular public discourse than those whose personae are more obvious. His indiscretions can be dismissed as those of someone who inherently refuses to adhere to cultural norms, or can be amplified as those of someone looking to deceive and manipulate due to their obvious, and chosen, external difference. Of course, conventional political figures 12 Quinn 156. 13 Brasor. 14 Wilshire 204. Between Professional Wrestling and the Public Arena 123 are not immune to these criticisms either, however the lack of clarity and overt indiscretions are often less difficult to fully interpret. In his book, Empire of Illusion: The End of Literacy and the Triumph of Spectacle, happens in celebrity culture, the line between public and fictional personas 15 It is in permitting this blurring of lines that one ascendant persona emerges and, in turn, authorises the normalisation of what may otherwise be considered atypical personas into a particular environment. More recently, in 2013, another masked wrestler, Skull Reaper A-ji, was appointed to political office in Japan. Similarly to Sasuke, he too was asked to 16 17 A precedent had been set. However, in this instance Skull Reaper A-ji n public record, a concept examined Skull Reaper A-ji, much like his predecessor, was allowed to maintain both his mask and his public persona for the duration of his political tenure. In maintaining what, at their original inception, were personae created for a - bring to the fore wider theoretical implications for the arts as a whole. Their actions question not only where performance begins and ends, through the transference of the performance setting within which the persona manifests itself suddenly, what existed within the confines of a professional wrestling arena has permeated its way into the political, and public, arena but also the limits to which the public sphere will accept the actions of the persona over those of the performer, and vice versa. goes on in the privacy of a Western theatre is an almost entirely private matter: it is an artistic act conducted between two consenting partners the performers and the spectators and is 18 However through the emergence of multi-faceted performance forms such as professional wrestling, 15 Chris Hedges, Empire of Illusion: The End of Literacy and the Triumph of Spectacle (New York: Nation Books, 2009) 4. 16 Oita City Votes to De-mask Skull Reaper AFukuoka-now, 8 March 2013, http://www.fukuoka-now.com (accessed 20 May 2019). 17 Kirstene Time, 14 March 2013, https://world.time.com/2013/03/14/japan-politician-banned-forwearing-wrestling-mask-to-meetings (accessed 21 June 2019). 18 Balme 17. Russell Gilbert 124 challenged and the lack of interest Balme references has suddenly become of greater importance. Professional wrestling as an entity has forced itself into a position where it has to be considered part of political, and social, discourse. A more recent, yet no less controversial, example of the collision of the professional wrestling arena with the public and political arena is that of Glenn Jacobs, who, in 2018, became the Mayor of Knox County, Tennessee. Blurring of the difference between his person and persona, the headlines since his 19 , aka Ka 20 referring to the persona he had adopted for the previous 21 years within Kane, upon his first appearance in October 1997, was a masked figure. His backstory was that as a child he had been horrifically burnt in a fire, an episode Sasuke, was emphasising that, most definitely, it is not Kane, the persona, who would be the Mayor of Knox County, but rather Jacobs, the man, husband and father. His insistence on distancing himself from the persona the public had known him by for so long, despite what it had helped him achieve, was an attempt it was announced that Kane would be wrestling on a show in Saudi Arabia which would be funded by the Saudi Government and, more specifically, Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman, mere weeks after the execution of American journalist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018.21 In promoting Kane, rather than Mayor Glenn Jacobs, as wrestling in Saudi Arabia, a clear distinction was being made. Kane wears red and black attire suitable for a wrestling contest, he sports a mask and has long black hair. Mayor Jacobs wears a suit and tie, his face is visible and he has short, receding hair. It was perhaps somewhat unfortunate then when, in an unplanned 19 Symposium Fox News, 9 May 2019, https://www.foxnews.com/us/mayor-glenn-jacobswwe-kane-dons-mask-chokeslams-man-table-tennessee-symposium (accessed 15 May 2019). 20 Knox County Mayor Glenn Jacobs, aka Kane, Not Ruling out Return to WWE Ring knox news, 29 April 2019, https://eu.knoxnews.com/story/news/ politics/2019/04/29/knox-county-mayor-glenn-jacobs-aka-kane-might-return-wwe-ring/ 3615405002/ (accessed 2 May 2019). 21 , Still Planning on Saudi Arabia Trip amid knox news, 10 December 2018, https://eu.knoxnews.com/story/news/politics/2018/10/12/knox-mayor-kane-wwe-saudiarabia-jamal-khashoggi-disappearance/1612304002/ (accessed 2 May 2019). Between Professional Wrestling and the Public Arena 125 moment during the match, his opponent grabbed the mask of Kane, pulling it to such a degree that it came off and the face of Glenn Jacobs could be seen in a wrestling ring in the middle of a stadium in Saudi Arabia. Fortunately for him, this momentary revelation was given no social or political momentum and beyond the parameters of a few online wrestling forums was not seen as anything significant or worthy of comment. However, it is this accidental disruption of the performative element which further aligned, rather than distanced, Jacobs with his persona. More recently, in an incident that was reported in both political and sporting outlets, Jacobs participated in a publicity stunt while delivering the opening speech at the National Association of Sports Commissions Symposium in Knoxville. staff overseeing the event,22 and, upon expressing his unhappiness at this unplanned moment, the lights in the building dimmed, a red hue appeared (as it often would during his wrestling appearances) and the music that would accompany Kane to the ring during his wrestling career blasted through the sound system in the hall. Jacobs then produced the demonic looking Kane mask from a bag, put it on, grabbed the man by the throat and slammed him through a nearby table. He then removed the mask, the music stopped, the lights returned to normal and Jacobs concluded his speech. Much like Sasuke, the obviousness of the difference between Kane and Jacobs in their physical manifestations meant that there was no confusion about what had occurred: it was clearly a stunt, garnering headlines and entertaining the people in attendance. It is perhaps not surprising that political outlets such as Fox News reported the incident as a bit of fun Jacobs is a Republican whereupon had it been a Democratic Mayor who did this, their reporting of it would most likely have been along the lines of mocking derision or outrage that a political figure would engage in such frivolous activities. Here lies a clear distinction between the actions of the two personas in this instance by applying the mask, it was made apparent to those observing that it was not Mayor Glenn Jacobs who slammed the man through a table. It was Kane. Even within the realms of the professional wrestling arena, Kane provides a within the context of professional wrestling the mask was always emphasised as being just the mask was intended to hide burns that did not adorn the face of Jacobs the 22 Grate. Russell Gilbert 126 performer yet did supposedly cover the face of Kane. It was also done as a means of hiding from the audience that they were witnessing a performer they had previously seen under a different guise. Indeed, rather than acknowledging past accomplishments as a means of The Haunted Stage when referencing theatre-based conventions, the professional wrestling industry utilises tactics that, unless it is convenient for them to do otherwise, attempts to conceal or alter a per Promoting the persona in its totality, with little or no acknowledgement to the contribution of the performer, the professional wrestling industry therefore creates an interesting case study encompassing a persona and its performance. This can help to re-evaluate notions of public engagement with persona and the construction of the public self. Narrative advancements in professional wrestling, particularly within the globally broadcast WWE promotion where the Kane persona was created and developed, are written like an episodic television series. Groups of writers work alongside the promoter, and in some instances the wrestler, to decide the outcome of matches and the progression or cessation of any particular on-screen conflict or personality trait. Over the course of time, the aesthetic of the Kane persona changed, with the removal of his physical mask, revealing that the supposed scarring he had allegedly received as a child were actually psychological rather than physical scars, and a shaved head replacing the long dark hair of the original incarnation. However, despite these changes, the audience still accepted this as Kane. Indeed, it was still the same performer despite these changes, and the audience were aware of this. It was only several years later, when a new wrestler, portraying the physical embodiment of the original incarnation of Kane, complete with mask and long, his matches, that a theoretical quandary surrounding the acceptance of one authentic persona emerged. Indeed, this new wrestler, due to his similar physical attributes and the attire that he wore, bore more of a semblance to the original incarnation than the current one, despite the audience being aware that another performer was wearing the costume. If a picture of the two standing opposite each other was presented to someone familiar with the original incarnation, they would, unfamiliar with the changing aesthetic of the subversion of the original signification and to the working of the collective d as the newer aesthetic manifestation which bears little or no resemblance to the original. Between Professional Wrestling and the Public Arena 133 In view of certain metaphorical interpretations of a means for deception in face-to40 and the trepidation with which - a mask makes the ideological contrast between two different approaches to masks as a means of communicating a clear persona and as a tool of deception all the more compelling. It is not known whether Fr - guarded secret like others within lucha libre. He successfully funded his orphanage for over twenty years because of his wrestling career and several movies have been made based on his life. He still delivers sermons to this day, appearing at first in the yellow and red Fray Tormenta mask before removing it to reveal Padre (Father) Sergio Gutierrez Benitez and placing it by his side as he carries out his duties. adre Sergio plays, but 41 implies that while the mask can easily be discarded, its meaning and performative power cannot. It would seem then that it is only through the distancing of the self from the persona that, i separate entity. However, as has also been shown, the extent to which one can ever rsona remains problematic. In considering how the use of masks in professional wrestling can contribute to the studies of persona, this article reveals that the subject matter can not only be effectively critiqued within the parameters of existing research, but can also be used as a means of developing new research. It also highlights that professional wrestling as a source material has significant theoretical implications, as it is able to provide unique examples that are worthy of further critical analysis across several diverse academic areas. 40 Erving Goffman, The Presentation of the Self in Everyday Life (London: Penguin, 1990) 57. 41 Nusbaum.