When you read Le Bourgeois gentilhomme, a French play written in the 17th century by Molière, it is easy to laugh at Monsieur Jourdain, the main character, and ridicule the characters’ desire to distinguish himself. We might conclude that the French court and notions of nobility are ancient concepts. But when I look at my own blog, I see that I fall into many of the same traps as Molière’s character. I see that I want to project an image of myself, just like Jourdain. I made a blog to distinguish myself from others but my real thoughts do not shine through in most of my posts. My blog resembles the characters in Molière’s play because just like them, I focus on appearances, prestige, on the notion of doing what everyone else is doing, and on false optimism.
How to gain prestige?
In Le Bourgeois gentilhomme, Monsieur Jourdain wants others to view him as a “gentilhomme.” He wishes for others to think of him with the highest esteem. To attain this objective, he shows the world that he has good manners and that he is well informed on all matters of importance to the 17th century French court, such as the arts and the latest fashion. We see this desire to appear grand play out in act 1, scene 2, when Monsieur Jourdain has an audience with le Maître de Musique and le Maître à Danser. Le Maître de Musique is in the midst of presenting a song when Monsieur Jourdain says, “Donnez-moi ma robe pour mieux entendre (give me my dress so that I can better listen)” (l. 55). With these words, Monsieur Jourdain reveals that he knows that appearances are everything and that a particular dress could signify power and confidence. At every instance, he asks himself: What do others think of me? And then he does everything in his power to control how he presents himself to others. In doing so, he hopes that others will think well of him.
In a similar way, I control how others view me on my blog. Like Monsieur Jourdain, I ask myself, “What do others think of me? How can I present myself in the best possible light?” Above all else, I have distinguished myself as a "CalArtian" because CalArts signifies a certain prestige. When I highlight that I am an alum from there, I show my position in the hierarchy of aspiring artists and animators. In one of my most popular posts, “Fallen In Love With CalArts?” I put photos that underline this prestige. There is a photo where I sit outside the A113 classroom and a photo with Glen Keane (and of course, I make sure to mention that Glen Keane is also an alum from CalArts). I also distinguish myself when I mention that the school was founded by Walt Disney and that Tim Burton lived in the same dorm as me. I had a post called “Life at CalArts” where I wrote “[The students] somehow still find time to hang out with each other and enjoy the surrounding area” and I share many photos of CalArts that show just how much fun we have (I have since deleted this post). With all these posts and photos, I want others to think, “Wow, that’s so cool!”
Standing out by doing what others do
On my blog and in Le Bourgeois gentilhomme, there is an obsession with doing what everyone else is doing – with doing what is popular. Monsieur Jourdain seeks distinction by showing his love for what the nobility loves. His behavior is an example of "la triangulation du désir” or “the triangle of desire” by René Girard. According to this theory, you can love something, the object of desire, because this object is loved by people that you esteem highly. We see this tendency clearly throughout the play. For example, when le Maître de Musique says, “Il faut qu’une personne comme vous, qui êtes magnifique et qui avez de l’inclination pour les belles choses, ait un concert de musique chez soi tous les mercredis ou tous les jeudis (it is vital that a person like yourself, who is magnificent and who has a sense for things of beauty, have a musical concert at his home every Wednesday or Thursday),” Monsieur Jourdain simply responds, “Est-ce que les gens de qualité en ont (do ‘quality’ people have such things ?)” (Acte 2, Scène 2, l. 12-16). When he learns that, yes, they do, it is established that having a musical concert would show the good taste of Monsieur Jourdain. Similarly, he wears “les fleurs en enbas” on his new attire because le Maître Tailleur tells him that people ‘of quality’ wear "les fleurs en enbas" (Acte 2, Scène 5, l. 23-32). Even if Monsieur Jourdain thought initially that it was bizarre, he has no scruples wearing this attire if people he esteems wear it. He asks himself, “What do people I look up to do ? Okay, I am going to do that as well.” In his quest for distinction and superiority, he paradoxically tries to act like everyone else around him.
Likewise, I made a blog because I knew that most of my friends from CalArts have one. My class was even known as “the social media class.” In all our classes, our teachers told us that having a presence online, “is really important for your artistic careers. If people do not know you, how will you stand out ? How will your drawing differentiate itself from another person’s good drawing ? Your personality is just as important as your artistic competences.” My blog is an attempt to distinguish myself from my CalArtian friends and other artists. I did it to ‘be known.’ It is a manifestation of me saying, “here I am! Look at what I have done. Please, like me. And give me a lot of page views so that everyone can see I am popular and have a good personality!” I tell myself that I am just doing what everyone else does – so I am not harming anyone. By having a blog, I show that I am willing to do what it takes to be a part of the animation industry. I know that my friends and successful artists have a blog, so I go through the same (somewhat unnatural for an introvert) process. I am prepared do what everyone else does, if that aids my career. Like Monsieur Jourdain, I want to distinguish myself by paradoxically doing what everyone else does.
False optimism
If I am so preoccupied by what everyone think of me, can I really show my true thoughts? Do I show myself on my blog or what I think others want to see? In Le Bourgeois gentilhomme, the characters flatter Monsieur Jourdain to obtain what they want. They do not share what they really think. For example, the artisans have every interest in complimenting Monsieur Jourdain so that he will continue to employ them. Similarly, le comte Dorante says what he knows Monsieur Jourdain wants to hear so that he will continue to give him money. He says to him that he is, “l’Homme du monde que j’estime le plus (the man I esteem the most in the world)" (Acte 3, Scène 4, l. 21-22), even as he makes fun of him behind his back. For example, he pretends in Act 4, Scene 1 that he loves a party thrown by Monsieur Jourdain when, in reality, he looks down on it. He thus wears a mask and hides his true feelings to control how others view him.
On my blog, I often do not share my true thoughts, either. I do not mention that we had no free time at CalArts ; that we were seated in a dark room without windows all day every day ; that certain people were so exhausted by the deadline of our films that they fell asleep on their cintiqs ; that we did not have enough cintiqs for everyone, so it was a fight every morning to ensure one ; that what you learn at CalArts is mostly dependent on studying on your own ; and that CalArts has financial issues. Oh, I also do not mention that the CalArts halls were supposedly constructed as an insane asylum, ensuring that someone would get lost in the hallways and therefore not be able to escape – so you can imagine the beautiful architecture. I do not mention these things because they are ‘negative.’ I do not want to seem like I am complaining. I want CalArts to have no reason to be angry with me. Instead of sharing what I really think, I am overly positive. For example, I use a blog post to encourage you to “try out drawing computer software” because everyone in the animation industry draw on cintiqs now—even when I myself take every opportunity to draw on paper. Likewise, in my post “To CalArts Or Not To CalArts,” I had written “if you want good, nourishing food, the CalArts Cafeteria is not that place,” but I deleted it because I did not want to offend anyone. On my blog, I only mention things that put CalArts in a good light. I distinguish myself as someone who behaves well and does not complain. Like the characters in Bourgeois gentilhomme, I flatter something when in reality, I am not all that positive about the subject.
I made a blog because I wanted to distinguish myself. In a world full of artistic competition, I wanted people to know me and my art. But my blog posts show that in an attempt distinguish oneself, you can easily end up doing what everyone else does. I rarely share my real feelings, that which would really distinguish me from others. Just like Monsieur Jourdain and the other characters for whom appearances are everything in Le Bourgeois gentilhomme, I play a game without questioning why. If I do not share myself on my blog and if I resemble other bloggers, what do I share? What do I add? If my blog does not distinguish me… why did I make a blog?
Primary Source
Poquelin, Jean-Baptiste « Molière. » Le Bourgeois gentilhomme. Belin Gallimard, 2015.