Theories of Social Interaction (SOC401) Chapter 3 Notes from
Presentation of the Self in Everyday Life
Authored by Erving Goffman
A region is any place which is bounded by barriers to perception.
The front region is the place where a performance is given. This
includes the setting of the actual performance. The performance given
in the front region has two standards. One is politeness and
the other is the decorum.
The decorum is divided into the moral and instrumental subdivisions.
The moral area includes observing the right of others in the setting.
The instrumental subdivision is the maintaining of the actions one is
expected to be doing while in the setting, such as working while
at work. Attempts to demonstrate that decorum is being maintained many
people end up doing "busy-work" when being observed by supervisors,
to give the impression that work is being done.
A second region of the setting is the back region or back stage.
This is where the performer's actions can openly contradict what is
shown on the front region without the attendance of the audience.
This is the region where the performance is perfected and the props are
stored, which the audience has no access to. If the audience is given
access to the back stage, the actors have no chance to rest, and any
descrepancies may be openly observed by the audience. This is why the
actors tend to be very careful to keep the back stage well hidden or
closed off. The actors must also be careful of what noise and sights
can spill over the barriers constructed to separate the backstage from
the front stage. Thin walls or transparent barriers can be just as
revealing as if the audience were present in the back stage.
It is also important to note that the region is defined as a back or
front region by the performance. Some regions can act as both a back
and a front region depending on the situation. Some regions, such as
a church or classroom, appear always as a front region, even when no
performance is in progress. The same is true for some back regions.