Dramaturgy And Social Movements: Article Analysis

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Social movements have been significant events which have transformed the world we live in. There is not a progressive policy in place today in any country that was not at some point fought for by a movement. A woman's right to vote, for instance, is a right many may take for granted, but women of the suffragist movement sacrificed their livelihoods for its passage. Legalized abortion in Canada is also a right that the feminist movement fought tooth and nail for. James Scott (2008) states in the article “Normal Exploitation, Normal Resistance” that the weapons we the weak have, can be viewed as “social movement with no formal organization, no manifestoes, no dues, no name, and no banner” (p. 35). What Scott (2008) is essentially arguing here …show more content…
In the article “Dramaturgy and Social Movements: The Social Construction and Communication of Power,” Robert D. Benford and Scott A. Hunt (1992) demonstrate how social movements often require dramatic techniques and organization of power in order to work. Benford and Hunt (1992) argue about how social movements depend on scripting, directions, building a dramatic persona, staging, performance and creating dialogue among the public. These characteristics are necessary, according to Bedford and Hunt, for something to constitute a social movement, but everyday acts of resistance have none of these characteristics. Everyday individual acts of resistance are often free from the restraints that come with organizing a social movement, and this is why these acts of resistance can be so empowering on an individual level, but neither may not be able to reap tangible benefits for society on a large scale. Furthermore, Quintan Wiktorowicz (2000) argues in the article “Civil Society as Social Control: State Power in Jordan,” that in certain countries these individual acts are often the only form of resistance as a result of the level of government social control. Wiktorowicz (2000) states that “the most serious challenge to a system of control based upon predictability and visibility is group work that does not conform to the logic of the system and instead remains outside state …show more content…
In their article “Resource Mobilization and Social Movements: A Partial Theory,” John D. McCarthy and Mayer N. Zald (1977) demonstrate how social movements depend on networking, external support from society, and considerable financial and emotional resources. Furthermore, McCarthy and Zald (1977) argue that it is due the visibility and prominence of social movements that social movements are able to garner the support of society and culture around them. McCarthy and Zald (1977) state that “social movements are based upon aggrieved populations which provide the necessary and labour” (p. 1216). Furthermore, McCarthy and Zald (1977) argue that that only through the ability for a social movement to mobilize resources and support marginalized members, is it able to make a difference in people's lives. The everyday individual acts of resistance, due to their individual and symbolic nature, are unable to make a concrete
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