Themes

Themes

1. Being forced to be/conform into someone you're not

   • "toughening up"
   • wanting to show bouts of emotion but forced to suppress it
   • mild form of indirect oppression?
   • Being forced to be/conform into someone you're not (motifs)
     • Holding arm in a strong position with the other arm, but once let go softens down
       • Like the expression "toughen up!", it shows how the person is trying to do so to please others, yet on the inside they're still unable to due to their condition and sensitive nature, hence they soften down every time
     • Sitting down with head in knees and doing bursts of actions representing emotions, but pushing myself back into the previous position
       • Happy: energetic reaches, gesturing a smile
       • Sad: Desperate, droopy gestures, hands pulling down face etc.
       • Anger: Powerful fist banging on the floor, feet stomping etc.
         • This motif shows how sensitive people have to suppress (or be less open) their emotions but because they're unable to control them, they show bursts of open emotion, shown by the actions representing the different emotions and end up being sad as it makes other people annoyed at them, shown by the head in knees pose.
           • It also shows how people's opinions of sensitive people are conforming the sensitive person to change, as they are forcing the person to push the emotions back
     • Revealing wrists to audience, before hiding it away
       • This motif represents how one has to hide their feelings and stop being too emotional: its a reference to the idiom "wearing a heart on your sleeve" meaning that one is very open with their emotions, but in the dance, the wrist is later covered as if to stop being open with emotions
       • Wrists are also a symbol of weakness, and facing them towards the audience makes the motif a surrender by the sensitive person, where they reveal that hiding their emotions are their weakness
     • Having a face representing emotion, yet a hand will wipe the face, revealing an expressionless face as if wearing a mask (still considering this motif)
       • The motif shows, like the previous ones, how they're trying to hide their emotions (hence putting on the mask)

2. Not being able to hide emotion

   • emotion is always at the surface
   • overly open
   • helplessness - genetic made to become like that

3. Being judged by others

   • people being frustrated with them
   • underestimated as 'weak' (stereotypes come into play)
   • having to change to be liked
   • confusion - why do people judge them for being sensitive

4. being understanding of others