There must be a psychology behind the personality types that frequent, and more importantly, interactively participate in the Renaissance Festival. During my soujourn in Dallas I had a friend who mingled at times in the alternative lifestyles community and he made the interesting observation that he had never met an active homosexual who didn't have loads of personal baggage. While I stop well short of calling all Ren Fest goers "gay" (except in the definition of "gay" meaning "lame" ; ) there might be a similar pathology at work. In my opinion it would take something powerful to turn intelligent people, young and old, from all walks of life, so dramatically away from our shared reality to another reality that quite literally doesn't exist anymore except in that community.
So what is it? What drives a man of adequate means, ordinary upbringing and no lack of ability to grow his hair long, pass on any number of educational and occupational opportunities that require a degree of conformity and adopt a lifestyle modeled on an era centuries past? And what's more, why do so many women do the same? Bear in mind that the usual rules still apply to human beings; men and women are primarily driven by sex and/or power, and this constitutes a basic need that must be fulfilled in any fundamental activity and aspect of their lives. So what do they get out of it and how are these needs fulfilled.
A clue might come from the women. In this day of female empowerment and opportunity I found, in today's visit to the last day of the Renaissance Festival in Bonner Springs, Kansas, far fewer "warrior women" than one might expect. I suppose they were there; I didn't really take a count, and I distinctly remember seeing one barbarian-type warrior gal because of 1.) she was attractive in her little get-up and 2.) it struck me that she was the first and possibly only female warrior persona I saw all day. And since she was working a dedicated area where (mostly) young boys beat each other about with foam swords...a perfect expression of male aggression and youthful energy if ever I saw one...someone might have been paying her to look like that, although I rather doubt it. Actually, all the other women I saw today were either of the tourist/voyeur variety or were clad in one of the following categories: faery, renaissance lady, gypsy, pirate-ess, or some variation of fortune teller/merchantess. I'm not trying to be glib here I simply lack the vocabulary to adequately and respectfully categorize the ladies I saw. But they all had something very much in common; they were all very feminine. No bulging muscles or male-impersonating attire, just a very gentle expression of the very gentle female nature, replete with flowers in the hair, tight bodices, stockings, skirts, dresses and well-applied touches of makeup. Perhaps it's an indictment of my own psychological profile that I felt much more comfortable around these females than I do the Berkenstock-wearing "ladies" so out of touch with their true nature that frequent our streets and media. They were women and they seemed happy to be women, young and old. There was a reveling, a glorying, in their appearance and who they were. No shame, no tricks and if I were to hazard a guess I'd believe they carried less baggage emotionally than the men did.
And what about the men? Although there were plenty of young men there today, the Ren Fest like so much of the rest of our society is growing older. Long gray hairs from the head and chin abounded and there were warriors aplenty. Only once did I see a male of younger years who was dressed as a gypsy that caused me to question his orientation (
not that there's anything wrong with that...sheesh!). I only know that because of the long lingering look I received in response to my own momentarily indiscreet stare. All right, now I sound both gay and lame, but it's true. I had to take a double-take to make sure he was a he, and when I did he stared right back in that very friendly way. But that was one guy out of hundreds. The rest, though by no means all carrying swords, were very male in expression in spite of leggings and other period attire. They, like the women, were happy to be who they were. What they were unhappy with, the lot of them, was
when they were.
This by no means is a startling discovery. Any fool can take a passing glance at the Ren Fest and think that it's peopled by folks who feel out of place in the current age. The 20th century sucked for them and the 21st ain't cracking up to be much either, except that Chinese manufacturing has made a lot of things cheaper that used to be damn hard to come by (although to give credit where due, what they can't or don't want to buy, they make). But like any good reporter can tell you, the secret to a great story is "why". Why do they feel out of time? What makes them so uncomfortable with when they are? How is this satisfied by Ren Fest activities and how does it mesh with the rules of interpersonal and social behavior having to do with power and sex?
I believe the answer, while elusive in its comprehension, is staring us all right in the face with the exception of the factor of sensitivity. For whatever reasons, be it genetics or environment, these people are generally more sensitive than many others, both to themselves and to others. This sensitivity, which to a degree may simply be a lack of toughness caused by the affluence of our growing nanny state, makes them feel their out-of-timeness more accutely and therefore they act out (literally) in period dress and accoutrement. Serious hard times such as an economic depression might put an end to 90% of this stuff, but I somehow doubt it. In fact, it might intensify it because the Ren Fester might very well be running from the same phantom as the person who smokes pot regularly, or has an eating disorder, or is obsessed with race cars or any other number of hobbies. We seem to have lost the comfort zone whereby one can simply work a job and have a family and generally be content. We are ill at ease, all of us. We all seem to sense that something is wrong with the world but can't tell you exactly what it is. I've looked at this phenomenon for a number of years through the paradigm of conspiracy theories and, while I have yet to find an expressible definitive answer, I believe I'm on the right track.
We're being squeezed. I don't know how else to put it. The current political climate flushes this analogy from me because at this moment on October 13th, just a few weeks away from the general presidential election between Douche and Turd, nobody and nothing, idiot and jerk, thing one and thing two, tweedledum and tweedledummer. So many people are saying the exact thing I am right now: what a choice! Choice? There's no choice. This election is not all that different from so-called elections in communist nations where there's a candidates name and two boxes next to it marked "yes" and "no". I, of course, do not include Ron Paul in this but neither do I hold any illusions that the creepy little doctor is in any way a viable savior for this country even if he were allowed to genuinely try. But from Fox News to CNN to the oh-so-bipartisan and unbiased Drudge Report (ahem!), we are betrayed on all sides and being driven like sheep, and social unrest is where we are being driven to. Today on the Drudge Report you'll find a picture of Obama kissing a very pale, very attractive white woman on the cheek while she's looking away with a smile on her face, half forced to endure the kiss and half enjoying the naughtiness of it. And Obama's hand looks exactly like it's going for a tit grab while he's kissing her. The accompanying headline? "Obama Goes Door-to-Door to Drum Up Votes", as if that has anything to do with this blatant attempt to exploit and intensify racism with this provacative photo. Compare that with other headlines he's had in recent weeks about an editor in Philadelphia predicting race riots and and that comedic Martian James Carville telling everyone how "...traumatic" it will be in the streets if Obama loses. Somebodies making trouble out there, a lot of it, and they have a lot of help making trouble by all those people who
really make the headlines.
Squeezed, indeed. Caught between two opposing forces, neither of which have our best interests or the best interests of this nation truly at heart. Both are unqualified; Obama experientially and McCain psychologically. We live in a day where genuine heroes are outlawed, and most of us either remember or grew up in the day when the last of them were gunned down, like JFK, MLK and RFK. It's almost like cattle that are driven and when they wander off one or two are shot in front of the others. Even popes are not safe or immune, and those not even from their own loyal
Swiss Guard.
My theory is just another simplified "them"-based conspiracy theory. There are a bunch of fat cats at the wheel and they "control" everything. I don't honestly believe that because what little wisdom I have tells me that man cannot truly control anything, except perhaps himself which is, unfortunately the last thing we work on. Ironically, self-control has been elevated to a lofty impossibility requiring anti-depressants and therapy just to get by, much less actually exercise real restraint or initiative. These fat cats know for a fact that they can't control anything, not really, but they have to keep milking the cow and sheering the sheep, that's their lot in life just like we all have ours, and I don't resent them for it. They struggle just to keep the system running in some semblance of control, and not just for their own egos.
But the system we're a part of and that they manipulate is prone to break down. Much like the human immune system it seems to
need to malfunction from time to time in order to survive its own environment. It might even be true that it is essentially self-destructive and destined to spiral down, although that's a little gloomy even for me. But inevitable or not, chaos constantly looms on the horizon of our civilization like a threatening storm cloud. Seeing this, and perhaps recognizing some inevitability, these fat cats may be seeking to control the decline, for whatever reasons. I'm still gloomy enough to deny any altruism on the part of a group of people who consistently lie to everyone but each other, so they may just be holding on to power. If chaos is inevitable and they see it coming, by way of a political revolution say, then wouldn't a perfect course of action be to invent your own revolution and put your own people in charge of it? That way you don't cut off your energy source. The revolution occurs, the needs of nature are met, and you're still in charge. I think this is precisely what happened in France and Algeria in the late 50's and early 60's with the venomous Committees of Public Safety. Revolution was foreseen, then it was hijacked and guided, allowing some semblance of control over the event and continuity for those in power. Far-fetched perhaps, but not impossible.
This entire concept, by the way, conforms to and completes both the "order out of chaos" theory and the "tug of war" theory. It's much like air frame testing for aircraft. You damage it as much as possible to not only learn about it but to improve and control it. Controlled explosions are created (for whatever reasons) and if you control the explosion you can reap the benefits, much like the mining process. The tug of war theory comes into play because you can only tug so much on a fixed rope before it snaps back. The trick is not in controlling the snap back itself; the trick is that you wanted to rope snapped back into its former place all along. If revolution is coming, or a race war or food riots or whatever, then you get involved with the inevitable, exercise some control over it, take your lumps and ride it out, and before you know it you're back to the status quo. Just like France. Just like Russia. Perhaps just like what is happening to America right now, because Obama's rise to power, regardless of outcome, almost
guarantees racial instability in our culture. That's why it's a fixed race, because the results (tension and destruction) were seen as inevitable and someone wanted to control this process and get us back on track and back to business.
So are our sensitive Ren Friends feeling this? They don't seem particularly politically active, and hell, neither am I. They don't seem very interested in modern society and I don't blame them; it's a mess and has been for decades. But they are too decent of people to hide any place destructive such as self-destructive behaviors or counter cultures. They exist in a sub culture, yes, but one that's very attractive to them because of its implied simplicity and, I may add, decency. The past they live in doesn't have a Spanish Inquisition or Jewish pogrom. There are warriors and armies and battles, but no one really gets hurt. They make much of their own wares and wears, which is cool, but this also satisfies the need for security which is intrinsically related to power. They know who they are gender-wise and enjoy a very real sense of romance, and sex is certainly bound up in that.
In short, the Ren Friends aren't just choosing to play dress up in a different time, they may be telling the current day and age to fuck off, rejecting it in its entirety. And after seeing one couple in particular today, a lord and lady, hand in hand, both resplendent, I think they may be making a fairly rational choice.
