the thing about performative behavior is that it is intentional. i mean, it’s in the name, right? that doesn’t mean that the impulse or reason behind it can’t be subconscious, that you can Act In A Way because it feels correct without examining why you believe so or what you're trying to prove, but it is literally in the name — you are performing in a way, for a purpose. whether it is to make a point or convince others or mask.
house is performative: he dresses and acts in a certain way and is reflexively defiant and always late to prove a point; that he doesn’t care, that he won’t listen, that he’s unmoved by social requirements. that doesn’t mean that his dislike of authority and rules isn’t sincere, but the way he will always go out of his way to defy, even if it deprives him of something he wants, is performative. “appearing this way” matters more to house than “compromising and being happy.” wilson is performative: what matters to him is Being Liked, and he intentionally suppresses himself and his desires in order to be certain that he always appears to be harmless and likeable and kind, even when he does unkind or manipulative things: he is careful to always, always be the victim.
foreman, too, is performative, in more subtle ways: how he masks his anger and frustration, how he always dresses sharply and suppresses his emotions. you could say, well, he's just a naturally serious and calm person, but the show says enough that he is deeply insecure (whenever anyone makes a statement about him — acceptance, poison, etc. — he immediately spirals into self-doubt and questioning), that he is well aware that as a Black man with a criminal history, he will always need to prove himself and does not have the luxury of being anything less than perfectly in control. in fact, many if not most characters on house are to an extent performative, or struggle with their identity: cuddy hides her own loneliness and insecurity behind a brisk professional exterior, performing success and leadership. amber performs femininity in her cardigans and pearls and soft voice in an attempt (likely) to soften her aggression and negative responses to her desires.
but just as notable are the characters who don't perform. chase, we are told, wants to perform apathy, to appear cool and aloof and uncaring, but is phenomenally bad at it: he is too impulsive and thin-skinned and driven by his emotions to put up any sort of mask for long. cameron is fascinatingly bad at acting: she is unable to hide any of her emotions, to maintain an aloof front, to be passive or easy-going. (i do wonder how much of fandom's hatred of her is down to this: cameron seems like she should be the sweet, shy, feminine young woman, but insists on being stubborn and angry and fighting for what she believes instead of ever compromising: she isn't performative, when she should be.) park and masters are both incapable of hiding who they are in different ways, or of masking in socially-acceptable ways.
the thing is, this is fiction. a television show. if a character subconsciously wants something, the writers do make sure the audience finds out: while in real life you can act for years and years without articulating or even knowing why, fiction doesn't really have that luxury. that house is not just rebellious but performs rebelliousness is key to his character and key to predicting his actions: another person might, for example, defy vogler, but put that all aside to tell cuddy that actually yes, he would like to attend that baby naming. that chase is incapable of lying or having a subtle thought, that whenever he is going through something or troubled it is visible from space, is just as much a part of his character as wilson's suppressing of his own thoughts and wishes is to him. if chase wanted something subconsciously, we'd know it within ten minutes (or ten seconds, if rowan walks in a room): if wilson wanted something subconsciously, we'd know it only after multiple episodes of house prodding at it; if house wanted something subconsciously, we'd know because he'd do the opposite.
characterization isn't just "this person likes yellow things and sharks," "this person has daddy issues," it is also how does this person react to the world around them? what do they want? and how do they treat the things they want? do they perform, or are they honest? do they run, or do they deny, or do they face it head on?
gracieabrams
amandla
