Assignment #1
The baroque stare is defined by Rosemarie Garland-Thomson as being “flagrantly stimulus driven” as well as “gaped mouth, unapologetic staring”. This kind of staring is typically prohibited because it is incredibly rude, and can make people feel very uncomfortable. The baroque stare typically occurs when an individual sees something that they cannot believe or that they cannot understand, causing them to focus all of their attention on this stimulus, and making them look like an idiot. An example of such a stare is demonstrated below by famous actor Mark Wahlberg:
Still shot of "The Happening", where Mark Wahlberg is staring at the wind. Image courtesy of: http://www.buffalobeast.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/mark-wahlberg-happening-stare.jpg.
This kind of stare in public however is socially frowned upon because the starer cannot control themselves enough to stop staring, and those who find themselves giving a baroque stare are typically ashamed and embarrassed for doing so. Baroque stares can create either a relationship of power and dominance or one of embarrassment and confusion for the staree. Garland-Thomson writes in the book Staring: How We Look that the staree is dominant in this relationship, because they have some how piqued the starer’s so much that they have forgotten all things that are occurring around them and are instead more focused on the staree. This causes the starer to lose power in this relationship and be somewhat at the whim of the staree.
To better understand the concept the baroque stare I thought about situations in the past where I have observed such behavior. I work in a retail environment, and therefore come into contact with any different people throughout my shift. These people are from all different backgrounds and cultures, and so they have a different set of norms. Since I tend to look a little bit different than most of the population (heavy make-up, black hair with parts of my head shaved, metal in my face, and black clothing) I sometimes get more attention while at work than I am used to. A lot of the attention that I get involves baroque stares, where the customers do not know what to think, especially if they are from a religious background or if they are from a different country that has different cultural norms than ours. Children also seem to be very confused by my appearance, and very often I find children staring at me with eyes wide open and mouth agape.
An example of a bewildered child with a watermark over her face. Image courtesy of: http://husbands4hire.files.wordpress.com/2010/12/confused-child-grocerygeek-com.jpg
While I would find it rude to ask a person why they are staring at me, I am typically curious as to what they are thinking. The only window that I have into the mind of the baroque starer that I have is what children say to their parents. Being young and unknowing, most children to not have the inhibition or the knowledge to know that it is rude to talk about someone while they are right in front of them, so they will ask their parents questions about why I have makeup on and if I am a boy or a girl. This insight provides a bit of an answer to why baroque stares occur in this setting – simply because they do not know what it is that they are looking at and they are trying to understand. This calls to mind Segal’s article “Can You Tella Jew When You See One”. It seems as if the children are trying to figure what it is that I am doing with my appearance, as it does not fit into the visual typification that they have for men or for people that they are used to coming into contact with.
I asked my other co-workers about this effect, to see if they have ever experienced a baroque stare in the work place. Very few of them had actually been the staree in this setting, but they have seen some of the customers that come in caught in a baroque stare at certain items of clothing and at the outfits that the mannequins are wearing. I asked them how they felt about it, and they thought that it was very odd, and that they looked stupid and like they did not know or understand what it was that they were looking at.