Kayfabe and Its Relevance Today
Roland Barthes’ Theory and Postmodernist Heterotopic Society
Kayfabe originates from professional wrestling, where it refers to the portrayal of events within the industry as real, despite being scripted and staged. Wrestlers and promoters maintain kayfabe by presenting matches and storylines as genuine to create an immersive experience for the audience. This concept extends beyond wrestling and can be applied to various societal and cultural phenomena.
Kayfabe as a Cultural Myth: Barthes’ theory helps us understand kayfabe as a cultural myth. In professional wrestling, kayfabe creates a mythic narrative where wrestlers embody archetypal characters, and their scripted battles reflect larger-than-life conflicts. The audience suspends disbelief, engaging with the mythos as if it were real, despite knowing on some level that it is fabricated. This duality is central to Barthes’ idea of how myths function in society, presenting a constructed reality that is accepted and consumed as genuine.
Andy Kaufman Gets Slapped. Hard.
In 1982, comedian Andy Kaufman and professional wrestler Jerry Lawler appeared on “Late Night with David Letterman,” resulting in an infamous incident where Lawler slapped Kaufman on live television. This event was a staged part of their ongoing performance art feud, rooted in the wrestling concept of kayfabe — the portrayal of scripted events as real.
Why Kaufman Got Slapped
The slap was part of an elaborate act designed to blur the lines between reality and performance, enhancing the dramatic tension and entertainment value. Kaufman, known for his avant-garde and provocative humor, had been engaging in inter-gender wrestling matches and had declared himself the “Inter-Gender Wrestling Champion of the World.” His antics included offering money to any woman who could pin him, a shtick that both amused and outraged audiences.
Kaufman and Lawler, although friends and collaborators behind the scenes, created a public feud to bring Kaufman’s wrestling act to a wider audience. This culminated in a wrestling match where Lawler famously piledrove Kaufman, leading to Kaufman wearing a neck brace during their Letterman appearance. During the show, Lawler insulted Kaufman, leading to Kaufman demanding an apology and threatening legal action. As tensions escalated, Lawler delivered a thunderous slap, knocking Kaufman out of his chair. Kaufman responded with a profanity-laced tirade and threw a cup of coffee at Lawler before storming off the stage…
Kayfabe involves maintaining the illusion that scripted events in professional wrestling are real. This concept can be extended to broader societal contexts, where the lines between reality and performance are intentionally blurred.
Kayfabe involves maintaining the illusion that scripted events are real. This concept extends to broader societal contexts where reality and performance are blurred. However, when acting impacts service performance and confuses clients because employees are playing a game, the scripting falls into question.
Andy Kaufman’s staged feud with Jerry Lawler, culminating in the slap on David Letterman, exemplifies this. While effective in entertainment, such blurring can undermine trust and satisfaction in a business context. Clients expect genuine interactions, not performative deception, highlighting the need for clear boundaries between performance and service.
Andy Kaufman…
Andy Kaufman, a comedian and performance artist, famously blurred the lines between reality and performance, embodying the essence of kayfabe in his work. Kaufman often presented his acts as real-life events, challenging the audience to discern between genuine occurrences and staged performances. His wrestling matches with women, and his feud with professional wrestler Jerry Lawler, were prime examples of Kaufman applying kayfabe outside traditional wrestling, creating a unique and perplexing entertainment experience.
Kaufman’s approach to comedy and performance art was to create a reality that felt genuine, much like kayfabe in wrestling. He maintained character both on and off stage, leaving audiences perpetually uncertain about what was real and what was performance. This method aligns with Barthes’ notion of cultural myths, where the line between reality and constructed narratives is deliberately obscured.
Kayfabe in Postmodernist Heterotopic Society
Postmodernism challenges traditional narratives and structures, emphasizing the fluidity of meaning and the constructed nature of reality. Heterotopia, a concept introduced by Michel Foucault, refers to spaces that exist outside of regular societal norms, where alternate realities or truths coexist. In today’s postmodernist heterotopic society, kayfabe becomes increasingly relevant as the lines between reality and fiction blur.
Kayfabe and Roland Barthes
Roland Barthes, a French literary theorist and philosopher, explored the nature of signs and symbols in culture. His seminal work, “Mythologies,” delves into how everyday objects and events are imbued with cultural meaning. Barthes argued that these cultural myths shape our perception of reality, often masking the true nature of things.
Kayfabe as a Cultural Myth — Barthes’ theory helps us understand kayfabe as a cultural myth. In professional wrestling, kayfabe creates a mythic narrative where wrestlers embody archetypal characters, and their scripted battles reflect larger-than-life conflicts. The audience suspends disbelief, engaging with the mythos as if it were real, despite knowing on some level that it is fabricated. This duality is central to Barthes’ idea of how myths function in society, presenting a constructed reality that is accepted and consumed as genuine.
Kayfabe in Postmodernist Heterotopic Society
Postmodernism challenges traditional narratives and structures, emphasizing the fluidity of meaning and the constructed nature of reality. Heterotopia, a concept introduced by Michel Foucault, refers to spaces that exist outside of regular societal norms, where alternate realities or truths coexist. In today’s postmodernist heterotopic society, kayfabe becomes increasingly relevant as the lines between reality and fiction blur.
Kayfabe in Media and Politics — In the contemporary world, kayfabe extends beyond entertainment into media and politics. News media and political rhetoric often create narratives that, while rooted in fact, are shaped to evoke particular emotions or reactions. These narratives are consumed by the public as truths, despite their constructed nature. This phenomenon can be seen in the way political figures maintain certain personas or how media outlets frame stories to fit specific agendas.
Social Media and Personal Branding — Social media platforms are modern arenas for kayfabe, where individuals curate their identities and lives to present an idealized version of reality. Influencers and celebrities often engage in performative authenticity, crafting personas that appear genuine but are meticulously planned and executed. The audience, aware of the performative aspect, still engages with and validates these constructed identities.
Corporate and Professional Environments — In workplaces, kayfabe manifests in corporate cultures and professional roles. Employees and managers may adopt certain behaviors and attitudes that align with the company’s values or expectations, even if these do not reflect their true selves. This performative aspect maintains the facade of a cohesive and aligned organizational culture, similar to how wrestlers uphold kayfabe to preserve the integrity of the narrative.
Floyd’s on Clark
At Floyd’s 99, the concept of kayfabe is evident in the way staff and management maintain the illusion of competence and professionalism, despite underlying flaws. Patrick’s performance of cutting hair without actually doing so, observed and tacitly endorsed by Scarlett and other staff, creates a constructed reality for the customer. The customer inbound call which managed to escalate instead of resolve issue demonstrates the real dissonance.
Here kayfabe extends to Isaac’s managerial “customer service”response, where the façade of accountability and customer care is maintained for show, despite the failure to address the actual problem.
In this context, Floyd’s operates as a heterotopic space where the constructed reality of competent service and customer satisfaction coexists with the underlying dysfunction and performative acts. The customer, much like the audience of a wrestling match, is invited to engage with this constructed reality, even if it does not align with the truth.
Kayfabe, finds broader relevance in Roland Barthes’ theory of cultural myths and postmodernist heterotopic society. It highlights the performative and constructed nature of reality in various domains, from media and politics to social media and corporate environments.
Understanding that wrestling can take place at many levels allows us to critically engage with and navigate the blurred lines between reality and fiction in contemporary society. At Floyd’s 99, the maintenance of “their” reality by staff and management exemplifies how these constructs function in real-world settings, shaping customer perceptions and experiences.
