Self-Preservation Techniques and New Cultural Outlook in Pandemic Era Through Costume Design


Published in AKSUJEL - June, 2024

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Abstract

The tension of pandemic outbreak in the world brought about new cultural outlook and practically exposed man’s helplessness in the society and ultimately in the hand of nature. Interestingly, in the various communities, the choice to survive seems to have come to conform to the circumstances and nature of the threat in situations of natural outbreak of disasters. The Covid-19 threats demonstrated that humans must always evolve a mechanism in culture and lifestyle to cope and to survive. Premised on Augusto Boal’s Theatre of the Oppressed in a qualitative research design, this paper discusses the various techniques for self-preservation deployed by costume designers to curtail Covid-19 thrusts in the society. Findings show that many victims of Covid-19 refused to conform to dressing order but inversely would pay attention to their physical outlook despite the scare of death. The contemporary mankind tend to pay more attention to appearance than to survival even at the cost of extreme danger of infection as illustrated by the resistance of wearing face masks. The Paper concludes that creative masks and bodily gears induce many people to adhere to self-preservation directives than to government directives or threats. Government directives should be made to follow the popular will through creativity and costume strategies towards the preservation of lives and promotion of innovativeness in the society. The need to conform to the rhythm of bodily gears adds to engender conforming as safety net in moments of hazardous outbreaks in the society

Keywords: Self-Preservation Techniques Covid-19 Pandemic Costume-Design Appeal

Cataloging & Classification: Bi-annually , Vol.5(1) pp. 228-240

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