Masking and invisibility are both synonymous and different terms displayed throughout William Shakespeare’s Othello, The Spook Who Sat by the Door by Sam Greenlee, and Peggy McIntosh’s article “White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack”. At the beginning of this course, I thought masking and invisibility were two very unlike expressions. I assumed they only had to do with physical aspects such as a clown masking their face with make-up or a child hiding behind a tree thinking they are invisible. However, as noted from these readings, I found that masking and invisibility are more similar than not and have more to do with concealing emotions and not behaving the same in different situations. This may be due to one’s own conscious efforts to cover up behavior, feelings, or ideas or being taught and trained to ignore them. Invisibility is not being able to be seen and is caused by the masking of feelings, ideas, etc. Masking, on the other hand, is the act of covering up those feelings or behavior.
In Shakespeare’s Othello, Iago uses masking and invisibility to hide his true self. He has an almost chameleon-like quality that he uses to conform to the environment he is in. The characters all know different sides of Iago because he puts on a certain mask for each of them. His true self is invisible to others around him because he chooses to mask it. He pretends to be Othello’s close and personal confidante, all the while plotting to ruin his life. He uses Roderigo and Desdemona as pawns to fulfill his master plan. He even wears a mask for his wife, Emilia. When Othello repeats what Iago told him she immediately answers, “My husband?” in shock. She finally becomes aware he is lying. Iago’s motives become clear to us throughout Othello. His jealousy and anger drove him to kill, lie, and deceive. However, as a result of his masking, his character remains invisible and unknown to the characters of the story.
In “White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack”, Peggy McIntosh argues white people are unaware of their advantages in today’s society. In her essay, she claims; “…whites are carefully taught not to recognize white privilege, as males are taught not to recognize male privilege.” To me, this is a form of masking because white people are in denial about their status in America. McIntosh herself acknowledges her own feelings of masking of her own implanted racism when she comments, “I did not see myself as a racist because I was taught to recognize racism only in individual acts of meanness by members of my own group…” McIntosh’s masking made her feelings of racism remain unnoticed and invisible. She notes that this was not her fault, but because of society and the way she was raised.
Sam Greenlee’s character, Dan Freeman, in The Spook Who Say By the Door uses masking to put on a façade, as does Iago from Othello. Both his mask and his honest self are hidden from view. Freeman’s invisibly is noted when the director comments, “He has a way of fading into the background. You can’t remember his face, or what he looks like…” This was paradoxical because even though Freeman was masking his identity at the time the comment was made, he was still invisible to those around him. Freeman has various types of masks similar to Iago, but his are more distinct from eachother. One such mask he uses is in the beginning when he plays the token black stereotype at the all white CIA office. In order to fit his “role”, he painstakingly goes down to every miniscule detail such as visiting his friend’s dental office to have his cap replaced with one with a gold edge around it. He gives the driver a hard time and feels a bit of remorse but decides, “…there was no other way, the cover had to be complete…” Another mask Freeman uses is as a social worker with the agency in Chicago. His new mask is middle-class educated black man and he “…slipped on his cover like a tailored suit…until it was perfect and every part of him, except a part of his mind would not be touched…” Freeman covers his identity well and makes sure it is kept invisible from the characters of the story. Dan Freeman uses masking and invisibility to become the person others want him to be while planning his own scheme and keeping his real emotions buried.
Masking and invisibility are two important themes conveyed in these works in different ways but inherently providing the same meaning. Masking involves veiling one’s feelings with another mask of deception or with ignorance all the while making one’s own true emotions invisible to others and perhaps maybe oneself. Iago, McIntosh, and Freeman all used a mask, whether it was consciously or not, for good or not, while keeping the person that is inside of them invisible.
