Presentation vs reality

What we perceive something to be may not always be what we expect as idealism is always preferred over reality. Now to define what I mean by differentiating the two ideas, presentation, I think, refers to the perception of a subject by outsiders while reality is the actual practicality of this subject ignoring how it is viewed. One example I think encompasses this dual identity well is Hans from the Disney animation film 'Frozen'. He is a prince of a foreign land who meets with the protagonist Anna and seem to share many interests with each other. This can be further displayed by the progression of the story of Anna seeking a 'true loves kiss' from Hans to save herself from an ill fate. We come to later learn though that Hans was using Anna for the sake of personal gain in politics and what we presented himself as was in order to manipulate the princess and take advantage of them. Now, going on, I want to explore, just like in this example, the implications and motivations behind such a disperse projection and learn more about the human psyche which I plan to do in this essay.

First, I would like to delve into the reasons one would display themselves as an untrue version of who they actually are. Hans as mentioned earlier is one who strives for political gain and a grander position of power. I think that when it comes to these selfish ideals, an untrue projection of oneself can be seen as evil as you take others down to boost yourself up. As this may be the case, one has to to also understand why such selfish gain is needed in the first place. For example, what if Hans was doing this to help better the standard of living for people in his own homeland and tries to take advantage of another land to gain power. In this case is it moral? Going back to the idea of hiding intention, would it be the right thing, in this case, to truthfully give these evil intentions knowing that no fruits will bear from it? I think that with the intention of someone being selfish, the altering of reality can be manipulative to the victims for sure, though, one must understand the true reasons that someone tries and takes advantage of someone as this can come from good intentions bearing external costs to another party. I wish to make sure that intentions are fully understood before a reason is classified as 'selfish' and learn more about incentives for evil actions.

Just as Diogenes makes fun of Plato who labeled humans as 'featherless bipeds', I think that there can be some loopholes in the understanding of the hidden personality people hide behind. At what point is one pretending to be somewhat different? For example, etiquette is something that is seen throughout societies to display respect to others but is it the actual personality of someone? I usually show respect to my elders and those of seniority in position (I think I do at least), though when I am with my friends I act like a totally different person. In this case I am changing who I am based on the person I am interacting with and therefore ponder if what I am doing is hiding who I truly am. Personally, when dissecting this dilemma, it is a truth that I have the intention of displaying my respects to others though it is also a truth that I act differently towards them, so is being wild to some and respectful to others a true display of who I want to be? As with many topics of identity, there is a large grey area defining what is what, and I think in this case, separating the appearance from the truth is just as grey. What may be a true display of myself to one person can be a totally different person to another, according to the dilemma that I formed above where it is barely differentiable to tell, even to oneself whether they are true to themselves.

Now I want to end reflecting on the extent people change to conform to their environments and the morality of it. Have you ever met a friend after so long and realize how differently they have changed? I think there is an extent that people will go to become a more accepted member a of a community. Someone becoming more rowdy after joining a group of hoodlums could be a show of displaying someone you are not, however, as mentioned before, there is a thin line between truth and perceived truth and one acting out of reluctancy could soon be acting out of pleasure. Is it wrong to adapt to your environment and become socially accepted. No one wants to be left alone and is it worth acting like someone different to become accepted by others. To me, I think that before being accepted by a community, one must look into themselves and see what kind of person they desire to be. Becoming accepted by oneself should come before anything and understanding that we are living our own individual lives and must live for ourselves is a truth in this world that we must come to terms with. So, morally speaking, no, I do not think it is right to conform to others before accepting who you want to be yourself and changing yourself for the better.

To end, I feel that it is natural to hide behind a mask as it is normal to fear others' reactions to who you really are, but without others knowing, it is impossible for each other to understand the true value of the bonds we form. I want to end by stating that I feel that I act different to others and that I may act differently to others sometimes to try and get and upper hand at anything I can. I realize this, and after writing this essay, I can reflect on my actions and understand to be me before someone I am not. Remember, stay true to yourself before others and have a great day!