Society of Divas
I just watched “The Reunion: Part 1” of Bravo’s awesome reality show The Real Housewives of New Jersey. Since I was born and raised in a town not far from where the ladies reside, I’ve been a loyal fan of the show since it first aired a little more than a year ago. I’m not going to spoil the episode by recapping — I just wanted to say how interested I am in the over-the-top personalities that were displayed. The ladies definitely had their diva moments this evening.
It reminded me of an article I read last Friday on ARTINFO.com regarding a new exhibition at the Centre National du Costume de Scène in Moulins, France. Titled “Vestiaire de Divas: De Maria Callas à Dalida” (“The Divas’ Closet: From Maria Callas to Dalida”), the show is displaying costume gowns of celebrated opera divas. I always forget that our notion of ‘diva’ had its roots in opera.
I like the idea that is brought up at the end of the article by Maurizio Galante, one of the show’s organizers. He states that the diva is “a response to the collective imagination… and ends up representing something or someone that doesn’t really exist.”
I know the ladies of TRHNJ definitely exist—a friend of mine met one of them at a book signing in my hometown. But, I am super fascinated by the idea that the television character of Caroline, or Danielle, or Teresa, or Jacqueline, or Dina, could be fictional! The way that Bravo painted each character could very well be a response to the massive response from a loyal and participatory television audience. With Bravo surveys online and via text messages regarding “who is your favorite housewife” or “who would you want as your mother,” the production company could just be collecting data to help describe the ideal Caroline or Danielle that viewers want to tune in to see. Again, the idea of co-authorship — I love it!
This all makes me think about the Society of 23. Should I begin collecting my own kind of data regarding the construction of the brothers’ identities? In fact, I already do, albeit skewed from my own perspective on American culture. And that harks back to Maurizio’s comment. The Society of 23 represents something that doesn’t really exist, but by being present as art in our lives, you better believe its going to have some existential effect.
