The Metropolis And Mental Life: Georg Simmel And Erving Goffman

Georg Simmel and Erving Goffman were influential figures who analysed human experience from a micro-sociological perspective. They examined various social phenomena and derived theories (Davis,1997:372) such as the ‘Blasé attitude’ (Simmel,1903:14), and the ‘Dramaturgical perspective’ (Goffman,1969:153-154). Simmel and Goffman both agreed that the minute aspect of social life are crucial bonds in maintaining the functioning of a society as it impinges on personal experiences (Davis,1997:376). Their ideas, which portrayed the desperate need to maintain individuality (Simmel,1903:11) against the social constraints present in human interactions (Goffman,1969:153), are of significance to the understanding of clothing and fashion in terms of preserving
Simmel (1903:11-12) argued that the habitual stimulation of the human mind habitually contrasts current and past impressions, and that the objective diversity in metropolises generated an overstimulating effect on the nerves. Since cities utilise money and science in everyday interactions, the quality of emotion shifted to quantitative mental dominance, altering the mental capacity of individuals towards the ‘least sensitive depth of personality’ (Simmel,1903:11-19). Such alterations created a ‘blasé attitude’ in individuals, ultimately leading to unresponsiveness towards objects around them. In addition, the ‘fleeting interactions’ in metropolis state also causes a reduction in face to face communication, and increasing suspicion towards one another (Simmel,1903:13-14). Owing to the domination of intellect, the link between money, relation, fashion and communication is established. Money levels out all objects in the metropolis with distinctions varying only according to individuals’ purchasing power and their ability to achieve wealth (Simmel,1903:15). This allows the mind to bypass the overstimulating effect of metropolis state and concentrate on achieving objective goals. According to Nelissen and Meijers (2010:343-355), wearing and displaying goods, especially luxurious products, enhances one’s social status, breaks down barrier of temporal relations, and potentially engender beneficial social interactions. This in turn, increases the trustworthiness of an individual (Nelissen & Meijers,2010:352-355). Simmel (1957:545) therefore argued in his article on ‘Fashion’ that the upper class creates fashion to distinct themselves from the lower strata of the society. This is prevalent in our current context whereby wealth is displayed through branded fashionable items with unique styles and colours. The significance of clothes and fashion in