NROP: The hidden faces of masked celebrities – a personal tale.

Disclaimer: By no means do I consider myself a celebrity. It is just how the title worked out.

I have been meaning to write this post for a couple of weeks now, but I would find something I was more passionate about, and so I wrote about that instead. However, more and more people question my reasoning for a hidden identity, plus, I saw a post about masks and mental health in my Reader this morning. I took all of that as a sign and so I came to a conclusion that now is a great time to share this piece with you.

A little over a month ago, while driving home from work, I saw a billboard advertising “The Masked Singer”. “Coming soon” the poster said. My first thought was “another Sia”. For those of you who do not who Sia is – she is an Australian singer, songwriter (and much more) , who performs with her face covered. Usually her identity is hidden by a wig, a hairpiece, or headgear. That has not always been the case for her. Even though she has been making music since the late 90s, she started hiding her face in the year of 2010, after a fan walked up to her and asked her for a photo, while Sia’s friend was telling the artist about her cancer diagnosis. We have seen her face since. We know who she is now. But for a moment, everyone was trying to figure out who she was. I think that a big part of her success is the hidden identity. If you would like to read about Sia’s reasons for keeping her face hidden, click here.

Before seeing the advertisement for “The Masked Singer”, I also came across “The Festival” – a British comedy, in which two guys go to a musical festival because one of them needs to forget about his ex-girlfriend, while the other one wants to meet his hero – DJ Hammerhead. The EDM superstar wears a … you guessed it! – a hammerhead shark mask. Yes, the fan gets to meet his guru, gets to know his identity, and then gets to wear the mask himself during an impromptu performance.

I have to admit that it was rather peculiar to me to watch a movie with a masked artist and then see a billboard with … a masked artist. I thought that the whole hidden identity thing was over and done with since Sia’s face had been revealed. Apparently not.

It was my intention to look up “The Masked Singer”, but somehow it slipped my mind until a couple of weeks later, I stumbled upon an article in the news about it. It turned out that “The Masked Singer” was not a single performer, but a TV show with 12 masked artists. How does it work? It started off with 12 celebrities, whose identities are obscured by a full on costume (mask and outfit). As of today, we are down to 6 competitors left. During each episode, different participants are paired in “sing offs”, and are judged by a panel of judges. Some singers are labeled as “safe” after their performances, while others are at risk of elimination. The objective of this show is for the judges and the viewers to figure out who is hiding behind the mask. Every episode ends with one artist being eliminated, and therefore – having to take their mask off and reveal their identity. The competitors include(ed): Alien, Bee, Lion, Monster, Peacock, Rabbit, Raven, Unicorn, Poodle, Deer, Pineapple, Hippo.

For research purposes, of course, I have watched one of the episodes. My opinion is that it is utterly ridiculous. It is a singing competition in which celebrities, who are not professional singers (at least those who have been revealed so far) perform to impress the judges and the audience. I am not sure what the prize is. Maybe it is all just about having fun and promoting one self. I am not sure. A second season has already been announced, which means that this show is popular enough. This show is the American response to the Korean “The King of Mask Singer”, which starred Ryan Reynolds, as I find out.

It seems to me like in order to get more Likes, more views, more subscribers, etc., one has to let the audience learn everything about them – what they look like, what they eat, what their workout routine is, etc. I have been told that people have to relate, and a person revealing a lot about themselves is more personable. Even though that is not what speaks to me, I understand that it does work for many people.

Like Sia, privacy is an important thing to me. I want to be able to go out in public without being seen as “Goldie”. I like being multidimensional.

When I chose anonymity, it was not my desire to create intrigue and have people speculate about my identity. However, I must admit that it is a fun byproduct, and it tickles my fancy when various people argue about who I am.

The main reason behind me being as minimalistic as can be is to avoid any sort of prejudice. As you well know, I blog about various things that are often seen as controversial. I keep a mask on not because I am afraid to speak up. It is because I want people to see/ hear what I write and not be able to use my looks to justify their perception of things. In the outside world, I have often heard: “Well, of course you think that because you are x, y and z”, or “You have no idea about this, because you are not x, y, and z”.

Whether we like it or not, we all judge one another. I am not trying to argue that we should not do that. In fact, I think there are instances in correctly assessing a person can be beneficial. However, in today’s tumultuous world, I feel like there should be more objective conversation, without unnecessary assumptions.

While I do hide some outside traits of mine, I am more than revealing about my personality. Everyone seems to have an idea of who I am, or whom I am not. I do not plan to confirm, or deny anything, because while people might think that I say x, y, z because I am a, b, c, they do not know that for sure. It is my hope that it makes you curious, dear Reader. Not necessarily curious about my identity, but about the message behind the words. Maybe, next time you talk to a stranger you will listen to what they have to say, instead of looking at them for justification of what they are saying.

Have you seen “The Masked Singer”?

Why do you think celebrities hide their identities?

How revealing are you online?

What do you think about me trying to hold onto my “mask”?

Do you ever wear a mask? If so, what is your reasoning behind it?

Stay golden,

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