We Kill the Lights and Put on a Show: Applying Goffman’s Dramaturgical Theory to Columbine

• In Event: Construction, Management, and Consequences of Deviant Identities

Abstract

Across the country, we continue to see several mass school shootings. One of the most memorable of which occurred at Columbine High School in April 1999. Although many have examined this and other school shootings from a variety of theoretical perspectives, few have applied sociological perspectives, such as Goffman’s (1959) dramaturgical theory, in an attempt to explain the offenders’ behaviors. This paper revisits Columbine through an examination of the offenders, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, using Goffman’s (1959) perspective that everyone plays various social roles to examine how they constructed their identities and presented various selves within social interaction. This analysis provides a perspective of how these offenders created and constructed multiple selves, and presented these in certain social settings (i.e., good son with family, callous murderer during Columbine). Finally, this paper will also investigate how this can be applied to help prevent the next school shooting by examining how these presented selves could lead to missed “red flags” and/or encourage others to take on the persona of a “school shooter”.

Author

• Veronyka James, Shenandoah University