Stigma in Easy a There

Stigma in Easy a

There are a number of contradictory stigmas in Will Gluck's Easy a, which result from the two opposing belief systems that rule the film's setting, Ojai High School. It is true that cuius regio, eius religio (whose realm, his religion) -- and the case is in point here: there is the Protestant Christian governing body, essentially led by Marianne; and then there is the liberal establishment, essentially led by the "popular" crowd. The former sees sexual promiscuity or immorality as a stigma; the latter sees the lack of heterosexual activity as a stigma. Where the two finally merge, however, into one condemning viewpoint is with the condemnation of infidelity (either to truth or to one's spouse) and the spread of disease (which may be seen as a corollary to the first). The film portrays a number of characters, each of whom suffers from at least one of these stigmas in the eyes of at least one of these groups. This paper will analyze the characters and their stigmas and show the trajectory of their moral career paths.

As Erving Goffman notes, "The Greeks, who were apparently strong on visual aids, originated the term stigma to refer to bodily signs designed to expose something unusual and bad about the moral status of the signifier" (11). According to this definition, the stigma most literally presented in the film is that of Olive Penderghast, who voluntarily wears the letter "A" (announcing her kinship to Hawthorne's Hester Prynne) in an effort to stymie criticism of her moral status. She begins the film as a normal (with a degree of anonymity), but by showing that she does not care what Marianne's tribe thinks of her, she loses her anonymity and her normalcy. Indeed, by setting herself against the idea of "normalcy," she imagines the harassment will lose its flavor for those who point fingers. In other words, she hopes to undermine the stigma (of sexual immorality) by proudly embracing the stigma. Hers is a character stigma, foisted upon her by the Protestant tribe.

Olive is restored to normalcy by returning to the truth. The hidden standard of actual normalcy in the film is brought into relief by Todd (who represents Goffman's normal). Todd is neither rash in his judgments nor naive. He neither condones nor disapproves of the supposed promiscuity -- but that is because he does not believe the rumors are true. (He is aware of Olive's tendency to lie). Thus, the movie gives legitimacy to high and low grounds of moral behavior. Todd embraces Olive once she confesses her lies: the stigma of dishonesty is erased. But the stigma issues of promiscuity vs. lack of sexual activity are never clearly resolved. They remain so long as the opposing tribes remain. Olive and Todd, however, ride off into the sunset (where it is supposed they may be preserved from either tribe and perhaps establish their own).

Like Olive, her friend Brandon also suffers from a stigma, but his is that of being gay. He does not engage in normative heterosexual activity and is bullied by the sexually liberated tribe. By pretending to have sex with Olive, he is granted legitimacy (at least in the eyes of the liberated tribe; in the eyes of the Protestant tribe, he simply helps to further undue Olive's reputation). Brandon's is a tribal stigma, for he is associated with a backwards tribe (the homosexual community). He employs the covering strategy to ease his contact with others in social settings. Olive assists his covering by pretending to sleep with him. She, of course, cannot cover her own stigma -- thus she tries to pass with it.

Marianne embraces the gestalt of disability, since she perceives all those who fall below her moral standard as being blind and deaf -- which causes her to shout all the more loudly. But Olive is not deaf nor blind: she merely does not consent to Marianne's type of "normalcy," so she shouts back just as loudly by boldly embracing her "A."

Olive's tactic, however, is accompanied by "indeeperism" -- that is, the more the pressure builds (and the more her stigma grows on both sides of the fence), the more she is prevented from disclosing techniques. Her lies build until her friendships are threatened. Even then she finds it difficult to overcome her stigma, since those who have helped her earn it refuse to testify to its illegitimacy (since they, of course, have benefited from it). Olive develops a case of away syndrome as she is more and more abandoned by both communities and forced to withdraw into herself (whereupon she resolves to come clean by telling the truth).

Thus a game between the "discredited" and the "discreditable" ensues (Goffman 57). Olive has been discredited by supposed normals, but in reality, she can easily discredit the discreditable who are only passing as normals (such as Mrs. Griffith, Marianne whose relationship with Micah, who has contracted chlamydia from Mrs. Griffith, is not what it appears).

To do so, Olive seeks support from her "own" as well as from the "wise." Todd best represents her own rather than her friend Rhiannon (whose parents are too eccentric to be called normal) and who herself abandons Olive to join the tribe of Marianne. Todd's normalcy does not permit him to be duped by Olive's stigma and thus he is able to support her by reminding her of who she is (really a normal, with a tendency to lie). Olive's support from the "wise" comes from her own mother, who gives her some friendly encouragement, which in turn leads to Olive's plan to confess all.

By confessing her sins (which are not those of her perceived stigma at all), she is able to realign her moral career with that which is normal. Only then is she truly able to shed the stigma which Marianne's tribe and the liberal tribe have placed on her. The moral career of the other characters, however, does not stand up so well. Mrs. Griffith is exposed as a cheat and Marianne is discredited as a fool. Rhiannon is both forgiven and asked for forgiveness by Olive, and so her moral career may be expected to return to a degree of normalcy as well (after its own departure into the Puritanism). Brandon's moral career is never really situated clearly, as he departs from the scene altogether; but it thus hints at the possibility of his suffering badly from away syndrome despite his rise in popularity. That he runs off with Marianne's boyfriend is further evidence of his inability to hold onto his feigned "normalcy," which is perhaps the reason for his departure.