Acting Naturally Unnaturally: The Performative Nature of Authenticity in Contemporary Popular Music

摘要

The notion of authenticity is ubiquitous in discussions of performance and popular culture. This paper examines the ways in which expectations of authenticity are produced through the performance and the cultural and historical context from which that performance emerges. Specifically, the essay works to interrogate issues of self-reflection and self-awareness in musical performance and the ways in which those concepts work to constitute authenticity through performance. Ultimately, the essay demonstrates the ways in which the ostensible distinction between an authentic performance and a self-consciously artificial performance is an effect of specific performance practices.