Mimetic Contagion
In mimetic theory, mimetic contagion refers to the rapid and spontaneous spread of mimetic desires through a society. Mimetic desires may begin small, but as they grow they gain momentum. Mimetic desire leads to mimetic rivalry, which leads to scandal, increasing levels of violence, then scapegoating, and later rationalization. As each stage progresses to the next, the force of desire becomes more contagious. In this way, mimetic desire is not only social: it is viral. A simple example will illustrate mimetic contagion: Say there are two high school boys, John and Robert, who are interested in asking the same girl out. At lunch, they confront each other in the cafeteria, and the conversation quickly turns south. One throws a fist. Then the other. A fight breaks out. Suddenly John’s friends come to his assistance and Robert’s friends come to his assistance, and now there are a dozen guys throwing punches in the middle. The fight gets bigger. The circle expands. As people gather closer to watch the fight, the cafeteria inevitably gets louder and rowdier from the commotion. And those who are standing closest to the fight inevitably get pulled in. Mimetic contagion is kind of like that. The initial desire and the effects of rivalrous desire escalate and ripple outward, increasing in violence until something or someone (a scapegoat) assumes the blame for the violence. As in the cafeteria example above, once the desire (or fight) has reached the contagion level, it is not always possible to trace it back to its root cause. Mimetic desire is constantly happening, and the point is not to be able to diagnose how or why it began but to be acutely aware of its power. Wherever there is an outbreak of social concern, look for a fresh case of mimetic contagion.
Dan Wang
Dan Wang is an interesting cat. He is the author of this excellent piece called “College As An Incubator of Girardian Terror,” detailing the way that mimetic rivalry heats up in the environment of a college campus. Dan is a graduate of the University of Rochester, after nearly getting kicked out and negotiating his way back in. He now works for Gavekal Dragonomics, a global macro research firm based in Hong Kong and Beijing. The books that he likes the best is an excellent account. His analysis of the hit show Big Little Lies shows his acute insight into mimetic theory: “I haven’t watched much TV recently, but the new show I’ve liked best is *Big Little Lies* on HBO. Rich suburban moms, with desires mediated by their children, are incited towards violence against each other in gorgeous Monterey, California. Who can resist? The parents have drawn their battle lines by the first episode. The Girardian themes get heavier and heavier throughout the series, until the astonishing finale, which culminates in violent murder. Mimetic contagion races through the group of mothers, who battle over progressively higher stakes, until the show ends with communal violence against a mysterious outsider, the death of whom unites the community in frolicking harmony. The murder takes place during a masquerade-like public performance, over flames, alcohol, and music; the perpetrators each have a hand in violence; scenes of a beating are interspersed with the breaking of Pacific waves on rocks in all directions. That murder unites feuding groups under a lie, and previously lingering questions are papered over, without resolution nor need of one.” Check out Dan Wang
The weakening of the Sacrificial Mechanisms
In closed or insular societies, the sacrificial mechanism borne from scapegoating is meant to be a final act of justification for the society. The act of sacrifice becomes a powerful cathartic mechanism, meant to purge society of the violence created by mimetic conflict. However, this mechanism works most effectively when it occurs unconsciously, never been seen or considered as a ‘mechanism’. In modern, more diverse societies, the sacrificial mechanism is often weakened because the victim is exposed as a victim. This exposing, or unveiling, thereby dethrones the whole founding myth the sacrifice was to uphold, stripping it of its power.
Structural Innocence
Structural innocence refers to the reason why a victim is chosen in a scapegoating situation. There may be a superficial reason, and there may be a deeper, more substantial reason which is the real hinge of the scapegoating mechanism. For example, a young Latino student is expelled from school on grounds of sexual harassment. Although the student may be genuinely guilty for their misdemeanor, the expulsion may have little or nothing to do with the act itself, and much more to do with relieving interracial tension in the community. In that way the student could be understood as being ‘ Structural innocence’, a victim of a much larger, unseen, scapegoating conflict.
Unmasking the Powers
A sacrificial crisis derives its power and effectiveness from being masked or hidden. This power is prolonged through rituals – actions that reenact the crisis. The moment the sacrificial crisis is unmasked as a lie the power is lost.Rene Girard called stories that mask and prolong the original crisis, the myth. And he called stories that unmask the crisis, gospel. Myths are told from the perspective of the persecutors. Gospels are told from the perspective of the victim.
Principalities and Powers
Mimesis occurs on both a micro and a macro level. On a micro level, mimetic desire occurs between persons and groups of people. On a macro level, mimetic desire occurs within institutions, formal structures, and large governing bodies. Girard called these principalities and powers. Because of their macrostructure, principalities and powers have mimetic gravity – their mimetic influence is tremendous and compounds the larger they grow.
Ritual
Rituals, or rites, form part of what Rene Girard called the sacred order – the ways societies establish accord with the violence created by mimetic desire. As mimetic desire escalates into violence it spreads disturbance, uncertainty, and upheaval throughout the culture. This leads to scapegoating and eventually sacrifice. In order to commemorate these upheavals, and to prevent them from happening again, rites are instituted. Rites are actions imbued with meaning. They are highly symbolic and relate to an original myth that gives them meaning. Over time, rituals create a sense of stability for those who follow them. Through repetition and practice, they train society to face the violence, thus stripping the original even of its power or sacred order.
The Sacred Order
Rene Girard believed that scapegoating fulfilled a sacred role in society by establishing order and unity among the people. This order is both complex and delicate and depends on society’s “proximity” to the sacred – apparent in their rituals, myths, and taboos. Girard compared society’s relationship to the sacred with drawing close to a fire. Come too close and the fire can be dangerous. Too far, and the heat and light of the fire are diminished. So Girard believed that societies, both primitive and modern, needed the “tutelage” of the sacred to properly confront the violence they would encounter, without being destroyed by it.
The Divinization of the Victim
In extreme cases of mimesis, which end in the sacrificial crisis, the chosen victim will often become an object of intense fascination and reverence in the wake of its death. Society, having purged itself suddenly and definitely of the great violence, now looks upon the satisfying victim with a kind of wonder – being both attracted and reviled by it. The divinization of the victim is part of the sacred order that Rene Girard believed was inherent in all human cultures.
Post Hoc Rationalization
The natural consequence of mimetic violence is post hoc rationalization, the widespread acceptance and approval of the scapegoat and the scapegoating mechanism used. This act of rationalization is restorative. By justifying the violence imputed to the scapegoat, society washes its hands clean of ‘guilt’ in the matter. For time violence simmers. Balance is restored.