Adopt-A-Personality

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I've been wondering this for a while, but does anyone else ever copy/impersonate the personality of someone from a movie, tv show, book, game, etc. to better cope in social situations? I've found it helpful at times, but for some reason I can't keep at it for too long before anxiety sets in and I revert back to my original, quiet self.

Wolverine.

On more than one occasion I have found myself unconsciously mimicking Piper from Charmed.

I mimic accents, but not personalities. My own is too strong to allow that. I know exactly who I am and what I want and while different books will put me in different moods--I'm always in an introspective mood after I've been reading philosophy--I cannot recall any time that I felt like imitating anyone else. (That is not counting acting, which I've done and enjoyed a few times, in a minor way.)

As a child, I did so to the extent that I would not answer to my own name. As a teenager/young adult, I tried to impersonate strong-silent type characters, mainly from action flicks and westerns. At this point, I have sublimated these into a few similar personas that I put on for myself, based on the social setting.

Yes, and it's always the rock star.

I don't really adopt a personality but I use a personality as a way to measure whether or not something I did or said was socially acceptable. The personality I usually use is Goldie Hawn. The way I do this is to run a recent experience through my mind using Goldie in the place of myself. I put her in the same social setting that I was in and let her say whatever it was I said, or do whatever it was that I did and which I am wondering or worrying about. I have found that Goldie can do or say just about anything and get away with it. This makes me feel better and then I can stop worrying about it. Also, I use the method of "What would Goldie do?" in certain situations before hand when I'm facing a new or difficult situation. So in that sense, yes, I guess I do use her as someone to guide me through the maze of social interaction. But when I am in the actual moment of the situation I am fully present as myself.

Occasionally I will use another personality, if the situation calls for a very dignified, self-possessed/composed and highly respected persona. Carl Jung, Indira Gandhi, Jean Kennedy Smith, William James, Patti Smith, Geranomo, Julian of Norwich, Chief Sitting Bull, Susan Sarandon. You know. Whatever the occasion calls for.

Last edited by cosmiccat on 16 Oct 2009, 7:49 pm, edited 1 time in total.

I have never done this.

If I'm going to make an advance, I usually quote a recent comedy (Like Ron Burgundy's "I wanna be on you" line from Anchorman), so I get the message across that I find someone attractive, while at the same time getting a laugh. That's as far as it goes, though.

Athena, Goddess of War....and Peace, interestingly.

War AND Peace? That is interesting, I didn't know that before.

Wiki time!

No.

Though I may adopt a different voice mid-sentence when quoting someone.

pat2rome, I love your siggy! Truer words were never spoken.

Thanks! I'm assuming you know the song it's kind of from. I thought it was pretty clever, glad to see I'm not the only one.

I have done this...not consciously though....too dense to explain right now...

I am a bit of a movie freak and tend to use 'movie lines' in my 'normal speech'.

I also have the habit of blurting movie lines that are less than politically correct.

Denzell Washington uses a very politically incorrect racial phrase, over and over, in the move 'Training Day'.

He can get away with it in the same way a Jewish comedian can tell Jewish jokes.

This phrase is also in VERY common usage in the Black/African American community (not sure which is currently the most proper term to use)

I sometimes use this phrase with the few people who know me reasonably well; mostly because I love Denzell's delivery (and it sounds cool) but also because it seems that the phrase can be used in place of a surprisingly large number of phrases, which I find fascinating.

Come to think of it, this is strangely similar to Rainman's obsession with 'Who's on first' although he had a lot more to remember than my two words.

Yes, this is quite weird.