A Summary & Analysis of Geertz's Deep Play

      As Americans, we do not necessarily hear about the Balinese nor even know much about their culture at all. Geertz chooses to explore this culture not expecting to learn much at all, because of their closed off attitudes, but indeed becomes welcomed into the community soon enough to be able to observe the strange pastimes the Balinese men partake in.

     It is interesting to note the connection between the Balinese male and his rooster. He will pamper it as if it was his child and spend so much time with it even though the Balinese want to keep away from animal acts or acting animal like that they will eat quickly if in public and are embarrassed to do any acts similar to those that animals do. Throughout the passage, Geertz explains the underlying theme and motif for the cockfights- they are a way for the men to express their masculinity. Instead of playing sports like we do in America, the Balinese would find this much too like animal behavior and instead have these roosters fight for them.

This is almost opposite to how we think as Americans but maybe they are getting somewhere. Wouldn’t it be more humane to have animals like roosters, fight for us rather than us humans getting hurt and fighting each other? We go through so much work to make sure that there are animal rights and that animals are treated right but in the same way there is still small forms of slavery in the world and, in a way that is much worse. In no way am I against animal rights, I personally love all animals, but in terms of this argument perhaps expressing our animal-like behaviors: anger, masculinity, power, pride and the rest of the motives Geertz mentions, would be to our advantage through something like cockfighting.  

So, in the final analysis, it can be argued that Geertz uses the Deep Play to express a kind of acceptance of the cockfighting opposed to what the Balinese government and police might believe. Maybe Geertz is claiming that something like cockfighting is positive for a society; it brings about happiness, culture, community, and is in fact, a safer way to express our emotions contrasting to how it might sound at first.