Puppets as a Means of Social Expression

A puppet represents life without being alive, thus, it is a fitting and powerful tool for the projection of life experiences. When life experiences are projected onto a puppet, it becomes a visual manifestation of empathy and a visual representation of real situations. Such a puppet allows the puppeteer and the audience an opportunity to step back and observe and experience the world of the puppet. It enables them to explore dilemmas, ask questions, research issues, and hopefully attain wider horizons of understanding of self and others. In this way, puppetry can be a dynamic means of social expression.

Large puppets have often been used as instruments of social protest. Ethnic puppet productions highlight history and customs. Sometimes this is visible by looking past the plot line and observing the milieu and behaviors in the puppet production. When a person creates a puppet, he personifies it with elements that emanate from within his self. This can lead to social expression.

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