Can Progressive Metal’s Narrative Inform Social Stigma Theory? Pain of Salvation’s The Perfect Element Parts 1 and 2 as Examples
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Social stigma theory has re-emerged from the sixties as an important contribution to the understanding of how individuals relate to each other in social settings. From Erving Goffman’s symbolic interactionist approaches, to its more Foucauldian and Social Constructionist interpretations, the underlying shift in the field is the need to focus on the social structures that foster stigmatisation, without losing sight of its consequences on the daily lives of individuals. This balancing act between the micro (individual) and macro (socio-structural) levels of analysis has not come without its difficulties for theorists, researchers and policy makers. Interestingly, this same balancing act has been effortlessly navigated by some progressive metal artists through the use of story telling as part of concept albums that concentrate on individual’s interpretations of their circumstances and detailed explanations of the social world that creates them. One such example is the work of Sweden’s Pain of Salvation entitled The Perfect Element. After eight albums, this band continues to emerge as one of the most varied and constantly changing ensembles in the progressive metal arena. The Perfect Element Part 1, released in 2000, focuses on the individual experience of trauma of two characters throughout their lives. The Perfect Element Part 2, entitled Scarsick and released in 2007, shifts its focus to the socio structural issues that contribute to the experiences of individuals described in the first instalment of the project. Together, they address both the individual and social structures that can foster stigmatisation of individuals (both personal and societal), and therefore provide a valuable framework of how social health related stigma research can move forward with the integration of both perspectives.