Six years ago, the face mask was a totem of mystery, reserved for hospitals, costumes and superheroes. Then Covid made medical masks ubiquitous. Now, once again, masks are everywhere — but for very different reasons. Government agents wear them while searching for undocumented immigrants. Protesters shield their identity from doxxing or prosecution.

In can be a discomfiting image, especially as law enforcement agents obscure their faces. Neck gaiters or scarves cover the mouth and the nose. Baseball caps or helmets hide the crown of the head, and shades shroud the eyes. Once they are anonymous, officers round up their immigration targets. Lawmakers in Congress and in several blue states have introduced bills to prohibit the agents from hiding their faces while doing their jobs.

In other words, masks can put accountability and privacy on a collision course. Today’s newsletter is about the role masks play in our culture.

Power

A mask is the rare accessory that is both functional and fantastical. It is a multilayered repository of meaning that stretches across centuries and cultures. Masks were beloved in ancient Greek theater and medieval Japanese dance. Outlaws and revelers (on Halloween, Guy Fawkes Night) use them. So do the rappers Ayleo and Mateo Bowles. Recently, Glenn Martens put every model in his couture show for Maison Margiela in a mask.

Masks turn people into archetypes, said Darren Fisher, a senior lecturer in comic and concept art at the University for the Creative Arts in Britain. And those archetypes are rooted in history, religion, art, politics and Hollywood.