Clifford Geertz is known for his contributions to American anthropological studies, and is often considered one of the most prominent figures of symbolic anthropology. Symbolic anthropology is a particular branch of anthropological studies, denoting a specific methodology in which symbols are the anthropologist's primary focus. Put simply, symbolic anthropology posits that meaning can be found and understood through particular cultural symbols.
While this theory behind symbolic anthropology may seem obvious, it is in actuality a much more complex approach to the study of human behavior. Indeed, symbolic anthropology interrogates the relationship between an individual and their surroundings. One of the foundational tenets of symbolic anthropology is that "culture" stems from the way individuals interpret their own surroundings; "culture," therefore, is not an entity that can exist beyond individual consciousness and behavior.
In "Deep Play," Geertz puts these theories of symbolic anthropology on display. His symbol of focus is, of course, Balinese cockfighting, and over the course of the essay he argues how this cultural symbol is where one turns to understand both himself and his society. For Geertz, a Balinese cockfight represents a collision of the individual and the collective, as it puts Balinese social hierarchy on display in a high-stakes but temporary dramatization of the real world.
