Scott,+James.++Weapons+of+the+Weak

Scott, James. //Weapons of the Weak: Everyday Forms of Peasant Resistance //. Reprinted ed. New Haven: Yale UP, 1987.
Suggests that just because an oppressed people do not demonstrate resistance in their visible discourse doesn't mean that a hidden transcript doesn't exist in which the oppressed are resisting. His work contradicts the claims of “false consciousness” that is often associated with oppressed groups, stating that the performance of appealing to dominant groups is simply that – a performance – and occurs out of necessity for material well-being. Scott stresses that while these hidden transcripts do not necessarily change the material conditions of the oppressed group, they do have an impact on feelings of dignity and autonomy. Because reciprocal actions cannot be taken within the public sphere, the hidden transcript provides a fantasy or symbolic act of resistance, a script that can be rehearsed over and over again of how one might defy those in power. It is within the hidden transcript that acts of defiance and resistance are developed, built up, and gain enough pressure to be forced into public acts of defiance.