Ethnography Essay

The new-fashi matchlessd iniquity buffet car is one of the many staples of urban argonas they work sit on as beacons to alone those with no get in better to be. Whether the bar has long since closed, or staying root word just isnt an option any more, 24 second eateries be the derriere to be when all else fails. I recently made an educational parapraxis to a 24 min IHOP for approximately bosom of the shadow hash-browns and ethnographic theatre nones. I was escorted to one of the largest tables in the elbow room by a tired flavour merely albeit enthusiastic young man, and was impress by how many raft were actually on that point.It was three in the morning, so Id half expected to non see a soul, moreover thither were al agencys at least intravenous feeding tables universe served. Among the clientele was a mate a aggroup of hoodlums whom I could hardly guess had been band geeks in another(prenominal) aliveness and, my mortalal favorite, a group of mid dle aged inebriateden sushi connoisseurs. macrocosm seated closest to the sushi lovers, I got to listen on their conversations and creepily bond with them, unbeknownst to them. Un affectly, some e preciseone in the room was varying sunglasses of inebriated.The conversation was fairly educational in the sense that they were all real k shadowly of their sexual endeavors and had decided to meticulously equivalence notes. They were surprisingly comfortable with themselves, as social unitsome as those within ear shot. It was figure of a contagious comfortable-ness there was almost a community in the dingy little IHOP. Ein truth one there had probably been kicked give away(p) of somewhere else because of completion time, or discontentment all of us came unitedly not only for buffet car eggs and pancakes, exclusively for a clothe to be.Closing time had become the big equalizer, bringing batch from all walks of life from star crossed lovers to raucous sushi lovers into their local anesthetic IHOP, more for a place to be than anything else. Many forces were at work in that IHOP. The waiters were trying to make as very often as they could off of tips, iHop stayed ease up tardily to facilitate all those who just werent ready to go home nonetheless during the witching hour, and the establishments patrons were alter many social expectations.All of these worked unitedly to create a very opposite aesthetic than one would see in the daylight. People were more uninhibited because of the of late hour and whatever theyd been a part of earlier, yet certain social standards and appraisalls were being held up epoch others, such(prenominal) as quietness, were for the most part thrown to the wind. Meanwhile, my fabulously exhausted waiter worked to be as professional as feasible while exerting the least amount of work possible granted, that isnt necessarily that different from the daytime.This reflected the incarnate values of IHOP that w ere at do. It caters to a very specific demographic the less wealthy, and very hungry. IHOP is too one of the only places in its suburban zip code that offers 24-hour service. Which, I admittedly found surprising I would dupe assumed there would be more places to go in the middle of the night, but realized very too soon into my pre-dawn gage that there wasnt a lot for one to do past midnight.This proves not only that nothing good happens after(prenominal)ward 2am, but excessively that nothing provoke will happen either. IHOP was the only place with its doors grant after last call, after the kitchens had closed, and after the kids still couldnt conceit home but had to something anyways. Its interest how so few places were there for the people who werent ready to head home for the night and how many people cussedly refused to go home.All the factors compete together to set the scene for a grown Romantic Comedy (which undoubtedly could go been playing itself out in t he coign booth, where the very young and very fanatical couple were paying more attention to themselves than to their pancakes. All of the ways in the restaurant came together to form a cultural idea of the late night scene that one might get from the movies. People were removed more uninhibited whether from lack of sleep, or intoxication, but they all still played their determinations in the scene.There was a lenient balance betwixt outlandish style and the rules of interaction between wait-staff and customers at play. five-fold expectations came together to form a very laughable dynamic. It is worth saying that people were in the IHOP at that ungodly hour to be seen. They at least subconsciously knew that they were performers in very large outperform production, and decided to stay out because of their role in social norms. They chose not to fog away in their homes until dawn, because someone indispensable to uphold the night owl character.Mumford argues in What is a City? That the city requires and creates drama, different the suburbs which is interesting in regards to the very turn options one has in the suburbs past midnight beyond just button home. The percent of the nation who want drama and tension (which in this sense are played out through late night excursions) is far lower in the suburbs, not because of the divagation between structures in the city and the suburbs but because of the difference in mindset between these both areas (which also yielded the different structures).The characters in the story at hand are therefore outliers, in a sense. They set about out an experience that one generally only sees though is not exclusively- in the city, and have a bun in the oven a more unique experience because of it. There was a surprising amount of diversity in the demographics that night (really, no matter what tax support youre in, youre not going to find a place open in Aurora at 3am beyond Wal-Mart and the very occasional late night eatery), which created even more forces at play in the room.With every now demographic came a new set of ideas that were being prescribed to and upheld. Many sponsors played into the behavior of the performers. Societies concept of moralisticity is a very large factor here. Many of the patrons had ducked in to iHop as a way to come about the time while sobering up and moving on with their life which was caused by societys laws and idea of moral behavior. While having a night out, they also were influenced not only by their conceive notion of behavior that one is to have in the night, but also by the behavior that is not acceptable in society generally.Being overly drunk in public is generally frowned upon, as well as driving below the influence, which explains why many people ducked in to the restaurant it was the best place to go so their night out wouldnt have to end, but so they could also start to sober up. A mixture of laws are in place that work to discourage pub lic intoxication and severeness behavior that might happen during intoxication, but there are at the equal time a plethora of ideas at play constructed by the media about jejuneness and the role of alcohol and late nights into the young person culture.It all plays into an equilibrium between two different sets of expectations and guidelines for behavior. The parsimony is also a sponsor of the performance. It is in the economys best interest that every performer takes on the role of the consumer, and consumerism is marketed from every bung possible so that every person will feel the get hold of to figure. The lack to stay out and continue the adventure is an idea partly concocted by the economy and media to influence people to connect the idea of leading an interesting life with products and experiences that dismiss be profited off of.By staying open all night, IHOP offers an experience to a contract group of customers, who for whatever reason need to stay up late and have eggs and coffee. Performers, for a variety of reasons, all take part in consumerism as a means to the experience of staying out late, or getting away from something. The late night patronage of IHOP is indicative of much larger forces and ideas that influence society as a whole. Customers from all walks of life participate in a late night performance that reveals influences from the economy and society as a whole.Each performer has a different reason for being there but plays into the greater whole of societal norms and expectations. A suburban 24 hour restaurant seems at first alike(p) an unlikely place for big ideas to be at play especially when the place is sort of dead, and the customers look worn-out and inebriated, but every component of the large whole has meaning in its own way and is essential for the bigger picture to exist.