Is the cinema just a cinema?

Image source: Do u remember

Going to the cinema is always something I look forward to because I love watching movies of all kinds. It isn’t just about watching a movie, I believe it is way beyond that. The setting, people, and everything that makes up to a cinematic experience all play a role.Normally I would not travel far just to watch a movie, so I would just pick the nearest shopping center possible. Living in Subang Jaya is a blessing as we are well equipped with everything we look for such as transportation, a huge variety of shopping centers and cinemas.

Torsten Hagerstrand has studied on human migration based on the effect on space and time as an external factor. Now I would like to vent my thoughts and opinions on Hagerstrand’s three constraints. There are capability, coupling and authority. Capability refers to whether a person is able to reach a certain desired destination or not. Coupling on the other hand, refers to whether a person is able to get there on time or punctually. If a person is allowed to be at a specific location is referring to authority. According to Hagerstrand, the human spatial activity is often governed by limitations which is true because some things are really out of our control and not by individual decisions. (Hagerstrand, 2001)

Most of my cinema experiences are successful attempts as I am very blessed with conveniences around me. I would like to share about one time where I visited the cinema to watch Suicide Squad with a group of friends. It was at Citta Mall and we went there in cars. In relation to Hagerstrand’s time space concept, I was able to get to Citta Mall because my friend drove us there. Prior to the movie, we already checked the showtimes of the movie and the locations that still has available seats as it was a newly released blockbuster movie.

In relation to the second constrain which is coupling, unfortunately, we arrived a few minutes late at the cinema because before that we had dinner first, elsewhere. In this case, we were not able to get to the desired location on time.

A perfect example for the final constrain which is authority is when we are not allowed to bring outside food there, except for the ones which are sold at the cinema. Another rule to obey is no recording is allowed while the movie is showing as it is against the law. The movie Suicide Squad is rated PG13 which means all audiences of all ages are allowed to watch but those under 13-years-old are advised to have parental guidance as some scenes may be inappropriate. However, my friends and I as we were all above 18-years-old so it was not an issue considering we were way beyond the age requirement.

Watching a movie is not a burden nor a difficulty anymore as technology is getting more advanced by the day. Even if we are unable or do not want to visit the cinema, we can always opt for watching television at home or even downloading movies from the Internet. In my opinion, the experience of watching a movie a home on your television or smartphone, cannot be compared with going to the cinema to catch a movie. The experience and social setting is simply distinguishable.

A picture from my Snapchat of our tickets bought on that day.

References:

Corbett, J & Donald, J 2001, ‘Torsten Hagerstrand: Time Geography’ Center for spatially integrated social science , 25th August, pp1-4.

Collaborative Ethnography

Last week, I’ve asked my parents on their childhood television experience and that triggered me to the meaning of ethnography. I guess curiosity always kills the cat. Everyone, including scientists, anthropologists, and ethnographers also have a certain degree of curiosity which leads them to the questioning of  the ‘hows’ and ‘whys’ and I think that what drives and motivates them in their researching jobs.

Based on Luke Eric Lassiter’s (2005) definition, he has stated that ethnography itself is collaborative. Ethnography is actually the study of human behavior and their way of life. In other words, Lassiter (2005) said that it also falls under participatory research and community based research. Collaborative ethnography is getting involved with the subjects of the study and live the lives of another. It isn’t just about jotting down notes anymore. However, as mentioned by Cavanaugh (2013), collaborative ethnography is definitely not a recent endeavor as it has been around since the Native American landscapes. It revived in the last few decades.

Source: Craig Sunter

I could actually imagine myself conducting a collaborative ethnographer during the 70s on the habits of watching television. I will dress like the villagers in my parents’ village and actually try to blend in with them in order to study their television viewing habits. Going to their usual hang out spots around the village can also allow me to understand their patterns better, as what my father once told me before that there were not much hang out spots at that time as the village was not very big and everyone knew each other pretty well, so the common ‘public sphere’ or place of gathering would be around anywhere that has a television such as the sundry store or even the coffee shops. I can learn to try to talk to the villagers there to further understand their culture and routines.

Every research methods have its pros and cons and in this case, I would like to discuss about the potentials and limitations of collaborative ethnography. The most obvious advantage that can be identified would be a deeper understanding of one’s cultures in regards to how they lead their lifestyles. Throughout this process, ethnographers not only achieve the results or findings for their research, but they are also exposed with the golden opportunity to learn and explore about other cultures with more depth. As the saying goes, it is ‘killing two birds with one stone’. A very good point stated by Lassiter 2005, that I strongly agree with is that collaborative ethnography is the best approach for articulating multicultural understanding.

The first limitation in doing a collaborative ethnography is that it consumes a lot of time. It cannot be done in a short period of time as it requires a lot of trust and trust builds up over time for a collaboration to work. (Lassiter, 2015, p.79) Besides time, this research method also requires a lot of effort as it is challenging. Nurturing relationships may require more effort than usual as people of different backgrounds come together and it needs commitment and understanding of diverse visions. This complicated research method is also known as qualitative research instead of quantitative so most of the time, the findings are not very accurate. Results may also vary as there may be misrepresentations and also taking multiple perceptions and views into consideration. Due to this, the results cannot be generalized.

In a nutshell, I think that with hard work, determination and collaboration (especially in the modern world today), any research is nothing less than possible. No matter what research method is chosen, there ought to be advantages and disadvantages. I think what matters is the way we work around it.

References:

Lassiter, LE 2005, ‘Defining a Collaborative Ethnography‘, The Chicago Guide to Collaborative Ethnography, The University of Chicago Press, London, pp.15-25.

Cavanaugh,H 2013, The case for Collaborative Ethnography, SlideShare, viewed 11^th August 2016, < http://www.slideshare.net/hcc19/the-case-for-collaborative-ethnography>.

Lassiter, LE 2008, Moving Past Public Anthropology and Doing Collaborative Research, Doing Collaborative Research, pp.70-86.