At Town Center Mall

There are several places I was debating where I should begin my observations of the gothic culture. There is always the courtyard, specifically in front of GCB, various restaurants in Little Five Points along with music venues, and of course, the mall. I wanted to be in a place where I wouldn't feel like a total outcast but at the same time, I wanted to really be in a goth-like setting. I decided to visit Town Center mall in Kennesaw. I chose a mall that had a store called "Hot Topic". It's a store that carries merchandise, apparel, and music for those who are part of the gothic and punk culture. Hot Topic is just as its slogan states, "Everything about the music."

I headed down to Town Center around 4 or 5 p.m. and walked around in the food court for a while. I was excited when I found empty tables near a group of teenagers. There were six who were sitting at the table and a few others that kept getting up and walking around, leaving and returning. I assumed they were around the ages of fifteen and seventeen, I knew they were still in high school because of what some of the things they were discussing. For the most part, there was not much that was absolutely surprsing about this group of individuals other than their way of dress and maybe the way they were such extroverts. Overall, it was a helpful experience.

At this field site, the food court at Town Center, I observed a group of teenage goths. I was able to get a table close enough to hear what they were saying. They simply talked and ate. Two of these individuals were dating and somewhat separated themselves from the rest of the group. Three other teens, two boys and one girl, joined the group of six at a later time and continued to leave and come back to the group of six. I didn't find out what they were doing or where they were going but I assumed it was to visit other stores in the mall.

The members of this subculture interact no differently than I do with my own friends. Some of what they discussed may be different, a lot of what they discussed consisted of music and clothing. They talked about upcoming shows at the Masquerade, a music venue in Atlanta which I am familiar with and the girls talked about the new line of band shirts they had at Hot Topic. The three other teens that kept getting up and leaving the table did act a bit differently. They were a bit loud and attention seeking. The boys would purposely irritate the girl, messing with her hair or taking her bag, which would cause a scene. Other than that, there was nothing out of the ordinary.

There were some terms I wasn't familiar with or some that I had heard before but never bothered looking into. Some of these words were:

Nu Metal
Gothing Up
Poseur
Weekender

After listening to their conversation for a while, I had a few questions about the words listed above and about their music. I felt strange approaching them because I didn't want them to think I was entirely listening to their conversation, even though I was. But I got up and asked about a show at the Masquerade. I told them I didn't mean to intrude on their conversation but overheard them talking about a band that I thought I was familiar with. They seemed surprise when I mentioned the band [Brain Drill] and said that they were performing at the Masquerade in mid-April. I asked them how long they had been listening to the band and then I slowly began to ask how they got into being goth. I used the term 'babygoth' in hope that I wouldn't look stupid or completely unaware. Thankfully, I didn't and I didn't offened them either. They ended up cutting the conversation short because they had a movie to watch. I thanked them for the talk and they left the food court.

As my first outing at my field site, I feel that this is a success. I plan on visiting some workers of Hot Topic in the near future and maybe getting some more insight.

Act V

1) What makes a good field site?
The field site used gave great insight to the prisoners' thoughts and emotions. A variety of prisoners were also interviewed. Race varied along with crimes committed, length of imprisonment, and "prisoner social class". A good field site should contain all of these elements, a large, diverse population and a proper environment that will not affect the actions or emotions of the subject.

2)What observations are made by the author to give the audience a better understanding?
The author makes note of the different characteristics amongst all the prisoners interviewed. The background of each criminal is explored and stories about their childhood and families are shared. For some of the criminals, they shared the crimes committed and used the play of Hamlet to try to delve deep and find out the motive behind their actions.

3)What interview techniques does the author use to help us understand the subculture?
The author simply allows the prisoners to talk. He asks questions in which the prisoners can continuously discuss the answer. Sometimes surprising information is reveals but also helps us understand what is going through the minds of these individuals.

4)What are the norms and values of the subculture?
All men imprisoned have committed some crime. They all have limited education and can read up to the high school level. A man's social standing depends on his physical strength and how well he can protect himself.

Topic: Gothic culture

Sources:

Bibby, Michael; Goodlad, Lauren. Goth: Undead Subculture. Durham : Duke University Press, 2007.

Hodkinson, Paul. Goth: Identity, Style, and Subculture. Oxford ; New York : Berg, 2002.

Siegel, Carol. Goth's Dark Empire. Bloomington : Indiana University Press, c2005.

Spooner, Catherine, Ph. D. Fashioning Gothic Bodies. Manchester ; New York : Manchester University Press ; New York : Distributed in the USA by Palgrave, 2004.

Wolfram, Herwig. History of Goths. Berkeley : University of California Press, c1987.

Reflection:

Goth: Identity, Style, and Subculture was a great source to research. I was a bit nervous before beginning this assignment because I was afraid that the only books or articles that I could find would be about Gothic revival or Gothic architecture, topics that do not relate to the culture I had chosen. The author , Paul Hodkinson, is a sociologist who studied a great deal about the G0thic culture. Hodkinson discusses this culture and when it first emerged from Britain’s punk-rock scene in the late 1970s. When I read this, I had NO idea that the Goth scene had only been around for such a short time. I then began to think about how the Gothic culture has changed in the past four decades. I am now debating whether I should narrow my search or have my focal point on Gothic culture of a particular decade. I also may want to focus on the location of this Gothic culture. Should I research the culture in England, where it all began? Or Los Angeles, Austin, Leeds, Buffalo, New York City, and Sydney? Other things I really liked about this book are the personal accounts and experiences of individuals who are included in this culture. This is gives great credibility to the author.