Progression 2: Exercise 2.3 - Ethnography

Gibran Sheikh

Professor Macklin

English 115

8 October 2012

Ethnography

For this particular ethnographic research paper, I base my ethnographic research on that of human interaction in a restaurant. The restaurant I visited to conduct my observations was named “The Indian Restaurant”. It was a restaurant of intriguing design; therefore the atmosphere was classy, and also elegant. Every waiter was dressed similarly, probably because of the dress code, and the manager was dressed in a suite. Given the attire of these people, it is likely that they were dressed for the occasion, which indeed was business. A number of customers, including myself, were not dressed as fancily as the waiters or the manager; however, some did appeal to the atmospheric elegance of the restaurant. As classic as the restaurant may have been, it seems that the many customers who intended to dine seemed to not really take note of the nice design of the restaurant itself. It seemed that customers were only concerned to obtain a spot to sit down and eat, or getting their food, as this restaurant was of self-service. Since it was a buffet, many customers did not really interact with their waiters, but they did indeed interact with each other. Therefore, the noise level in the restaurant was a bit over moderate, fluctuating from mild to loud conversations between that of families, couples, and friends. Through my observations I found that there were many different ethnic groups in the restaurant. Although there were many people of middle-eastern decent, there were many Caucasians, a couple of African-Americans, a couple of Hispanics, and a good amount of Asians in general. Both men and women seemed to be enjoying themselves; however, I did notice that the men in the families and couples were a bit more serious as opposed to their wives, or girlfriends. It seemed to be that these men were either naturally like that or simply just concerned about the bill that they had to deal with at the end of their meals. It wouldn’t be a surprise to find that the men were serious due to the restaurant bills, simply because the restaurant was expensive, but it seemed to fit the occasion. Going back to my observations, I also found that many of the children from the families that came to restaurant did not eat as much, and most of them were always told to finish their plates before they decided to get up and go pick out a dessert to finish their meal. As it was a brunch buffet, I also observed that there were a lot of orange juices and coffees being asked for by the customers, as it was not so hard to hear what they were ordering for their beverages. It seemed that mainly the men ordered for the whole table, and that the coffees ordered were only for the adults that were dining.

            As the day went by I came to certain analysis of many of the observations that I had made throughout that day. It appeared that the elegance of the restaurant was presented to the customers so that they would feel much more comfortable while they dined. Also, even though the restaurant was of an elegant atmosphere, many of the customers, including myself, were not properly dressed to match the elegance, but it seemed to not bother the manager or the waiters, and everyone had enjoyed their time. I do believe that everyone that came to dine was comfortable and also hungry for a good meal; therefore, fancy physical attires were not something that they felt was needed. Also, everyone seemed to only converse within their own groups or tables, and that the presence of others seemed to not matter. It seemed that there was no ethnic group that really overpowered the other, even though the restaurant was of Indian cuisine. It seems that nowadays there is more cultural mixture that flows throughout the county of Los Angeles. The Indian cuisine seemed to appeal to all of the many ethnic groups in the restaurant, so it has come to my attention that not only a few ethnic groups, but many different ethnic groups have a common liking towards many other types of cultural cuisines. As for the bills that were administered to all of the customers who had dined in the restaurant, I have come to the conclusion that possibly every male in the restaurant had paid for the meal, whether it be a sign of chivalry or just a coincidence. I believe that in further analysis of this situation, the men in the groups of people dining were indeed silent throughout their conversations due to the bill, but after it had been paid they were a bit more chatty. I believe that women in the families were in charge of getting their children to finish their meals, but the women on their dates with their men seemed to only be in charge of looking pretty while they ate their meals. As for the beverages that were ordered in the restaurant, I can say that coffees ordered were mainly for the adults and not the children, either because the children were too young or they simply did not enjoy the bitter-sweet taste of the coffee, and preferred their orange juices. Throughout my visit to the restaurant, I found that cultural mixture in societies was not uncommon as it used to be. People have many similar interests, such as dining, and it is now quite common to see Whites, Blacks, Asians, and Hispanics dining at a certain location. It is great to understand our society is coming together as a whole, even if it does have to start out at a restaurant.

Works Cited

"Kids & Coffee." Kidzworld. Outbrain, n.d. Web. 09 Oct. 2012. <http://www.kidzworld.com/article/17060-kids-and-coffee>.

Schira, Roberta. "Table Manners: Restaurant Bills And Tips." Fine Dining Lovers. N.p., 12 July 2012. Web. 09 Oct. 2012. <http://www.finedininglovers.com/stories/table-manners-money-bill-tips/>.

Progression 2: Exercise 2.2 - "The Scene"

Progression 2: Exercise 2.2 “The Scene”

Gibran Sheikh, Ann Lim, Joshua Steele, Perla Lopez

Professor Macklin

3 October 2012

Note: The message of the following scene is to not text while driving, as these to actions do not mix and is a probable cause of accidents and sometimes death. This scene is meant to inform people about the dangers of texting while driving.

Cast: Joshua, Perla, Ann (Narrator, Pedestrian/Waitress), Gibran (Dad)

Narrator: It is a breezy afternoon in the streets of downtown Los Angeles, a Chinese restaurant with a big LED sign hanging on the door, flashes the word ‘OPEN’. Joshua, A young man enters the restaurant. He is dressed in his half-length pants and a casual T-shirt. The restaurant is packed with customers. Luckily, Joshua finds an empty table, sits down and ordered his meal from a young, pretty waitress. Cell phone rings. Joshua fumbles with his cell phone in his backpack as he exits the noisy restaurant to answer the call.

Joshua: Hello? This is Joshua.

Perla: Hey Joshua, what’s up? Are you free to come to my party tonight? It’s going to be awesome. Everyone's going to be there and we are all going to have so much fun partying the whole night.

Joshua: Alright, yeah I'll be there! That sounds cool!

Perla: Yeah, my parents aren’t coming back from their vacation until next week, so this party is going to be great. You better come!

Joshua: Yeah, yeah I’ll be there. What time does it start?

Narrator: Joshua, cradles the cell phone to his shoulders as he takes out a pen and a piece of paper.

Perla: It starts at ten! If you want you can come a bit earlier to help set up some of the tables for food and drinks. I’d really appreciate it. Oh and my address is 18110 Nordhoff St, Northridge, CA 91325.

Joshua: Uh, sure. I’ll be there by nine then to help you set up and stuff.

Narrator: Joshua notes down the information of the party on his sheet of paper clumsily.

Perla: Okay cool, I’ll see you later.

Joshua: Okay, bye.

Narrator: Joshua hangs up his cell phone and reenters the restaurant. Time passes after Joshua finishes his lunch, he has now gone home to get dressed for the party. It is now around 7 in the evening, Joshua is lounging lazily on a big, comfy sofa in the living room, texting non-stop using his cell phone.

Dad: Joshua, I see you texting all the time, every single day! Put away your phone! You have been relying too much on it! Don’t you have any homework to do? Or didn't you have some chores to finish?

Narrator: Joshua starts to frown and gets impatient with his father.

Joshua: Dad, it’s Friday! Perla is having a party at her house tonight and I have got to be there. I am just texting to find out who will be going to the party, and of course I finished the chores, and I already washed the dishes!

Dad: (Sighs) Oh, alright. What time are you leaving, then? Are you going to drive there, because you know I just got the car washed and I don't want any scratches or even the slightest bit of dirt to get on it.

Joshua: I will be leaving at 8.30pm and yes, I am going to drive, and don't worry about the car it'll be fine.

Dad: Oh, alright. Make sure you don’t text while driving, I'm more concerned about you than the car. Oh, and don't ever take your eyes off the road! That's really dangerous, and I don't want you to get hurt! (Shakes head while looking at Joshua who doesn’t look like he cares, and is still busy texting on the cell phone.) Look Joshua, I don't want anything bad to happen to you, are you listening?

Joshua: Yeah, yeah, Dad. I'll be fine, don't worry too much about me.

Dad: Well, be careful, I'll be in the kitchen getting something to eat. (Goes to kitchen.)

Narrator:  It is now 8:35pm. Noticing how time has passed by very quickly, Joshua gets up, and in a hurry grabs his car keys and his wallet. he quickly examines himself, looking at a full-body mirror, just to make sure that he looks good in his brand new plaid shirt from GAP. He dashes out the door to get to his car, without saying good-bye to his father, who is in the kitchen, asleep. Joshua starts his car, backs out of his drive way and makes his way to Perla's house. The ringtone of text messages sounds. Without a second thought, Joshua grabs his cell phone and begins to respond to his text messages.

Joshua: Oh man, I don't want to be late to help Perla out with the party, her house is nearly a half hour from here. I better tell her that I'll be there as fast as I can.

Narrator: Joshua creates his text. All of a sudden, *BANG!* An accident happened. A biker was hit by Joshua’s car.  In extreme panic and shock, Joshua looks up to see blood on his windshield.

Joshua: (Shocked) Oh my gosh, what was that?!

Narrator: Joshua exits his car door, and makes his way to the front of the car. He looks down, seeing something horrible. The nice, young waitress who took his order today lay dead in front of him.

Joshua: (Sobbing) Oh no! What have I done?!

End Scene

Progression 2: Exercise 2.1 - "The Word Picture"

This ad starts off with a man hiking up to what looks like a Shaolin temple. There he discovers many people trying test each other’s reflexes. One of the leaders of the temple comes towards this hiker to test his reflexes; the hiker thus fails the test and is taken under the Shaolin to perfect his reflexes. Time passes by and this hiker is still unable to improve his reflexes, suddenly he is given a bucket of some sort of liquid that he places his hands into and he suddenly starts to improve his reflexes, but his master still prevails.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=elBx5lbnCe0

Progression 1 Essay Final Draft

Gibran Sheikh

Professor Mandy Macklin

English 115

25 September 2012

Perfection: Why it does Not Exist

Does a society define perfection? Is it something that is imitable? The answer to the two questions posed is not that simple. Human beings, unique as they are, can sometimes be deemed and labeled as certain things that society has nowadays considered to be morally wrong. However, this has not always been the case. Take for example nineteenth century London. Population growth and industrial enhancements were only few of the benefits to the country, but education there didn't hit hard until the early twentieth century, so imperfection on a single being was not taken as seriously as it is now. What society needs to understand is that they themselves define perfection as something that exists, when in reality it is really just a myth.

The Elephant Man, a play by Bernard Pomerance, takes into consideration the moral injustice of society during the end of the nineteenth century. In the play, John Merrick, a man with a physical defect, is ridiculed by society as imperfect and a “freak of nature” (Pomerance 3). A victim of prejudice, Merrick has to deal with the fact that his physical “imperfection” causes him to be avoided by those who do not truly see him for who he is. The society Merrick has lived is what really causes his physical defect to stand out, and that society is the cause of the pain throughout Merrick’s life. Even though this play took place within the late nineteenth century, the issue with prejudice still carries on today. Sure, prejudice has not been that big of a problem as it was during Merrick’s time, but the matter is that it indeed is still an issue. Prejudice is the ultimate cause of “perfection”, because it judges one’s “imperfections”.

In past times, people used to rely on the “survival of the fittest” principle of Charles Darwin. Certain cultures and groups of people were all about physical health and power, education was not a necessity of surviving in these societies. Over the course of history there has been some advancements that have led to the increase in education, but one deemed “imperfect” could still be made the laughing stock. This Darwin rule of “survival of the fittest” does not apply to human beings anymore. Humans may be biologically “animals”, but we have capabilities far more advanced than those of “animals”. However, even though human beings are far more advanced than their predecessors, some still rely on the “imperfections” and abnormalities of others to make themselves feel better. This is why Merrick back then, and so many people now, feel ridiculed by how they look, what they do, or how they act; these people are just being themselves. How they continue with their everyday lives is of their business, and people need to understand this. They may not be “perfect”, but they are certainly not “imperfect”.

A society itself is defined by the people that create it. People that are corrupt and ill-minded usually produce a society that is poor in moral standards. People that are just and righteous usually produce a society that is high in moral standards. In reality a society is never on the far end in terms of morality, it is usually right in the middle, if not leaning by a small bit on either side. This is because in reality people aren’t perfect, and that’s just fine because no one can be perfect, no matter what people may say. A human being is as just who they think they are, not what society dubs them to be. They are not perfect, yet they are not imperfect they are simply human. John Merrick, dubbed the entire play as the “Elephant Man” suffered constant harm, which damaged him physically and emotionally, just because he was different. Merrick, with “no hope nor expectation of relief” (Pomerance 3), is a normal person who has to deal with the inconsiderate minds of the people that constantly judge him for his outer appearance. Merrick was a victim of being labeled as “imperfect”, but who can be perfect in a world of imperfections? John Merrick was just another human being, like anyone else, but he was unique, not perfect nor imperfect, unique.

In the present society there is more education overall than there was before which has helped people to understand a certain issue, like prejudice; however, not everyone in society are as educated as others. Prejudice has been an issue that deals with the “imperfections” of certain people and this issue is what creates the word “imperfect”. If no one paid attention to what they saw “wrong” in a certain person, and instead paid attention to all the “right” things, judgment against people would not exist, therefore the word “perfect” would not be used to define someone. For example, in a utopian society, human beings can grow up without knowledge that they are imperfect. Going back to reality, people are not as considerate as they should be. Returning back to the life of John Merrick, it is shown that inconsideration of others ends up in a negative effect on those certain people and society as a whole. Merrick’s “incapacitating deformities and unremitting pain” (Pomerance 3) were what caused him to be in the dark of times, and being “exposed to the cruelly lacerating expressions of horror and disgust by all who behold him” (Pomerance 3) was ultimately the psychological cause of his death.

            Many people most likely have been a victim of prejudice, whether it be the color of their skin or a physical defect. If certain people took the time to just get to know someone before they started to label them, issues like prejudice would not be a huge problem. What society needs to do is not label, not judge, and make the world a better place to live in. What people need to do is not compete, not differentiate, and not “hate”. If a person was to simply live upon hatred, what benefits would accompany such a harsh life? People must not see others for what they appear to be, they must see them for who they are first, before any accusations can be made. As evidence is needed in the court room, evidence is also needed before judging a person. If evidence cannot be supplied to accuse someone of being a “fool”, or “mean”, or “ugly”, then the accusation is of no use. This does not mean “go and find evidence”, but rather it means to move on. People need to move on in their lives, rather than just accuse someone of being what they are not. If people are able to comply and follow with their own lives and not with the lives of others, then the society these people live in would be a better place. Merrick was a victim of constant judgment, and that was what shaped his personal view of society.

            People must not judge one another based on whether they are “perfect” or not. People must learn that nobody is “perfect”, because perfection simply does not exist. It is a myth created by those who uneducated and therefore cannot see someone for who they really are. Once people understand the inexistence of “perfection” and its bad toll on society, that society will be able to advance forward. Once society is able to see that imperfection is not at all an issue, people will be able to advance on with their lives without the need of diminishing the lives of others.

Works Cited

Brown, Robert W. "London in the 19th Century." London in the 19th Century. University of North Carolina at Pembroke, 16 Apr. 2004. Web. 18 Sept. 2012. <http://www.uncp.edu/home/rwb/london_19c.html>.

Johnson, Jane. "London History." London History. Unica Multimedia, n.d. Web. 18 Sept. 2012. <http://www.britannia.com/history/londonhistory/viclon.html>.

Pomerance, Bernard. The Elephant Man. New York: Grove, 1979. Print.