To think of people as a participating in a social drama is a perplexing thought. One definition of drama is a scripted performance of some sort, so to think that everyday life could be categorized as such is a challenging concept, since, of course, it’s not scripted. Another definition of drama is “an exciting, emotional, or unexpected series of events or set of circumstances” (Google), which also poses a challenge to the thought of everyday life as a collective social drama, because like I said, it’s everyday life, there aren’t usually much unexpected events that happen on a regular basis, nor are there exceptional or emotional circumstances on a regular basis, by definition. From both these angles, seeing a city as a “theater of social action” seems ridiculous. By definition, it’s just not.
In order to truly answer this question, we need to take a step back. We need to look cities, and the social environments within, as if we were seeing them for the first time. Basically, as if we were aliens from another planet. From this perspective, it’s almost easy to see the city as a theater. Every action of every person comes into question. Why is that person conversing with that other person? Why are those kids playing on a climbing structure crafted of metal and other materials? Why are people bringing their dogs to play together? Everything we normally see starts to pop out when we ask why someone is doing something. Our individual and collective psychologies become objects of curiosity, and this analyzation make us akin to being a social drama.
In my pictures below, I tried to capture certain common occurrences that can be seen as examples of a “theater of social action”. There’s one picture of nannies sitting together on a bench, talking to each other as they care for their kids. There are also a few people walking in the background of that picture. Another example, is the picture of people sitting together at tables, conversing as they eat or just relax. The last example is a picture of a musical ensemble that regularly convenes at Madison Square Park, as well as a diverse group of people in motion around them. I think these pictures express the richness of human life, especially as seen in a city. The fact that we choose to spend our free time (e.g. eating lunch) as well as our work time (e.g. babysitting kids) conversing and connecting with other people is a fascinating and special thing about us, and a city more than anywhere else is the place where this can take place. Yes, a city is a collection of people and buildings, but parks like this one, prove that it’s more than that. Cities are centers of social interconnectivity, places that allow us to take part in the things that make us human.
Your observation that people chose to spend time with each other connecting and conversing in their free time was very cool. People in New York are very busy and always have somewhere to be, but the fact that they chose to spend time with each other in the park is fascinating. There is still that need for human interaction in the busy city that in New York and the fact that you made that connection was very insightful.