Notes
- All in their own world
- Only connection is through some eye contact
- Tourist family taking a selfie
- Shake shack line
- Groups of people eating and enjoying lunch
- People on their own agenda/life
- Some people alone on their phones (all of them)
- Passerby’s
- Busy people except food that makes them slow down and take time
- Birthday party
- Changing leaves and frigid weather
- Little interaction with people around them/little appreciation for setting
Interaction and connection may seem to go hand in hand; however, one does not always need social interaction in order to form a connection to another person or their surroundings. As I observed the numerous of people walking, running, and sitting throughout Madison Square Park, I soon realized how connections can be formed in an infinite amount of ways. As Lew Mumford described in his piece “What is a City?”, a city is “a theater of social action, and an aesthetic symbol of collective unity.” This park demonstrates how the city is truly a “theater of social action.” The park is the center for such “social action” since it is a habitat for human connection to both the people around them and their natural surroundings.
Further observing the people in Madison Square Park, I soon realized how it also represented a “collective drama.” Again, you have the people and setting as the overall factors that make up a drama, but it goes further than just the logistics. Dramas involve interactions among the characters, whether that be directly or indirectly. I soon realized how little people actually interact with one another. They may interact by the occasional eye contact or a brief “excuse me,” but there are slim to no instances where individuals truly attempt to connect with another and their surroundings. They all seemed to be so absorbed in their own lives and objectives for the day. The only obvious instances of social interaction were in the seating area of Shake Shack. Co-workers, friends, family, and individuals either connected to their peers or to their electronics while enjoying their break/lunchtime. Although they may have not interacted with those outside of their “group” they all connected through the act of taking the time to relax and take their “break.” Madison Square Park represents this center of connection outside of social interaction. By being able to experience our own lives and our own tasks for the day, we all are joined together in one central city within all of our differences.
A city, in this sense, is more than just a collection of people and buildings. A city is the center for bringing people of all different backgrounds, lives, and tasks in one central place. Although we may not physically interact, we all share this connection of being in one central area sharing and embracing our differences.
Claire Ng
I really love your blog, Claire! I think the idea that people can interact simply by sharing an experience is awesome. It’s interesting to think that people can connect without really communicating verbally but simply doing the same thing at the same time in the same place. Great job!
I love the images that you included. It definitely captures the theater of social aspect part. It is also cool t see that our lists are similar. This goes to show how the city can unify people with the same experience or give them something to bond over with the same sentiments. Great work Claire!
Claire, I absolutely love your blog post! The photos you took are so cute and really tag along with some of the points you make in the blog. My most relatable one has to be when you speak about social interaction. Being a New York resident for years upon years I can easily say not everyone is the nicest so social interaction is probably the hardest thing ever. I feel this park must’ve been different however and the people seemed to be influenced by the nature and the surroundings of the park. Definitely something to look into more, love the blog! Keep it up!