TIPRR 5

Fascinating reading. I have read about but never done any ethnographic studies except really basic assignments in conjunction with a class, but never what I would call extensive or exhaustive. Unlike Erika, I don’t necessarily find the organization to be strange (at least, not with this writing). It, however, appears that Berg decided on a starting point and went for it. Like Erika and Timbre, I got excited about ethnographic research. The idea of doing a study of online groups and their practices was extremely interesting. It got me thinking about something a little more abstract, but I believe it would be equally of value: I think it would be fun to do a kind of ethnographic research project based around a series of “chick flicks” genre movies (perhaps the most popular films from the last 2-5 years) and study them as if they were legitimate realities (much like doing videotaping and observing within a few subcultures along similar lines) and then analyze the data. As that is going on, use surveys or informal introductions to interview “viewers” (or “participants”) of these films for their reactions and get an idea, essentially, of how the genre and their perspectives are influenced.


This is just one idea that came to mind (of many) and I could not help but inadvertently brainstorm on subject matters since practically anything could be taken as the basis of a study. All that really appeared to matter was that there was a setting and a research problem or question. Because of macro- and microethnographies, the possibilities for research are extensive and can be used very practically for dissemination purposes (there was even the allowance for particular political agendas – so very fascinating).

The section that was most useful to me was the one on field notes. For over two years I worked on Saturday nights at the old Spanish 8 Theaters in Spanish Fork. The purpose of working there was to get free movies, popcorn and drinks for my family and only work roughly 4 hours a week. It was awesome but looking back at it now, if I had been keeping field notes on that small job for those two plus years I would have created for myself an enormously interesting covert and participatory ethnographic study (thus I am very sad that I did not). From all the verbal exchanges about films and other subjects that the teenagers working there talked about to my own personal subjective reflections I related to Alisha, my wife, I would have a plethora of things that could have been useful to secondary education teachers, at the very least. I suffer, now, from the erosion of memory that inevitably comes. Anyway, if I had the grants to do something like it again, I would love to. Of course, I’ve never done it before but I am willing to give it a shot with enough time and study design preparation. I think it would be fun.