Ethnography

For my ethnography I decided to visit a popular downtown Los Angeles burlesque bar. When you walk into the place, it almost feels like you have just stepped into an old school brothel and slipped on a pair of red tinted sunglasses. The place is surrounded with red lighting that gives the bar a sexy and mysterious aura. When stepping in, you feel as though you have been lost in a sea of dark shadows. It is a very decorative 1920’s theme small bar that fits around 500 people. Looking around, I begin to wonder if Count Dracula was the interior designer. There is a great deal of Victorian inspired draping, chandeliers, and furniture. Everything inside the place is either black or red. I begin my observation in elegant antique styled room in the center away from the bar and the stage.
The DJ is playing 80’s music. I look around and see there are large paintings and mirrors that adorn the walls, chairs and booths draped with plush looking red velvet, and the bar is dimly lit with red lights that perfectly set the mood. The crown inside is very artsy and unique. There are many rock-a-billy/ greaser types of people following a vintage theme. Looking across toward the bar I find myself observing the highly attractive bartender around her mid 20’s working the place. Along with her, there is an average looking male bartender in his early 30’s. Of course, the female bar tender is wearing the obligatory corset showcasing her bust, a short black mini skirt with fishnet stockings. The male simply wears a black letterman jacket with the bar logo on the side and a pair of jeans. I walk over to bar and order glass of the house champagne from the male bartender, seeing as how the female seems to have a line of men on her side waiting for a drink.
The place is crowded and the bar is very busy. But both bartenders are handling it very well. As the night continues, my attention is kept at the relationship the bartenders share with one another. The male bartender seems to look concerned as a male customer continues conversation with the female bartender after ordering countless drinks. He is either annoyed at the amount of alcohol this customer is drinking or at the fact that the female bartender is continuing conversation with him. She on the other hand ignores the male bartender and continues to pleasantly serve the male who might clearly leave her a nice tip at the end of the night when he closes his tab. I have come to the assumption that this pair of bartenders are either boyfriend girlfriend, married, or share some sort of intimate relationship. The male bartenders’ body language as he serves drinks to his customers shows his annoyance towards the male population surrounding his lady friend bartender. But of course, what male wouldn’t want his drink served with a chance of a glace of cleavage on the side? But again, this does not seem to distract either of them from continuing their work. Occasionally, few women ordering drinks approach the male for conversation, but he does not follow after their drinks are served.
It is very clear that the highly good-looking bartender ended up attracting most of the attention from the males that approached the bar. The average looking bartender on the other hand simply continued working as he watched drunken dirt bags hit on what could have been his girlfriend maybe even wife the whole night. The night continued with people dancing, drinking, and drinking some more. I assumed that this was in fact a couple having to work together in a difficult social environment.
In class we discussed the film American Psycho in where Patrick Bateman lived the rich upper class lifestyle. In order to carry this “yuppie” Wall Street lifestyle he was portrayed as being obsessed with success, fashion, his self image, and style. I began to construct an idea of these bartenders lifestyles. One that I can imagine might be a difficult one for any relationship. I focused on the issues mentioned in class of subjectivity and Identity. Mostly focusing my analysis on the female bartender. In our Cultural Studies textbook, chapter 7, Barker states, “social identity is the expectations and opinions that others have of us.” I began to make generalizations on female bartender, stereotypes that could relate to this scenario. First off, when I think of a female bartender I can picture a very good-looking woman. Secondly, I can assume when a man finds her to be attractive, he instantly thinks he has a shot with her. Seeing as how the male customer continued conversation over several drinks, one could assume that his intentions were not simply to get drunk. Although, of course, I am sure alcohol plays a part too. Thirdly, I would assume she would be wearing the last clothing as possible to attract the most attention possible. Because of the environment she is working in, I could assume she has perfected what to do, how to act, and who to be during the job. Wearing revealing outfits, flirting with customers, and carrying a sex symbol persona might not be who she is in real life, but it is who she has to play in order to better assimilate with her surroundings and get those extra tips. That male bartender may or may not have been her husband or boyfriend, but if in fact it was, it was clear he understood the “identity” his girlfriend or wife had to carry at work.