February 17th, 2010 by Rachel | Tags: Anthropology, Car Culture, Material Culture, Photography, School | No Comments »
High School Playground
Cars influence young people’s lives. They are more than just vehicles that allow people to get from point A to point B. They are tools that provide high school students with access to a social life.
One afternoon, I went to a high school in a suburban area that had a very diverse student population, in order to observe and photograph the life of the students in the parking lot. Right after the very last bell rang, students headed right to the cars and unlocked and opened the doors. They started the engine, but the cars remained static. A few minutes later, loud music blaring from the radio could be heard. Students danced and played sports in the parking lot. Some sat on on the trunk of the car and chatted. It was their playground. Their cars and the parking lot gave them access to a social life on the school campus.
When I was researching grad schools, I came across a journal article called Driven Societies, by Dr. Daniel Miller, a professor at University College London. The article intrigued me because I was able to relate to his personal thoughts on the subject. While the writer spoke mostly about how cars have a negative impact on society, there is one quote that I have to enclose, as it clearly stated my goal for depicting this issue in my project:
“…there are the highly personal and intimate relationships which individuals have found through their possession and use of cars.”
What’s fascinating about studying this subject is that, because many states in the US allow people to obtain a driver’s license at the age of 16, high school students are able to own a car. As a result, an American youth culture is created. In many countries in Europe, people cannot obtain a driver’s license until age 18! Thus, high school students have a very different social life from American high school students!
