Reading Response 3

I found both of these essays, The Cave by Jon Katz and Mary Kay: American Dream in a Bottle by Tammy Anderson, to be very interesting because both were ethnography papers about topics that I did not know very much about as well as helpful for my own ethnography paper.
The Cave definitely exhibited many of the traits that were talked about in Chapter 10. The ‘Features of the Form,’ in particular, again helped me identify what exactly should be in an ethnography essay. The characters in The Cave identify themselves as members of the Geek World, which is the first feature of the form that Ballenger talks about for ethnography essays. Also, the setting of the essay, The Cave, or the airless two-bedroom apartment in a dank stucco-and-brick complex on the outskirts of Caldwell, is where the author observes them. He vividly describes the scene as well as how Jesse and Eric interact with it. Much of the essay gives specific examples of the environment in which nearly all of their time is spent, for example, the exact make and model of both of the computers that these two geeks’ lives revolve around. Another feature of the form that this essay exhibits is the subjective nature that the author adds. Although there are many details that are objective, he makes assumptions, opinions, and remarks of what he is observing from his point of view. For example (pg B47): “It was evidently second nature by now, which explained why he looked as if he hadn’t been out in the sun for years. “
Tammy Anderson also displays the features of the form in her essay Mary Kay: American Dream in a Bottle. The main focus is definitely on the members of the Mary Kay cult. She gives such vivid descriptions of the women that call themselves Mary Kay consultants you can feel the same emotion the author is going through. Tammy Anderson has also observed this group over time because she talks about how she has been confronted about becoming a consultant herself many times in the past as well as that she has attended the meetings numerous times prior to the one the essay revolves around. This also goes along with setting because the majority of the paper is written about when she was either in the presence of a consultant or at the actual meeting. Finally, subjectivity is used in this ethnography paper. Tammy rants about her opinions of the ladies and the Mary Kay lifestyle. For example, (pg. 58): “As I continued to scrutinize the ladies, I began to feel I could tell those who had not been selling Mary Kay very long.”
I have already mentioned a few examples of how the authors describe the aspects of the culture, but there are many more than just those. For example, The Cave uses specific detail of the character-setting interaction. (pg. B47) “Anyone could have come into the apartment and carted away everything in it, except for the computer, and Jesse wouldn’t have noticed or perhaps cared that much.” In Mary Kay: American Dream in a Bottle, the author goes on and on about the personas and personalities of the Mary Kay consultants. For example, (pg. B56) “..overzealous, relentlessly optimistic Mary Kay consultants”, and (pg. B57) “I knew enough about Mary Kay to know I would encounter an air of excitement and almost unrealistic enthusiasm.”
Both of these authors interpret the cultures they are studying from their own perspective which kind of goes along with the openly subjective feature of the form. They naturally create their own opinions that come out in the texts. (pg. B48) “At times hurt and anger radiated from them like heat rising from Idaho blacktop in the sun,” and (pg. B49) “Despite the name of the club that so shaped them, there was nothing nerdy about them. Both were tough, smart, resilient, and independent” are both examples of how Jon Katz interprets the characters, or members of the culture. There are also lines from Tammy Anderson’s essay that shows her comments on the Mary Kay ladies, (pg. B57) “I observed the women in attendance, and saw that they were predominantly very excited, friendly, and eager,” and (pg. B59) “they certainly seemed to believe the words they spoke.”
In Mary Kay: American Dream in a Bottle, she uses research to give background information on Mary Kay the person, the company, and the tradition. She gives details that help me as a reader follow her story and be able to truly understand the culture in which she is observing. I felt fully connected to the essay because there was factual information, details about the events, and voice from the author. My potential topic is video games and the people of all ages who have taken up this hobby. I could do research on the history of video gaming as well as give information about the different games that I observe people playing. This will help the readers fully understand the culture that I am writing about and make for a better paper. It will also help display why this group is set apart from the norm, since it is not a group with specific boundaries and titles.