Social Romance

Sitting at the Calabasas Commons it is easy to observe people since it
is a central social setting for people in this city. So here are some of
my observations:

A toddler running back and forth between the father and what appears to
be the grandmother.  The young toddler (girl) is laughing and screaming
every time she reaches one of the adults.They are speaking in another
language and eventually the father embraces the older woman with a kiss
on the cheek.  They go their separate ways.

A young couple probably in their early to mid-teens walking quickly. 
The boy has his hand around the girl and she has her hand around his
waist.  They are talking and he keeps pulling her in to give her short
kisses.  

Another young couple holding hands but the distance between them is much
greater and the girl keeps playfully hitting the boy.  They are both
smiling and the boy is looking anywhere but at the girl.  She is looking
straightforward, even while she hits him but I can tell they are
talking.  He walks slightly behind her and then tries to trip her.  She
again, turns towards him and hits him.

A group of five adults is walking together.  There are three men and two
women. One couple is obviously together, the man slaps the woman’s butt
and he along with another man in the group start laughing.  Another
woman is talking very loudly about a movie she saw the weekend before. 
I might mention that they are all dressed extremely nice.  I notice that
every one of them has a ring on the “married” finger. 

A group of girls probably about my age (maybe?) are all dressed in “club
attire”.  Many of them are wearing very short dresses and there is not
one male with them.  They are talking about how much fun they are going
to have tonight.  One of the girls is on her cell phone giving
directions to where they are. One pair of girls is holding hands and
whispering.  Three of the girls go inside to get something to eat while
the others pull on their clothes and pull out their cell phones and
texting.  Two more of the girls are helping do another girls hair while
she stands like a statue.  They seem to enjoy the attention of many of
the people that are gazing at them but act as if they don’t see anyone
else.  Their eyes are focused on only other girls in the group.  Two
boys approach one girl… she shakes her head, the boys leave, a couple
girls approach her and then start laughing.  

A man and woman sitting a table eating.  They are sitting directly
across from each other.  There is no touching at any point while they
are eating and seem to be having a serious conversation.  I can’t tell
whether they are a couple, business partners, or just friends.  At one
point she takes a picture out and shows it to the man. He looks at it,
nods his head and gives it back to her.  They are still sitting there
even after the meal is over... but it is time for me to go.  

Relating this back to the material we have discussed in class I find
that many of the women I observed with the exception of the last, were
kind of guided by the males that they were with or surrounded by.  With
the young couples that I observed, it seemed as if the male had total
control over where the girl walked and it reminded me of Chapter 1 of
the Barker readings because it seemed so “cliché”.  Even the group of
girls, although they wanted to pretend that they were in their own
bubble, it was interrupted by the two boys who walked up to them.  I
also found it interesting that it was a group of girls and when I saw
the group of adults, it was a lone male.  It is almost as if the girls
cannot be independent (however I do not agree)… they had to be in that
group to feel impowered.  The group of girls must have been aware that
there was not a male with them and therefore aware of the “other” part
of the binary equation.  

As for the sign systems of Derrida and Saussure, the young toddler seems
to be the best example.  As she reaches one of the adults, she would
scream and laugh. While she was running, she was completely focused on
making the correct steps.  Once the picked her up, clapped, or started
screaming, she would do the same as a reaction.