The Stage

My observation took place on the evening of a shivery November day. I was at a sporting event in Kamloops with several thousand people of all ages. The smells of concession foods and popcorn filled the air and made your nostrils perk up. The flashing lights danced around the building, in sync with the music. The loud and upbeat music set the tone for the players and got the crowd dancing in their seats. After each scored goal the crowd cheered on their beloved home team with whistles, drums and clapping their hands.  You could feel the excitement in the air.

The Blocking

The Players

Entire Cast

The crowd was filled with people of all ages, sizes and ethnicity. Generally, the patrons were dressed in their best sports attire. Sporting caps, jerseys and often holding noisemakers. There was everyone from the old die-hard fans that wouldn’t miss this event for the world, staggering to their seats with the aid of their cane. All the way to the young little baby all dressed up and following in the tradition of its parents to attend.  The crowd was filled with people from each walk of life, all there to support.

Main Characters

The four adults and two children seated in front of me were my main focus. There was a man (Adult A) who appeared to be about 30 years old. He was dressed casually in a pullover sweater and jeans. His dark brown hair was cut in a brush cut, and had been growing out along with the stubble on his face. He appeared to be a bigger man, with the height to match. There was a woman (Adult B) who appeared to be around the same age as Adult A. She wore her chestnut hair in a tight back pony tail, sitting at the crook of her neck. She was dressed in an over-sized t-shirt and dark washed jeans. She had the “mom look” to her. There was another woman (Adult C) who looked about mid-50’s. She had her short, curly hair half hidden under a purple and white plaid hat, with a few accent buttons on the side. She wore worn jeans, and a light black jogger hoodie. She had a pair of small framed glasses balancing on top of her nose. The man beside her (Adult D) appeared to be about the same age as her, possibly her husband. He also wore glasses and had salt and pepper hair, cut very short. His hair was mostly covered by his camouflage ball cap.  Seated on his lap for most of the night was a little boy (Child A) who appeared to be under the age of 5. He clung to Adult D for comfort and security. He had thin brown hair and wore a little blue t-shirt and a grey long sleeve underneath for warmth. He had on little elastic waist jeans and Velcro runners. He appeared to be the child of Adult A and Adult B, as well as another little girl (Child B). She was a very pale little girl with long bleach blonde hair, strung back into a loose fishtail braid. She wore tiny little glasses and a princess pink long sleeved shirt. She had on comfy felt looking pants and little Velcro running shoes with princesses on them.  All of my main characters appeared to be related. Adult A and B appeared to be the parents of Child A and B. And Adult C and D appeared to be the grandparents of the children. They all looked similar and appeared to be a part of the same Caucasian family unit.

The Plot

The group as well as the rest of the crowd acted accordingly to their social environment. A social environment is “typically organized, which means that the persons in the environment act in an orderly, patterned way” (Brym). Adult A seemed to be captivated by the game. She was attached to a beautiful Nikon camera and snapped hundreds of pictures. Most of her time watching is spent gazing through the lens of the camera. Many times throughout my observation Adult A and B had short conversations. Adult B seemed to be very interested in everything Adult A was saying, and often giggled with a coy smile on her face. In between these two was delicately placed Child B who was so small she barely fit in her seat. She would wander between each seat and bounce from lap to lap. Adult B, her mother, often would tell her with authority to return to her seat. She often displayed domination over the child. She held all the power, whereas the little girl had none (Brym). Child B would often dance in her seat to the music and rock back and forth. She would often snuggle up to Adult A and bury her face in his arm. Child A spent most of his time curled up on Adult D who appeared to be the grandparent. This child wasn’t particularly interested in what was going on. His focus was on fiddling with the strings of Adult D’s hoodie. He twirled them around his finger with great fascination. He manipulated them into various abstract shapes, and was amused for quite some time. When Adult A and B would often talk in snippet conversations, Child B would often talk over them to be involved in the conversation.  This is a main point in the conflict theory; it addresses the fight for attention within conversation as well as other actions (Brym). I believe the biggest example demonstrated in this observation was the ongoing primary socialization within the family. The adults were teaching their children the basic skills needed to function in society not only in childhood but also as they grow into adults (Brym). They were shown to sit respectfully during the event and mind their manners. Even though they were at a sporting event, and of course cheering is encouraged. When the adults would cheer loudly and sing the upbeat songs after scored goals, the children weren’t frightened. They cheered and sang right along with the adults. The children were shown these through example and did what every child is good at: monkey see, monkey do.

The Finale  

I am a first year psychology major at TRU and found this assignment to be awkward and entertaining to say the least. I often find myself people watching when I’m public, but have never watched people so intently and tried to figure out their life and connection to each other. Overall I enjoyed the observation and greatly like the analysis side of it. The main focus of my theories used for analysis was centered on family and interactions. Although it may have been more interesting to focus on people in a different kind of setting, doing more physical things, I believe this was just as interesting.

Credits

Brym, Robert et al. Sociology: Your Compass For a New World. Nelson Education, 2016. Edition: 5^th. Print.