"Pacific Standard Time (PST) aka Pacific Time Zone runs down the Pacific Coast of Canada and the United States of America. It is sometimes referred to as Pacific Coast Time or West Coast Time. It includes the cities of Seattle WA, San Francisco CA, Los Angeles CA, San Diego CA & Las Vegas NV" (source)
The second installment of my new column for Duellanti magazine, Pacific Standard Time, has been published (October 2009, issue #56) and it is now available for public consumption/contempt. This month I talk about my love for American coffee houses. Inevitably, I build my pro-cafe' rant on Ray Oldernburg's The Great Good Place: Cafes, Coffee Shops, Bookstores, Bars, Hair Salons, and Other Hangouts at the Heart of a Community (1989) - not a simple book, a true manifesto.
The great paradox of Italy is that the country has great caffeine, but lacks a modern coffee culture. I personally regard the lack of coffee houses troubling: drinking an espresso at the bar, in a gulp, standing up like an idiot while people behind you are pushing to reach the sugar container is simply barbaric. It's not just a matter of style: coffee houses are the cradle of democracy. I have argued elsewhere that phenomena such as the rise of Fascism and Neo-Fascism in Italy (Berlusconi included) can be directly linked with the absence of "third places" such as coffee houses.
As we all know, third places satisfy fundamental human needs. Like home (a first place) and the workplace (a second place), they provide a sense of community, relaxation, and soft performance. Oldenburg persuasively argues that third places are important for civil society, democracy, civic engagement, and establishing feelings of a sense of place - particularly important in an age of online, disembodied interactions. The lack of a strong sense of community and civic engagement in Italy can be related to the absence of third places like the coffee house. After all, third places are "anchors" of community life. They facilitate/foster broader, more creative interplay.
What are the hallmarks of a third place such as a coffee house? Free or inexpensive; food and drink, while not essential, are important; highly accessible: proximate for many (walking distance); involve regulars – those who habitually congregate there; welcoming and comfortable; both new friends and old should be found there; allow activities that are both public and private, individual (eg, reading or writing) and collective (eg playing, talking etc). It comes as no surprise that companies such as Sony and Starbucks have claimed 'ownership' of "third places" in order to sell their brands and products. Their success rate, incidentally, is impressive.
Coffee houses embody the very notion of the third place, although for many, including myself, they often operate as first or second places: for instance, I'd rather meet my friends here than in my flat (unless the goal of the convivium is media-based - eg movie watching, game playing). Coffee houses are also my preferred place to work: they function as an alternative to my office. Ironically, the background noise/soundtrack and constant movement allow me to concentrate more/better than in my quiet office. It may be a special case of the Hawthorne's effect, "a form of reactivity whereby subjects improve an aspect of their behavior being experimentally measured simply in response to the fact that they are being studied". My particular interpretation of the Hawthorne effect is related to one's performance in a public space: the assumption is that since I'm working (= reading, writing, correcting my students' papers etc.) under the (in)direct scrutiny of others, I feel more compelled to "be productive" and less willing to procrastinate. It's a basic psychological mechanism and it works for me even though I'm perfectly aware of the fact that nobody cares about what I am actually doing.
What I also like about coffee houses is the fact that they represent self-contained microworlds - I could spend hours just gazing at the people that enter and exit these spaces. The objects that define their sense of identity, from laptops to iPhones, from books to board games. These spaces encourage daydreaming and a peculiar form of sedentary flaneurism. They are stress-free: you're free to indulge in your own thoughts as much as you want to. Engage in conversations. Or be detached. Write a blog entry, such as this one, on your netbook. There are not stupid TV screens broadcasting Big Brothers' propaganda 24/7. There are no obnoxious deejays and commercials blasting through the speakers. You don't have to pay an extra fee just to sit at the table (another Italian custom that I find unacceptable, discriminatory, and archaic). The coffee house operates as a small library, art gallery, and memory palace.
Did I mention that there is basically no Wi-Fi in Italian bars? Tragic.
The lack of coffee houses in Italy led me to provocatively suggest that only a massive corporation like Starbucks could change the rules of the game (the social norms, habits, and expectations related to the consumption on caffeine in public). Only a 600-pound gorilla could redefine a nation's behavior. As much as I dislike Starbucks (I hear you, Naomi), I believe that Schultz' company could definitely teach the Belpaese one thing or two about coffee: designing place that encourage social interaction, places that provide a relaxed atmosphere and allow for activities that are both productive and entertaining. Sure, Venti Lattes are outrageously expensive, but so are 15 euro cocktail drinks in "trendy" bars for that matter...
Click on the thumbnails to read the story:
Link: Pacific Standard Time #1
Comments