Did not feel like all that much was done, but there was about 300 miles of driving done. Went from Scottsdale to Peoria to visit family friends for a bit. Then drove 140mi to Quartzsite, AZ to meet people and conduct a few interviews. I met Mary, who runs the Hi Jolly Outpost, which I assume is tied with the Quartzsite Yacht Club restaurant in some way, and she was a sweet elderly woman who obliged to be interviewed on camera and was a pleasure to be around. Then went to the Hi Jolly Cemetery, it was an interesting view. Then went to Silly Al's Pizza, which was near empty. It was the time I had gone to a restaurant where the waitress told my party to sit wherever we wanted and she would come to us. The food was pretty good. Then drove 140mi back to Phoenix to catch a comedy show at 7:30. Finishing the day back at the home of the family friends in Peoria.
INTERVIEWS:
-Definitely an interesting experience.
-Met cool, real people who gave me really insightful information into these communities.
-Quartzsite is a small town adjacent to the 10 FWY, near the CA/AZ border, something I did not account for. There is a lack of population permanence with this, for example, Quartzsite's population rises during the winter months for a number of reasons like snowboarders staying so that they can go to nearby mountains, or others whose usual professions are so lean during the winter months that they have the free time go there.
-Very few economic opportunities in city during summer because it is too hot to do much of anything during the daytime, so it has to be done in early morning or evening/nighttime. This repels tourists, so there was even a restaurant that is set to remain closed until October, when people start to return.
Very religious community, but with a multitude of faiths. Giving passersby the ability to worship in their own faith, but even some houses of worship are unable to draw enough people during this time.
-Encountered a bit of a juxtaposition, Mary the devout, older Christian woman and was charmed by the small town life, and Krystal, a younger woman working at Silly Al's, who was disenchanted with what was encompassed by the small town lifestyle. Though actually from Blythe, CA, she mentioned that these small communities tend to lead to more religious fervor and homogeneity, so misinformation can spread and be treated as law without much opposition.
STRESSES:
I am worried about this project. All this traveling is making me more tired than I anticipated and I need to keep to a fairly strict schedule. I am also worried about a number of other issues:
-Doing right by my interviewees. I was always upset when I heard that certain things people say are purposely edited to change the meaning and cast people in a certain light. I do not want to advocate for a certain political bend or agenda for this project because the project is not about one side or idea being an protagonist and the other an antagonist, it is about the people as protagonists and our situation of being lumped together in this democracy as an obstacle, but one that can be overcome. I do not want to mislead people, so I need to be particularly deliberate with how I present the information that these people willingly give to me about themselves and their community.
-I am still insecure about my place at college, and I can feel myself being subconsciously motivated to have this as proof that I do belong at CMC, or even just college in general.
-Driving. There is a lot. My father is using his vacation days to help me out here but it is not fair to him to make him drive hundreds of miles a day. So I drive a bit, but I have a lot going on mentally that the fatigue is only made worse. But it is worth it.
-What am I going to do with all this information? How am I going to present it? I keep realizing things about what I am doing that make me uncertain of where I am going with this.
Did not come into it expecting much, but it was okay. Some comedic styles did not appeal much to me, though made the crowd roar with laughter. I'm not a judge or anything so I do not worry much about this. Laughed the hardest at the jokes made by the youngest comic there, how much does that speak to him and his comedy and to me and how I interpret it and deem it funny?
-Premise was about "Who has the worst day job?" so I was expecting it to be a glimpse into the lives of these people, but this was one of the later rounds in this competition so they were just doing sets.
-A number of jokes about Mexicans, but Asian people as well. One white guy was mocking being a cholo. Another talked about being mixed with Mexican, and how he selectively only chooses to reap the benefits of the culture.
-Jokes about Arizona becoming more progressive. One interaction between a comic and an audience member, "I'm not going to bring up anything political." "Thank God!" "'Thank God!' Yeah that was a Trump supporter." Then discussion about Donald Trump's various activities in and out of office.
-Numerous jokes about race and ability, also one about the massacre of Native Americans. I found these to be in poor taste. Comic I liked the most had jokes centered around dating but also, arguably, ageism, so I am realizing my own biases and why I have them.
-Noticed different sections of the room laughing when it came to jokes about class and race. A lot of racial makeup jokes in a "I'll use the fact that I have a Mexican parent as material but not really speak much about the current issue with the state I live in." demeanor.
This ended up being a lot. You deserve a few photos for reading/skimming/skipping to the end of this.
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