An Airport Ethnography

I am sitting at Chicago's Midway airport at the moment, waiting for my flight back to California. I find airports to be fascinating places. Across from me there are four people in formal business attire--jackets, slacks, button down shirts, ties, and shiny black shoes. They are each eating a cheese danish straight out of plastic packets, no doubt from one of the food venders here at the airport. It's funny how silly they look--the danish out of plastic wrap seems to negate all aspects of the formal business getup. Quite a few people are chowing down Egg McMuffins and drinking Pepsi; others still have their McDonald's bag in tow. A woman to my left is sitting with her two daughters watching cartoons on the airport TV--all three are wearing Minnie Mouse ears (you know, those head bands that have the black Mickey Mouse ears, but with a big red bow between them, and yes, the mother is also wearing her own pair of Minnie Mouse ears). A couple on my right are decked out head to toe in Harley Davidson attire--leather pants, orange and black leather jackets with "Harley Davidson" written across the back, black cowboy boots, leather baseball caps with "Harley Davidson printed on the front, and each carrying a leather duffle bag with, you guessed it, "Harley Davidson" embroidered on the side. There are little kids running around everywhere with backpacks that are bigger than them, insisting on wheeling their parents luggage, which they practically steam roll over their younger siblings.

I wonder what all these people are like outside of the airport environment. I am sure that many people are no different. I mean, I like to think that I don't look like a total weirdo. But then again, maybe I am "that person" who is sitting with her ipod and glued to a laptop. But I think that a lot of people engage in behaviors that are not characteristically them when in an airport. For example, I doubt that the woman wearing the Minnie Mouse ears actually wears those on a daily basis (although, you never know). I know plenty of people to tell me that they never eat at McDonald's unless they are at the airport. Sometimes, people can use the excuse that there is nothing else to eat, but there is actually a fairly decent selection of food at Midway, which leaves me pondering as to why the cheese danishes in plastic wrap. When I was little, one of the only times that my parents would buy me candy bars was when we went on plan trips. This also meant that my dad got to get a candy bar, and to this day, when at the airport he normally disappears to buy a bottle of water and comes back with a Butterfinger as well. Now when I fly I normally buy a trashy Hollywood gossip magazine, although I resisted this morning and opted for just water and a pack of gum.

My theory is that people engage in all sorts of bizarre behavior at airports because airports are liminal places--yes, I am going Victor Turner with this. Not only are airports no-man's lands in terms of place, but they are also kind of in their own time zone as well--which explains the people sitting at the bar drinking Martini's at 8:22 in the morning. But if you think about it, Turner's theory actually applies really well to this situation. I mean, people go about their daily lives with some sense of normalcy and routine--a ritual, so to speak. When going on a trip, yes you break out of your daily ritual, but only to some extent. Most people try to somewhat keep their daily ritual even when they are on vacation, and especially if they are on a business trip--by this I mean wearing normal clothes, eating regular meals at meal times, showering, etc. But the airport, the place in between the daily ritual and the trip, is this liminal space, both in physicality and time. All rituals and daily performances are thrown aside and people eat McDonald's and candy bars, drink alcohol at 8:22am, and wear odd head adornments. Then once back at home, the daily ritual ensues. The liminality of the airport is just so entertaining to watch. I have great new music on my ipod, so the show even has a great soundtrack. "These Days" by Nico is quite an appropriate song for watching these people in their betwixt-and-between states.

Well, I am about to take off now, so I have put my tray table up, turn off all my electronic devices, fasten my seatbelt, and stow my bag under the seat in front of me. Man, I have not even started with the liminality of the actual airplane ride.