Case Study Research Project.
This paper is a case study of the Century City Mall and using an ethnographic approach the researcher analyzed the mall in terms of its historical background and he also compared it with other malls to pinpoint its unique features and why it is able to attract people from all walks of life.
Description of the siteevent
The Century City mall is a great place to spend a whole day during your leisure time. The AMC Century City Theatres has really comfortable seats and IMAX 3D movie screenings. In addition to the theatres, some of the best restaurants are located in Century City Mall. Those interested in enjoying great American food have Houston which is a restaurant that offers a wide selection of American dishes. Rock Sugar Pan Asian restaurant offers Vietnamese, Malaysian, Indonesian and Thai cuisines. Mexican dishes are offered at Pink Taco, and Ummba Grill offers an array of Brazilian cuisine.
If one wants to have something quick and cheap to eat, there are several eateries which offer fast foods and they are Food Court or Subway Sandwiches. These eateries have affordable delicious dishes and are very popular as they can be taken on the go.
Century City has large clothes and other accessories shopping selections. They have high end brands like Louis Vuitton, Hugo Boss, and True Religion. For more common shopping needs they have Macys, Bloomingdales, Abercombie, Kenneth Cole, Puma, and Zara. Bloomingdales and Marcys are the malls anchors or most important stores as they bring in the bulk of the malls patrons and occupy a very large area in terms of square meters.
If one needs to buy some groceries, they can go to Gelsons whereas Brookstone, Apple and Bose offer all types of electronics. Apple offers a selection of information technology gadgets from the Macintosh brand whereas Bose offers an array of home appliances.
The best thing with the Century City Mall is the parking. The first three hours are free of charge and valet parking services are also available on Santa Monica and Constellation Boulevards.
Relevance and importance of this site or text as a subject of study
The mall is located in Century City and is surrounded by skyscraper office buildings on one side and hotels in which prominent people stay on the other side. It is on the Northwest side of Century City in Santa Monica which is in the city of Los Angeles. The mall being in a metropolitan city has something to offer everyone and people from all walks of life are able to get what they want from the mall. Also, being in city that attracts thousands of tourists every year at the mall they can feel right at home enjoying their cuisines and sampling what other cultures have to offer.
As far as malls goes, the Century City has the characteristics depicted by the other shopping malls. It is large and the retailers have very exciting presentations the owners of the retail shops in the malls through creativity and innovation manage to attract a very wide audience.
Under the roof of Century City customers get to enjoy childrens play areas, people can witness live shows, watch movies, play virtual reality computer games, have access to a variety of different dishes and food and see eye-catching marketing techniques and interact with knowledgeable people as they demonstrate how operate certain gadgets. Also, Century City offers postal services among a variety of other services.
Method of research what did you do Observation When, how long, where Interviews-how many With whom Where
According to Taylor (2002) the methodology forms the background of every research as it validates the findings of research. This being an ethnographic research it thus entails the researcher to go to the field and experience the culture of the population which they are researching on. The methods of data collection used included close observation and interviews. As the researcher lives in Los Angeles he has visited the Century City mall on very many occasions and has interacted with very many people. These past experiences also came into play in this research.
The movie theatre is a favorite spot for many. The theatre is beautiful and the experiences of watching movies there are very pleasant and rewarding. Therefore this is one area that the researcher needed opinion on and therefore interviews were conducted on several movie goers who were selected using random sampling technique on different days. Also, the researcher interviewed the staff members who work at the AMC Theatres to get their views about their jobs and their clientele.
Apart from shopping the other places that attract a lot of business are the various themed restaurants. Most foreigners who for various reasons have relocated to the U.S. get to experience a taste of home in these restaurants. The mall is also very popular with tourists therefore the researcher interviewed a few people who have had a chance to sample these different cuisines on offer and also observed which restaurants were popular. One of the research questions sought to find out whether ethnicity was a factor that influenced patronage of these restaurants. Through observation the researcher wanted to find out whether the clients chose the restaurants based on their ethnic backgrounds or if other factors were at play as well.
Analysis Using the semioticdiscursive approach along with performance based analysis that we have learned during the semester, analyze this sitea) Situate within an historical context
Malls developed due to the shortcomings of ancient departmental stores that were seen to congest and make cities very dirty. The first malls called shopping centers were located along the city suburbs in the nineteen twenties and were meant to offer everything under one roof. Therefore shopping malls have existed for very long time and over the years have undergone several transformations. They have moved away form being just functional to incorporating other amusements and leisure time activities.
The Century City shopping mall was anchored on a Broadway set. The mall has grown over the years and in 1987 it boasted one of the largest movie theatres. This was what made Century City very popular then. The Broadway was closed down and bought off by a different investor and consequently the name was changed to Bloomingdales and what was previously the Marketplace was converted to retail shops. The Century City Mall is built on what was originally a movie set for which the original mall has been featured in several movies.
The mall boasts of having one of the most comfortable and state of the art movie theatres fitted with modern equipment. The seating resembles that seen in stadiums which means it is in 3D which enables the movie to be watched from all angles. This was developed recently is very popular with many movie lovers.
Develop associations similarities and differences
Most Shopping malls are alike and have the same features. They all boast an array of retail shops which sell products ranging from the basic necessities to the luxuries. The Century City Mall in that area is no different although unlike other shopping malls that have a Disney world setting where children and or adults can have a Mini-Disney experience Century City mall does not.
Compared also, to some malls Century City is relatively small though this should not deter movie lovers as there is a state of the art movie theater fitted with modern equipment.
Excavate the myths and underlying ideologies supported andor challenged
With the coming of the internet some thought that online shopping would lead to the demise of shopping malls. It has since emerged that the fears were unfounded and in essence the popularity of the malls has been on the rise though recently affected by the global financial crisis. This is because shopping malls are not just about shopping but combining that activity with an array of other sports and ways of spending leisure time with family and friends.
Recently in Minneapolis a rule was passed that no unaccompanied teenagers andor children should be spotted in a mall as they simply cause congestion and in most cases they are just gawking through windows without really buying anything. This is not entirely true as most children end up buying snacks and food. Also, they get to spot items they would like to buy or have their parents buy for them and this way when they come to the mall with their parents they acquire these items. Therefore claiming that children just idle around in malls gawking through windows without buying anything is a myth.
There are other myths that shopping malls were created with the idea or replicating mans understanding of Utopia. In essence the malls in America are seen by many Americans as a place to escape all the pressures and relax with friends while looking at beautiful things. Walking around and the noise because of all the activities is hardly Utopia.
Uncover the multiple andor contradictory meanings
Some people view everybody who goes to the shopping mall as going there to spend their leisure time. This is because if it shopping they were after they can achieve this online. As much as malls offer a place to relax and be with friends most trips to the mall are for shopping or finding out prices of items to be bought in future.
The other truth about malls is with competition among the retail stores makes the retailers sell their items at competitive prices. One has a choice of moving around in the mall and eventfully settling for the best prices of an item. Also, locating an item is easy.
Who benefitswho does not benefit for the meanings that are constructed
A shopping mall has everything for everyone under one roof. The traders benefit from selling their products to the customers whereas the public benefits as it is possible to shop and relax in the same place. The community near the malls also benefits since jobs are created by the presence of the mall in the neighborhood.
Discuss the per formative aspects of the site including the performance of culture and identity
The presence of valet parking raises the standards of the Century City mall. Also, the movie theatre is another factor that attracts an audience to this mall. Different ethnicities have their tastes and preferences taken care of and thus as far as integrating all cultural backgrounds Century City has succeeded.
Discuss issuesconcernschallenges of performing ethnography
To conduct an ethnographic research the researcher has to immerse themselves into the culture being researched on and be one with those in that community. Achieving such a feat in an expansive area such as the Century City is wishful thinking. The people who visit the mall range from genuine shoppers to conmen to tourists. Thus it would be impossible to be all those things or to try to fit in all the different social contexts presented in order to conduct a thorough research. Therefore some generalizations and the researchers personal opinions come to play.
Another challenge was establishing how much time was enough to gather a comprehensive data for the research. Everyday the situation change especially in such a context therefore a fact today may be disputed tomorrow.
Discuss your role as the researcher in relations to the research site (identification disidentification similarities differences) your biases, assumptions
Despite conducting this research I also spend time at the Century City mall shopping or doing other activities. The mall is close to where I live and therefore this shortness in distance motivated me to pick the mall as my case study. Since I have had very good times at the Century City especially at the movies my assumption is that this is everybodys opinion. It emerged though that some poodle have lost their personal effects never to be found and though I have always thought the place as safe this information took me aback.
What are the ethical issues you faced
According to Mackey Gass a researcher should ensure they treat their respondents with integrity. What ever information they give should be used for research purposes only. No names should be revealed or other forms of personal information. During the research especially since I was conducting a research in a shopping mall many ethical issues came up. For instance in trying to identify why customers prefer one restaurant to the other, or if eating in a certain themed restaurant had anything to do with their ethnic background the information required created an ethical dilemma. This is because by declaring one restaurant better than the other gives the restaurant an advantage or an edge over the others which in research is unethical.
About ethnicity, by declaring that people eat in a certain themed restaurant as for ethnicity reasons it might be construed as declaring one ethnic group as being superior to the others with an implication of discriminating against certain ethnicity.
Being a frequenter at the Century City, my personal opinions influenced by my tastes and preferences may have clouded my judgment. For instance I consider watching a movie at the AMC Century City theatre as the ultimate movie experience. I have indicated that in my research and my visits to other movie theatres in other shopping malls in my opinion do not hold a candle to the experience at the AMC theatres. Some people might disagree and but since it is a research about culture and how the surroundings influence a peoples way of life then it is unethical to let the researchers personal feelings interfere. In this case it was hard not to have an opinion about a place I know so well.
Shopping malls especially in present day time have revolutionized how people spend their leisure time. They have become the places where individuals go to have all their needs taken care of under one roof. One can shop, eat and play without having to get in your car and move around. This case study succeeds establishing how individuals view a shopping mall experience and how the different cultures have been accommodated in the Century City shopping mall. Also, it emerges that shopping and relaxation with friends is possible and it is an experience to be had in a shopping mall.
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