Starrboks
To further my research about the mythical Nacirema, I camped for hours in one of their congregation areas: Starrboks. A truly magical, yet terrifying place it was to be in. I started my investigation in the A.M and continued it until dusk; a variety of members were attracted to this holy space. There were several men and women dressed in neutral-colored attire — a type of garb they refer to as “business attire” – that swarmed the Starrboks early in the morning. Around noon, groups of young adults staggeredly walked in with bags and books. Upon further inspection, I realized they belonged to a tribe called college. In order to avoid being exiled from college, the young adults must spend hours enduring tortuorous reading and writing. However, the group I observed appeared more transfixed on anything else but completing their work. In the afternoon, another wave of youth arrived, but they were from a lower tribe called high school. Instead of reading sacred texts, this group used the grounds of Starbucks as a time for socializing; their laughter and loudness annoyed others in proximity I noticed. The most terrifying one I observed, however, was a woman that demanded her entire coffee (I’ll explain this substance later) be remade because it was too cold. Nacirema like her are given the title “Karen” due to their rudeness. In addition to the groups I observed congregating in the Starrboks, there were always three or four workers called bariztahs that created magical drinks for the others to consume. The bariztahs rarely rested and had to engage in ritualistic step by step processes to craft the substance of their specialty: coffee. In its simplest form, coffee is a brown liquid that the Nacirma consume in order to become more energetic. The bariztahs added magical ingredients to the coffee– like sugar or cream– to fit specific requests from customers.
I too in my research have looked at this congregation site of Starrboks and likewise find it fascinating due to the multitude of human demographics it attracts, from the grown male and female neophytes to the adolescents of their respective tribes. I also overheard one female human, a "Karen," as humans like her have been titled, ordering a "Grande no-whip white chocolate mocha with five pumps and an extra shot, made with soy." The human orderers even identify themselves by name so the bariztahs know who they must serve the drink to as they cannot remember members by face.
ReplyDeleteThis was intriguing as I have also noticed the waves of groups congregating at Starrboks... not to mention I may have driven there this very day. The "Karens" are a classic and I enjoy every minute of watching them try and get their way, but not when they are yelling at me. Good job this week! I loved the humor!
ReplyDeleteI love this. Your progression from college students to high schoolers to then Karens is just hilarious. What a way to show Starbucks culture for what it really is lol. It’s amazing how you can simplify the culture and the people who partake in it into such basic language.
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