Using an urban ethnography recording method similar to Clifford Geertz' on his trip to Bali, this paper describes diners at a restaurant in Los Angeles viewed through the culture of consumption framework set forth by Anne Norton. According to Norton, Americans do not deserve the condemnation they receive for their high levels of consumption.
Americans do represent themselves by what they drive, what they eat, how they furnish their homes, and, most of all, what they wear. Possessions mark people's class, regional, racial and gender characteristics. People's possessions indicate subtle attributes as well: occupation, where they went to school, marital status, causes they support, and music they prefer. Choices are required among products to enable people to fullfil their desire to constitute their own identity (51). Norton disagrees that Americans mistake desire for need, and she writes that "Americans know that these are not necessities. Consumers recognize desire as desire. In doing so, they transform consumption from an act of necessity, imposed and inevitable, into a source of pleasure and an act of will" (55).
Food may be one of the basic necessities for life, however, the variety of food choices in both grocery stores and restaurants is amazing. Food choices in the countless restaurants in Los Angeles include ethnic and American dishes, prepared authentically, modified for American tastes, or by a chef's special recipe. For this urban study, a relatively new, upscale restaurant was selected. The restaurant is located on trendy Melrose Avenue in West Los Angeles and is open only at night for dinner and drinks. Several celebrities, actors, and sports figures are the owners. They are in and out to greet, meet, and do photo opportunities with other celebrities and dinner guests. Reservations are recommended on Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights. The obligatory valet parking and door attendant are present. Fr...