I think commonplaces are
places that are shared. So I do believe that social media, blogging sites,
facebook, etc. are current day commonplaces. A diary could be a commonplace.
However, if it is not meant to be shared by the author, it would not be a
commonplace. If it is shared by a secret few, then it could be a commonplace. I
think that the commonplace is space to share one’s beliefs and values also.
Facebook allows one to tag friends, exclude friends, include friends, delete
friends etc. Therefore, I see it as a commonplace. Pinterest is definitely an
up and coming commonplace. After I created my Pinterest, cognitive dissonance
set in and I must have heard it 3 or 4 times since. Even the Channel 7 news
here in San Francisco, the same day I opened mine, started a
pinterest commonplace. I see all of these spaces as commonplaces. I think the
idea of sharing is the point, but I am not sure.
The beach boys sing
about a place but I don’t know if that is a commonplace since it is not shared.
There's a world where I can go
And tell my secrets to
In my room In my room where no one else knows (beach boys)
And tell my secrets to
In my room In my room where no one else knows (beach boys)
This reminds me of the
post about bedrooms by Hayley C. However, I think her point was that the girls’
bedrooms were shared by friends.
The watercooler; the
lunchroom; the playground; the volleyball court could possibly be commonplaces
where ideas are shared, exchanged, formed.
Possibly starbucks is a
commonplace. I don’t know. Do I have this wrong?
What about the
graffitied walls or doors in a bathroom? Too much? Hmm. But Lockridge does say,
“If you want the modern personality shaped by reading to be deeply rational and
informed, you should not look in the pages of commonplace books” (338).
I remember when
scrapbooking became popular and and my daughter shared that space with her
friends.
I love the line in
Lockridge, “literacy provides a deeper mirror than the silvered glass on the
wall.” All those wonderful secrets are waiting to be told:
"And in the moment of assembly itself, something like a cultural and social
self is being crafted out of the rag-tag combination of
old and new cultural tropes being combined
in the individual commonplace...." where dreams are shared.
I think you bring up a great point about graffiti and "public" postings on bathroom walls, subway stations, alleys. They are definitely shared common points of reference exclusive to members in the "know."
ReplyDeleteIt will be interesting to see how Pinterest continues to develop as a commonplace, and even more interesting to see what will replace it.
ReplyDeleteEven though it was not your main point, I think it's neat that we both immediately thought of music as as an obvious commonplace for girlhood. I think the Beach Boys are a good example.
ReplyDeleteI love the way that the room is shared as a commonplace. For a girl, if she's lucky enough to have a room (or even a shared room) where she and her friends or siblings can gather. The youth bedroom is a great place for listening to music, sharing stories, gossip, etc., and seems to be the most amazing place where growth takes place.
ReplyDeleteI'm wondering about your line about something becoming a commonplace if it is shared by "a secret few". How many people have to know something before it is commonplace? I think Aristotle thought of commonplaces - or common topics - as things an entire culture or community would understand (sort of how we know hear things like "family values" and "religious right" and think we know what it means when it really could mean lots of other things). But commonplaces could also be used to bind a tight, small group together.
ReplyDelete