I can feel the cold wind on my face. It’s Saturday night, and I’m riding my bike with my best friend to an unknown neighbourhood. I can’t wait to arrive and start my field study. Even though it’s taking place in a church’s basement, the site I’m going to study has nothing to do with spirituality and religious worship. It’s an amateur wrestling tournament. The whole event is taking place in Hochelaga-Maisonneuve, known for a long time to be one of Montreal’s poorest neighbourhood. I’m really exited about the whole thing. First of all, I don’t know Hochelaga-Maisonneuve at all. If it weren’t for my friend, I’d be lost. Second, my knowledge about wrestling is limited to zero. This place is taking me completely out of my comfort zone and it’s …show more content…
Some children look like they are not older than 5 years old and some are still toddlers. I start paying attention to a woman not far from me. She is pacing around behind the line of metal chairs. In one hand, she is pushing a stroller with a young baby in it. In the other hand, she is holding what seems to be a beer, with “MOLSON EXPORT” written on it. Some of those young children seem to look like they are used to the place, as they seem bored, not lloking at the action going on, playing on Nintendo and falling asleep. They don’t pay much attention to the ring, and are mostly turned facing their …show more content…
The mentor I chose for this field observation is Paul Rabinow: The way he described his environment, and mostly the way anthropology is making the observer question himself by the detour of studying the “other”. Being in this unfamiliar environment, I questioned myself about the education I received, the stereotypes I had in mind about Hochelaga-Maisonneuve, etc. I thought I would not like to see men wrestle and in the end I had a great night. From my three hours around that ring, I made something very strange to me more familiar. I concluded that the event has for objective to entertain the public while giving them more freedom (drinking, interacting with the wrestlers, etc.) than a regular performance (cinema,