THESIS ABSTRACT:

Loneliness as a cultural aspect: Solitude in the Metropolitan city of New York.

PERSONAL STATEMENT

Initially inspired by the loneliness that was something that I was quite used to as someone living in New York City, I decided to do a thorough research about the solitude that I have observed in people living in New York City. Starbucks -for me personally- in itself has become a symbol of the solitude people experience in this metropolitan city. I rarely see people socializing in Starbucks, mostly people sit individually on tables either reading a book, struggling with their laptop or talking on the phone, as opposed to the Starbucks in my own country, where it is a place to socialize, have coffee and have a deep conversation. The fast paced environment of the city has led people to this inevitable loneliness- they simply do not have time to see each other so they use electronic media to communicate.

The idea for my thesis was something that I had been exploring since I moved to New York a year ago. As most people who move from a different country, I’ve experienced cultural differences. Due to these cultural differences, the relationships among people are very different as well. I think this is a deep psychological issue to be explored, and it excites me to analyze people’s thoughts.

In my thesis, I want to further look into this concept of loneliness, and how others feel about it, and whether it’s a cultural thing. Eventually, I hope to have a broader comprehension about people’s thought about the subject “solitude”, how they feel. I also hope to have more knowledge about different cultures, and how each culture adapts do a different city.

PROJECT DESCRIPTION:

The thesis project will consist of a documentary focusing on and observing people who live in New York City, and to what extent they experience solitude. I’m planning to interview people who are from different countries, as well as people who are from New York, and observe the life people live here compared to other countries or cities.

The documentary will involve comparison to other cities and countries consisting of images and personal opinions of the people who are interviewed.

CONTEXT:

Inspirations for my thesis include the following:

Miami-Havana: a documentary by Estela Bravo exploring families in Cuba and Miami who are having troubles because of the conflict.

Lost in Translation: a film by Sophia Coppola.

Lahiri, Jhumpa: The Namesake.  Houghton Mifflin, New York: 2003.

Marquez, Gabriel Garcia. One Hundred Years of Solitude. HarperCollins Publishers Inc, New York: 1998.

Yalom, Irvin. When Nietzsche Wept. Harper Perennial, New York: 1993.

Nietzsche, Friedrich. Beyond Good and Evil. Vintage Books, New York: 1989.

Levine, Arnold J.  Alienation of the Metropolis. R&E Research Associates, Inc: 1977

Bergen, Bernard J. and Rosenberg, Stanley D. The Cold Fire: Alienation and the Myth of Culture. University Press of New England, New Hampshire: 1976.

Victor, George. Invisible Men: Faces of Alienation. Prentice-Hall, Inc, New Jersey: 1973

Geyer, Felix R. and Schweizter, David R. Theories of Alienation.Martinus Nijhoff Social Sciences Division, Leiden: 1976.

http://ilef.ankara.edu.tr/fotograf/galeri/details.php?image_id=4261