Title: Public City- Restaurant
Credits: Directed by Wai Suet Ying Teresa
Description of the theme:
There are more than 100 Pacific Coffee and more than 150 Starbucks in Hong Kong (Pacific Coffee, n.d.; Starbucks, n.d.). We can see coffee shops almost everywhere in the city. Coffee shops serve coffee, tea, and light snacks such as bagels and pastries to customers. People may meet their friends, study, work, entertain, or just pass time there. After people buy a cup of coffee, they may sit there for a few hours. What is the meaning of a coffee shop to people? A coffee shop is considered to be a public space. People around you can see what you are doing and hear what you are saying. However, people do not see the coffee shop as just a place for having meals. They are seeking a private space in this public space. They construct a private space in the coffee shop with a cup of coffee, a table, and a chair. What are the reasons behind this? Is there anything special about coffee shops that makes it attractive for people to spend a few hours there?
Method of conducting the research and producing the video:
I visited Pacific Coffee in Citygate on a weekday afternoon. To understand the meaning of coffee shops to people, I observed what they do and how long they stay. I found that people usually study, work, meet friends, entertain, and pass time there. Most of them stayed a few hours there. Therefore, I have showed these behaviors in my video.
In addition, I have showed the environment of the coffee shop. The coffee shop has an open space design. It is separated into two sitting areas by the cashier and kitchen. One area is in front of the cashier and near the door of the coffee shop. People sitting there can be observed by people walking by in the shopping mall. Another sitting area is behind the cashier and kitchen. It is up a staircase of two steps. As it is covered by the kitchen and some plants, people outside are hard to see directly into it. Therefore, customers in the area upstairs can enjoy more privacy. Also, there are sofa, floor lamps, and floor-to-ceiling windows which make the area cozier. I also tried to show the atmosphere in the coffee shop.
Reflections:
In Hong Kong, the living environments of many people do not allow them to have adequate private space. For example, some people need to share their room with their siblings, even some may not have their own room at their home. As a result, people may need to seek another space to spend their time.
However, why would people spend their time in a coffee shop rather than in other restaurants, libraries, or at home? Why don’t they study in the library, work in their office, and have private tutorials at their home? After reflecting on my own experiences, I think there are several reasons.
First, it is about the expectation of the coffee shop companies toward their customers. The coffee shop companies expect their customers to enjoy their coffee in their shops by providing cozy environments, free Wi-Fi, and charge sockets. For example, Starbucks aims to provide customers with a ‘third space’ except their homes and offices (Starbucks, n.d.). Therefore, their customers are willing to spend their time in coffee shops without feeling guilty. Unlike other restaurants which have limited the time their customers spend on meals, coffee shops are more welcome their customers to enjoy their time there.
Secondly, there is seldom a disturbance or regulations from the coffee shops. When people are in the libraries, they are prohibited from eating and making noise. Therefore, when compared to libraries, people can have a more relaxing time in the coffee shops.
In addition, the atmosphere in the coffee shop motivated people to work. When seeing others working hard in the coffee shop, you may be motivated to work harder. Also, the noise in the coffee shops can boost people’s creativity and help them to concentrate (Mehta et al., 2012). As a result, people may work more effectively in the coffee shops.
To conclude, the characteristics of coffee shops make them become people’s ‘third space’. People enjoy their little private space in this public space.
References:
Mehta, R., Zhu, R. (Juliet), & Cheema, A. (2012). Is Noise Always Bad? Exploring the Effects of Ambient Noise on Creative Cognition. Journal of Consumer Research, 39(4), 784–799. https://doi.org/10.1086/665048.
Pacific Coffee, n.d. Retrieved May 3, 2022, from https://www.pacificcoffee.com/.
Starbucks, n.d. Retrieved May 3, 2022, from https://www.starbucks.com.hk/.
Suet Ying Teresa, Wai (3035933397)
Enjoy watching your video and essay in finding the meaning of coffee shops to people, and explaining why is it so attractive for people to stay there but not other plays.
Your visual design of the video deploys both large texts and coffee shops scenes alternatively, and I like how you present the texts of ‘public’ and ‘private’ so interchangeably on the screen to present how the boundaries between two concepts are blurred in coffee shops. The organization of your essay also follows high academic standards with good citations.
Yet you may consider emphasizing more on the characteristics of coffee shops being a ‘restaurant’ (since this is your assigned sites) while coffee shop don’t seem to fit into the traditional definition of a ‘restaurant’. Thanks for your video~
Through this video, I can understand why a cafe is an attractive place for people to stay. I like the way you produce this video., which is alternating black screens with narrative subtitles and a cafe scene. I appreciate your effort to produce this video.
I like how your idea of mentioning such a contract place of coffee shop in a public space. Which may make you feel comfortable and feel like home. Also, the ending part of switching between words enlighten the concept. What is home? what is public and what is private? Do public means uncomfortable? Maybe a private space can be uncomfortable too.