One person that Cole discusses in chapter 1 and who helps illustrate for not just me, but also Coles, the idea of “location,” is William Carlos Williams. Williams is a poet and a doctor who was known to have associations with his location, especially in Rutherford, New Jersey which was his hometown and his primary source of inspiration. Location can be a tricky concept, however, when putting yourself physically in the place where you are writing about, walking down the tricky paths and taking in the rusty stairs, you understand where you are and why it is the way it is. Cole connected with Williams description to “the thing itself” which is the subject of describing an action, person, place, or gesture (Cole, 46).
Cole emphasizes that William “ knew in his bones that location made a huge difference, not only the location of a particular documentary project…but the very location of the person doing the project, and of course the reason behind that location” (Coles, 47). This quote stood out to me because it reminds me that where we are shaped by the environment we choose to surround ourselves in and we can structure what we see and also how we see it. Our observations, experiences, and choices are influenced by not only the physical environment we see surrounding us but also the social aspect of the environment – the respect given by the people, the life they live.
From what I have gathered, to understand location, you need to be in the location. This makes me think about moments in my own life when new locations have given me a different perspective. For example, when I first left Gaithersburg, Maryland for college in Allentown, Pennsylvania, I was put in a new environment, living with people who were from completely different hometowns, and had varying routines and morals. I became more aware of how my hometown had shaped me. The weekly Friday night football games, the yearly “Kentlands Under the Lights,” the nightly family dinners sometimes even taken on facetime. Being in a different location now has forced me to see myself through a lense. I started noticing details I used to overlook and think were normal across the world but was just normal to me and one big physical thing was the modern architect at home is not what life like is here at a college campus and emotionally, the people here interact differently publicly than at home in Gaithersburg, Maryland. Much like Williams in the snippet we read of him, I realized that the details of a place carry meaning but the meaning is more prominent when you put yourself in that said location. His quotes remind me to pay attention to the small details of my surroundings because small details sometimes provide deeper meanings. A handshake in Maryland may be equivalent to a hug in Allentown but one may not know until you put yourself there.
Gaithersburg, Maryland
Allentown, Pennsylvania
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