David Grazian's Blue Chicago

In his ethnography on blues clubs in Chicago, David Grazian argues that authenticity is a social construct, based on an ideal reality of fixed subjectivities, formed by various factors. Further, the ways in which cultural consumers and producers assess authenticity is fluid in nature; it is never static and despite how much it shapeshifts over time, it remains as an absolute truth for those that create it. In Blue Chicago: The Search for Authenticity, Grazian details the primary variables that help to shape notions of authenticity. Foremost, he connects authenticity to space and physiological perception when he states, “First, it can refer to the ability of a place or event to conform to an idealized representation of reality: that is, to a set of expectations regarding how such a thing out to look, sound and feel (Grazian, pg. 10).” The mention of place is significant considering that the space that one occupies is key to the formation of identity, while offering a sense of community and purpose, creating what Lynne C. Manzo and Patrick Devine-Wright call, place attachment. As well, how sensory information is identified and interpreted is also largely influenced by space. But more importantly, it helps to construct the “idealized …show more content…
10-11).” What is important to extract from this statement when understanding how authenticity is constructed is the meaning behind performance. Particularly, “credibility or sincerity of a performance” is slanted and often determined by the ability of a cultural performer to satisfy a precise role that coincides with behaviors expected by the consumer. Therefore, presentation becomes directly linked to visual aesthetic, social and cultural actions and other opportunities for personal interaction, which influence the impression that one extracts from the performance