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【21st May】Bars

发表于 2013-05-21 2756 次查看

Different from a French café orbar/tabac or an English pub, bars, even for the everyday visitor, are more of a retreat from the public sphere than an extension of it. Generally the whole family does not go to the local bar. Bars in Americaare often refuges, especially for smokers and drinkers, who are almost entirely pathologized. Similarly for homosexuals, gay bars are a hideaway a place to mingle with other homosexuals without the intrusion of the law, although, until recently, Stonewall gay bars were often raided. Bars are the place of sexual possibility and hookup; sometimes any single woman in a bar is seen as available (the novel/film Looking for Mr Goodbar (1977), for example, played out the punishment” of such a single woman).

In the 1970s, heterosexual single bars rivaled certain gay bars as spaces specifically designated for the playing out of mating rituals for the adult human. Novelist Charles Bukowski sought out inspiration in such bars and found the inspired everyday poetry of the denizens of these darkened spaces. Bars also have been crucial places for the development of new forms of popular music, such as jazz (bebop) and new genres. Bars often host new talent before the performers either disappear or move into more traditional, official spaces with higher cover charges (patrons in bars are not charged unless there is live music or a live DJ).

In the 1990s, 1950s/1960s cocktails such as the martini and the Manhattan, as well as the new “Cosmopolitan” came back in style and demanded appropriate settings. These bars, either opened or redesigned with retro or contemporary styles, brought sophistication back. Live DJs replaced the jukebox, which allowed the user to set the tone. However, this “new” rendition does not entirely eclipse the bar’s primary function as a space to drink, to mingle, to find someone new.

In some bars, the pool table is a crucial ingredient (as might be video and pinball machines, but slightly less dramatically). Leading pool players challenge one another and develop audiences as players drink and play in a game that involves skill and seemingly indicates sexual prowess. In other bars, pool is a playful pastime that fills up the hours among “regulars” who know one another and call the bartender by name. The bartender plays a crucial role in the bar as a purveyor of alcohol, but also as a master of ceremonies who knows the ins and outs of the establishment. Friendly or curmudgeonly, the bartender sets the tone of the bar and introduces the new customer or initiate to its culture. The bartender serves the drinks to the customers (it’s never a selfservice situation) so that both power (and the rapidity of a buy back) places the bartender, structurally in an esteemed position. This is particularly true in the early twenty-first century when the bar once more is a refuge from a restrained larger culture.

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  • 2楼 荆棘 2013-05-21

    酒吧

    即时对于那些每天都去的人来说,酒吧也和法式小酒馆(Cafe)或英式酒馆(Pub)不一样——酒吧是一种私人放松的场所,而不是公共生活的延续。美国人通常不会一家子一起去酒吧,对于他们——尤其是喜欢抽烟和喝酒的人来说,酒吧更像是一个避难所。对于同性恋者来说也一样,尽管直到近期,石墙同志酒吧还经常会遇到突然搜捕,但同志酒吧还是给了他们一个和同类人相处而免受法律侵扰的环境。酒吧是一个艳遇之地,有时出现在酒吧里的单身女子,就带了些等人搭讪的意味。

    在七十年代,异性恋单身酒吧和类似的同性恋酒吧其实是成人们的寻欢场所。小说家查尔斯.布克瓦斯基经常在这类酒吧流连,从这些场所的老常客身上获取诗歌的灵感。酒吧对于新音乐的发展也至关重要,比如爵士乐(bebop)和新流派(new genres)。新锐音乐人的音乐主场通常是在酒吧,直到他们消失或移到更传统和更官方的地方去赚更多的门票(除非是现场音乐或现场DJ,否则在酒吧里的音乐通常是不收费的)。

    到了九十年代,马天尼和曼哈顿等五十到六十年代的经典鸡尾酒,和新出现的“大都市”鸡尾酒等,以全新的方式重新出现在酒吧中。这些装修复古或是现代的酒吧,重新变得精致起来。现场DJ代替了自动唱片机,让客户可以控制场内的音乐调性。但是,这些新的变化并未完全抹去酒吧最初的作用:它还是一个用来喝酒、交往和认识新朋友的场所。

    在一些酒吧里,台球桌是一个重要的装置(有的酒吧会放录像或是街机,就没意思得多)。那些台球打得好的人,一边喝酒一边与互相挑战,吸引很多人进行观看,于是这种技术性的游戏似乎带了点性能力方面的暗示。而在另一些酒吧,台球则成了常客们之间的消遣。调酒师在酒吧里扮演着重要的角色,他不仅是提供酒的人,而且也是派对的主持者。气氛友好还是冷清,酒吧的调子由调酒师而定,同时他们也会给酒吧引进新客人,或是创造酒吧的独特文化。调酒师给客人提供酒水(酒吧里从来不会有自助的方式),这种能力让调酒师处在了酒吧中一个受尊敬的位置。在21世纪早期,酒吧成为人们逃避社会压力的场所,这种状况更为普遍。

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