Work vs. Leisure
Work vs. Leisure Welcome to Miami, a city known for its beautiful beaches, amazing weather and restless nightlife. Miami is also recognized for its wide variety of leisure activities. In Henri Lefebvre’s Critique of Everyday Life, he argues that people carry out a critique of their everyday life through the pursuit of leisure. When one chases leisure, he or she searches for an escape from the monotony of the everyday. This suggests that there is something missing from his/her life and in turn they must fill the void with a leisure activity that differs from their work. This search continues after one realizes that the leisure they pursue is merely an illusion; one is never really satisfied. Going out to one of Miami’s premier nightclubs might seem like the perfect leisure activity, but by using Lefebvre’s teachings as a lens one can observe the heavy flaws in this activity. Nightclubs do not effectively fulfill their purpose as leisure places because they do not offer people freedom from the social and moral restraints that prevent them from truly escaping everyday life. Instead, nightclub goers are pressured to perform up to society’s standards in both the physical and social aspects. People go out to nightclubs to spend time with others, dance, drink, and have fun. They go in uncomfortable clothes and torturous high heels to stand in line for possibly hours. People put on a fake front so they can appeal to others, and hope to fill the void in their lives with what lies behind the velvet ropes. They then enter into dark rooms with loud music, where people can neither be seen nor heard. This gives a sense of isolation because one cannot communicate effectively. Even with the lack of communication, one must still follow social and moral codes while at nightclubs. One is never free to express his or herself how they wish, and is always restrained by the pressing eyes of strangers. Everyone remains judgmental; whether on a conscious or subconscious level, people