The Parking Lot Contract

Nestled in the heart Charlottesville, VA, is "The Corner"- the hub of student nightlife and disorderly conduct. Nestled in the heart of The Corner, is the Corner Parking Lot, subject of the PBS documentary, "Parking Lot Movie." I'd heard it was a good one, but nothing could have prepared me for this.

Somehow, this unassuming slab of concrete, has been taken over by thinkers, dreamers, and philosophical idealists. Staffed by graduate students, artists, musicians, bums, and professors, this parking lot becomes a microcosm of society. An anthropological study of human behavior, the meaning of the social contract, and what it means to be a part of the human experience. Quoting one attendant:

So, you're sitting there in a decontextualized, neutral environment, with no real meaning, no real structure, no real organizational framework...and at the end of the day, the best way to approach that, was to become a transcendental existentialist, and really not look for that meaning.

This film spoke to me on so many levels, but one that rang particularly clear to me, was this notion of "conditional" hierarchy. I am a teacher, and my students respect me (I hope). If I take a part time job as a waitress, and serve my students, does that mean they get to stop respecting me, since now I'm just a humble servant? I'm still the same person, with the same skills, so where does that respect go? When we mete out respect, is it awarded to the person, or their position? I'd like to think the former, but I'm not really sure. This music video, produced by The Independent Lens for PBS, says it all.

Or maybe I'm just a sucker for bearded men who read philosophy and wield spray paint.
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