Nightclubs: Between Boundaries and Freedom
Sabrina Ferreira Zauli
Through the nightclubs analysis as symbols of a freedom, emerges the importance that these places have on the society of the time. Starting with the philosophical theory of the non-places by Marc Augé my research explores different aspects of nightlife feelings based on the experience in the interiors. The visitors’ identity focuses on breaking the boundaries of an everyday life with a transition from non-places to places. The who attends nightclub can escape from reality and temporarily lose themselves in a space that is simultaneously physical and mental: a heterotopia space. According to Foucault, the definition of heterotopia is a space with more layers of meaning or with a relationship to other places: in the case of clubs, the entertainment reality is being projected into a world of illusion and euphoria.
Considering all the topics explored during my research through context, thresholds, domesticity and a “parallel” utopian reality I will highlight the importance of the clubbers’ identity experience into these spaces starting with the most important step: the entrance. The traces that customers leave in the club influenced the singular and the whole community entertainment. I will demonstrate how clubbing process can break down all psychological boundary layers for achieving the mental and physical freedom.
Is the space considered as a limitation in nightclubs? Can the boundaries have an impact on clubbers? In nightclubs, during the 1960s they determined a new reality. Once there, clubbers could choose their own identity leaving behind any other. So, what does “escape from reality” mean? What if it means the opposite? Being completely free without any limits. In my thesis, boundaries are not related to just spaces, but to a concept identity.
After the rise of silent-disco, nightclubs didn’t need an actual interior anymore. So, what’s the future of nightclub spaces? If with the term: ‘non-place’ includes all spaces without a strong identity where the human beings remain anonymous, can nightclubs be considered something in between?
My approach shows how the strong identity of the nightclubs can bring people to feel a new immersive experience. My whole process analyses if the environment created from these interior spaces has any affect on people’s daily lives and identity. through the observation of the traces I will show how what people leave in the clubs, between emotions, euphoria and dynamism, has repercussions on their lives.
