Task 3: Communicating Swissness

Directions: Explore Zurich to see how Zurichness, Swissness, Europeanness, and finally globalness is communicated/displayed/made known. Guiding Questions: What is shown? What is not shown? What are some things you found that are odd/unexpected?


Findings:
The class, through their observations, discovered multiple tensions playing within the portrayal of the cities. These are:

• The traditional vs. the modern
• Relaxed vs. happening
  
• Quiet spaces vs. loud
• Rural vs. urban
• Tourists vs. locals
• Youth vs. Old(er)
• Local vs. global
• Exotic vs. familiar
  

Traditional vs. Modern:
-This interplay was found in a variety of ways including:

1. "Traditional" looking buildings that had been remodeled/renovated inside
2. Hotels advertising a "traditional Swiss environement/experience with modern amenities"
3. Restaurants with traditional Swiss cuisine "with a modern twist"
4. Prevalence of technology
5. Transportation systems

Relaxed vs. Happening

1. Attractions promoted: malls, stock exchange, festivals and events vs. churches, parks, lake/mountain viewing

Quiet vs. Loud

1. Hotels and restaurants advertising quietness
2. Boat ride with no guide/commentary, focused on more quiet observation
3. In reality, Zurich is a very busy, noisy city

Rural vs. Urban

1. Urbanity of the city of Zurich contrasted by the mountains and lake, and the promotion in advertising material of the lake, river, and mountain views
2. Central city area with no other villages or cities around lake
3. Strangeness in the fact that rarely were the homeless seen in the city, like we would expect of other large cities, especially in the US
   

Tourists vs. Locals

1. Abundance of locals in a cafe that didn't seem to cater to tourists
2. Locals used in promotional material for city, but there are also "tourist" activities to partake in and places to see that would be more "touristy"
3. Duality in the single space of city for both locals and tourists

Youth vs. Old (Businessmen)

1. Promotional material mostly shows youth "hanging out" in the city
2. In reality, the city is very geared toward businessmen, who frequent the city and are in abundance
3. Zurich Guide has over 10 pages of advertisement for high class escorts, with photos of older businessmen with very young "hot" women

Local vs. Global

1. Multilingual space--multiple languages used
2. Abundance of flags in the city--mostly Swiss or Cantonal flags, but also flags from other countries; these flags were on buildings, food labels, even on donuts
3. McDonalds and Starbucks in city
   

Exotic vs. Familiar

1. Familiar elements (like Starbucks, English language) mixed with exotic (Swiss food and cafes, other languages used, more abundance of sex/erotic services advertised openly)
2. Advertised comfortability, recognizability and ease
1. For the Swiss-- major grocery stores from other parts of the country in Zurich
2. For Europeans--prevalence of bicycles, cafes
3. For tourists-- attractions, events, festivals, experiences; also global brands like mentioned above

Pictures:

Swissness even in the donuts!

Italian, French, and German flags displayed with Swiss flag

-This overview brought to you by the amazing Johannah and Kristy!