The School of Modern Languages and Culture

The University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus

Jalan Broga 43500 Semenyih
Selangor Darul Ehsan
Malaysia

Cultures of Everyday Life: Mid-term Assessment

Name: Loh Ann Yie Andrea

Student Number: 023471
Module Title: Cultures of Everyday Life
Module Code: AA1M02
Coursework Component: Coursework 1
Module Convenor: Ahmad Fuad Rahmat
Academic Year: 2015/2016
Date of Submission: 17th March, 2016

When one steps into the space of the everyday public transportation, one cannot help but
notice the apparent alienation present among the passengers. There exists a deep immersion
in technology phones, earphones and the like are used as tools of isolation and selfcontainment but also a palpable divide from every other passenger, as the moments away
from being occupied with a screen are spent judging, characterizing from appearances and
categorizing people into boxes. This situation perfectly illustrates Lefebvres critiques on
alienation and the banality of the 'metro-boulot-dodo' (subway-work-sleep) (Hubbard,
Kitchin, Valentine 2004, p. 209), with this mundane continuity as passengers come and go.
He then furthers his call to seize and act on all 'Moments as the basis for becoming more
self-fulfilled, (ibid. p. 209). But this alienation of the everyday is not exclusive to unfamiliar
strangersit also makes its presence known within the common family structure.
My Lefebvrian moment came to me when I was seated on the passenger seat of my
fathers car. We took a turn away from a familiar road when my fatherrealizing his mistake
slapped his forehead and told me that he had just taken the wrong turn. A strong mixture of
shock and clarity had struck me then, as I realized that we had already taken the wrong turn
thrice during that day. I had just gotten my drivers license, and was at a phase of learning
how to improve my driving and navigation skills from my fathera figure whom I have
always presumed to be flawless in that area as our designated driver in the family. At that
moment, I realized that my parents were not at all perfect; and that was an important
Lefebvrian moment to me in its critique of everyday life, as it punctured the continuum of the
present by redefining my perspectives in the everyday, provided a possibility of a different
daily life through self-liberation, and presented a critique of alienation through its disalienating instance.

My Lefebvrian moment appeared between the lines of a typical morning to school,

disrupting the continuum of my everyday by forming a life-changing perspective. It was one
that might not have been a radical discovery, but something that still struggles to be grasped
at any stage of our lives. As a child, I have always tended to look to my parents or guardians
as points of reference. They always knew what to do, and were impenetrable, undefeatable
like heroes clad in shiny suits. It was not until then that I began to notice that the glimmer
was not there to begin with, and the fine lines on my fathers face made apparent his
imperfections. The linear progression of growing up I had in mind which was the
impression that as I age into adulthood, I would truly make sense of life and have my turn in
that shiny suit became nave. In its critique of everyday life, this Lefebvrian moment has
definitely changed the way I viewed my parents and every other role model I had from that
point onward. It has taught me to not take for granted the everyday roles that people in
seemingly unattainable positions of power soldier through, and recognize that even the
greatest idols are only human.
My Lefebvrian moment had also provided the possibility of experiencing a different daily
life through a sense of self-liberation with the aforementioned paradigm shift. Lefebvre
defines the moment as the attempt to achieve the total realization of a possibility. (Lefebvre
2002, p. 348), and my experience with said moment has allowed me to attain freedom from
certain anxieties and self-esteem issues. The moment I truly realized that my idols were
imperfect beings was one that had loosened the chains, and liberated myself from
unattainable expectationsan issue that I was especially struggling with when it came to my
parents. As it resonated, I felt even more empathy and love for them, and reached a
realization of a possibility to love myself better. In the act of being lived, the moment has
provided a critique of the everyday, allowing a sense of freedom from the stress, anxiety and

pressure to strive for perfection. It is with that, in my opinion, that human beings are able to
achieve totality, especially within themselves.
The said Lefebvrian moment has also managed to present a critique of the alienation
experienced in the everyday by allowing for a moment of dis-alienation. Although members
of societies go through everyday life living on familiar terms with social categories, it is not
surprising that alienation is also prominent within the family structure due to generational
differences and different roles held in the family. As Lefebvre puts it accurately:
We live on familiar terms with people in our own family, our own milieu, our own
class. This constant impression of familiarity makes us think that we know them, that
their outlines are defined for us, and that they see themselves as having those same
outlines. We can identify with them or exclude them from our world. But the
familiar is not the necessarily known. (Lefebvre 1991, p. 14-15)
The roles father and mother were familiar roles that I recognized on the surface, but have
yet to truly understand. Their admirable positions as role models have made me prone to
dehumanizing them, creating a sense of alienation between us. During my Lefebvrian
moment, my view towards them has transcended the barriers of alienation, as I was able to
witness a weakness or a flaw that I was able to relate to in that instance. I saw my father like
it was the first time, beyond his classical, impenetrable role. The moment, in critiquing
everyday life, filled me with a sense of tenderness as a reminder that we must indeed unveil
the layers of alienation by reaching out beyond the masks of everyday life, in search for a
deeper human connection lest we dehumanize even our loved ones.
People will experience their moments differently, but one thing that these moments
will have in common is that they will always be a genuine instance. My Lefebvrian moment

has revealed to me a great critique of everyday life, as it has redefined my perspectives in the
everyday, provided a possibility of a different daily life through self-liberation, and presented
a critique of alienation through its dis-alienating instance. It is through the Lefebvrian
moment that the festival is united with everyday life, as we are reminded by these vivid
sensations just how human we really are.

Works Cited
Elden, S. (2004). Understanding Henri Lefebvre. London: Continuum.
Hubbard, P., Kitchin, R. and Valentine, G. (2004). Key thinkers on space and place. London:
Sage.
Lefebvre, H. (1991). Critique of everyday life. London: Verso.
Lefebvre, H. (2002). Critique of everyday life. London: Verso.
Lefebvre, H. and Goonewardena, K. (2008). Space, difference, everyday life. New York:
Routledge.