Performativity and Affect in the Homeless City

Cloke, P et. al (2008) Performativity and Affect in the Homeless City. In: Society and Space vol 26 pp 241-263.

In this journal article, Paul Cloke et al explore the different performances homeless people engage in across the city as a means of manipulating the space they are occupying to their advantage. They split the 'homeless city' into places to sleep, eat, earn and hang out and explore the different performances put on in each different space.

The description of the performance and behaviours that take place within the homeless day centres and night shelters were of particular interest to myself with regards to my current project - although lots of the information seemed to only emphasise what I have already learnt from my experience working in such places.

'Places to Sleep' (Cloke et al: 2008) and the influences this has had on my project

Cloke et al discuss life within a hostel being extremely regulated,
"Hostel life is highly regulated both by the formal rules restricting entry and residence (no alcohol or drugs, no families, couples, or visitors) and by informal codes of practise established amongst residents themselves..." (Cloke et al: 2008: 247-248)
The strict rules and regulations mentioned here back up my own experience working in the night shelter and are echoed in the 'Homeless Forms' I created as a prop for the film.

One quote that I found particularly interesting and relevant for my project is as follows:
"...hostel life was characterised by many emotions as moving around often envoked acute feelings of despair anger, frustration, and fear. More specifically, far from hostel life providing for the feelings of safety, comfort, and control more usually associated with a sense of 'home', for many it meant engaging in constant and careful impression management in order to both gain access to the facility, to supervision, and to staff, and more simply to make it safely through the day." (Cloke et al: 2008: 248)
The emotions being described here are expressed in my film through the character of the Support Worker. Despite him not actually being homeless, his frustration and confusion with the altered reality he is experiencing cause him to submit to the behaviour expected of a homeless person in this situation - the 'impression management' discussed in the above quote.

Although lots of the information discussed in this journal article echoes my existing understanding, it has been really interesting to have someone else back up my own thoughts. Reading this article has emphasised how the rules in place in the various homeless services I have worked in are transferable and recognisable across many other such spaces. This is very useful to know as it means that anyone watching my film, coming from a background of support work or experience working with the homeless will hopefully also pick this up immediately.