Streets and the “Blasé” (Essay)
Georg Simmel was a German sociologist known for creating theories about one of his biggest questions that was “What is society?” Simmel discussed social and cultural phenomena in terms of “forms” and “contents” with a momentary relationship.  Simmel was one of the faces that gave progression to urban sociology, symbolic interactionism and social network analysis.
The book that Simmel wrote was One of his most widely read works, “The Metropolis and Mental Life”, published in 1903. In his research, the author examines what he believes happens to people while living in an urban (metropolis) environment. He tries to describe how urban settings make people less communal and more individualistic. Interest becomes more about capital gain because, in the urban environment, people start to think more about the money and sell more products; to produce more, to grow bigger as a city, again, as a Metropolis. This system makes people very individualistic, socially and because of that, later, they try to be different and they all try to be noticed. In this environment, people then think less about an emotional relationship and start to create relationships not because of the feelings but because of objectives and personal intentions. In other words,  they make decisions based on logic, above the emotions.
The more people start living in this ambient, according to Simmel, the less they pay attention around them and create a "protective rational barrier" and start being indifferent by what surrounds them. That attitude, as Simmel describes, is called the “Blasé” Attitude (superficiality, greyness and indifference), which in opinion is the keyword for the studied subject.
The studied topic was “Streets” and if the keyword found in Semmel’s book and the topic studied are linked, then we have a connection between them both. It can be said that, as the author describes, the more people live in the Metropolis, the more they get indifferent about what happens in the streets, around them, because they are too busy thinking about their own objectives, only looking forward and not at their surroundings.
With Semmel's point of view, if putting that in practice and if we think about his theory, we can confirm the same, or at least something similar. The fact that in a big city, in a big street, for instance, Oxford Street in London, talking from experience, there are a lot of people and always different people that, some have the same, others have different objectives but they all go always their way, not paying attention at the artists that are in the street, playing, dancing, singing; only maybe to stop, take a picture and go, or dance to the rhythm while continuing walking.
Notable quotes: “The “blasé” attitude results first from the rapidly changing and closely compressed contrasting simulations of the nerves.“
"Whereas the subject of this form of existence has to come to terms with it entirely for himself, his self-preservation in the face of the large city demands from him a no less negative behaviour of a social nature. This mental attitude of metropolitans toward one another we may designate, from a formal point of view, as reserve. [...] As a result of this reserve, we frequently do not even know by sight those who have been our neighbors for years. And it is this reserve which in the eyes of the small-town people makes us appear to be cold and heartless."
Observations: The picture chosen for this essay is a Futurist painting, created by Fortunato Depero called "Grattacieli e tunnelli" ( skyscrapers and tunnels). It shows how huge the city is, the metropolis, and technologically powerful. This painting reveals how people want to show their greatness and power by creating robust buildings.
