The Importance of Questions

If it hasn't been clear enough in my other blog posts, I'm a documentary fanatic. I don't usually watch anything besides documentaries/thedocuseries. With that being said, I've learned what makes me love or hate a documentary. Interviews that feel forced, uncomfortable or awkward are easier to detect the more documentaries you watch. On the other hand, insightful answers are easier to appreciate. The way the question is phrased, the comfortability between the interviewer/interviewee, and the depth the question holds are all factors I can control to elicit an insightful response. 

This weekend I will be going to Wilton Manors again, and now that I have mics, I can begin my interviews with "random" strangers. I need to make sure my questions stay on topic and ultimately answer the question this episode poses: How has nightlife been affected in Wilton Manors following the Pulse shooting?

So I'm brainstorming questions...

1. First and foremost, why are you here tonight? 

2. How often do you go out? Do you go out in other parts of town, or just here?

3. If you identify as queer, do you feel safer going out here than anywhere else?

4. Have you ever felt in danger/uncomfortable at the club/bar because someone was using hate speech? (specify in Wilton Manors or outside of Wilton Manors) 

5. How did the Pulse shooting personally affect you? Did it change your outlook on clubbing? 

6. Have you noticed any changes in nightlife following the Pulse shooting? ie. higher security, more police, less people going out

7. What do heterosexual people not know about the importance of nightlife in the queer community? (historical significance for LGBTQ community) 

8. Has the community morale changed since the Pulse shooting? Would you say it brought the community together? 

9. What is different about gay nightlife? 

That's all I have so far. I want to keep it short/sweet so my interviewees don't feel like their nighttime fun is being stolen from them. Trying my best not to be annoying because, after all, they're doing me a favor.