2019 Blog – Page 8 – Architecture and film

Reading Response 2

April 2, 2019 Wenjun

In D.W.Davis’ essay Technology and Chinese Ethnicity, the arguments start from a common phenomenon, which is the appearance of Chinatown in future/sci-fi films. The author discusses (taking Hong Kong as an example most of the time) the reason why Chinatown-like areas are the favorite of such many future films and how the environment of Chinese ethnicity provide a similar atmosphere, which is of course not only just a single copy of a Chinatown, for those films showing an unpleasant view of future. Hong Kong is a protagonist or a representative of Asian cities and it is used in so many

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Monsters, Materials + Skyscrapers, Uncategorized

Reading Response 2: Hopelessly Devoted to Desolation

April 2, 2019April 11, 2019 Mei Ting

Sentiments are bombs in a film, sparking off infinite interpretation and complexity. Architecture is after-wave of a film, uncovering “denied vulnerability” of the post-trauma nation. “Oh no, there goes Tokyo… but it will be back, and it may be even better than before”, a line filled with uncertainty echoes with my understanding over Japanese post-traumatic emotion. In fact, Godzilla, one of the most famous post-war monster movies has been popular long after the war, no matter if Japan was thriving or drowning economically. At first, it was a cry for the millions of innocent deaths caused by the bombs in

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Global Space, Time + The City

What makes a place a space?

April 2, 2019April 2, 2019 Sophia

De Certeau, poses an interesting comparison to words that are seemingly synonymous. His comparison between the words “space” and “place” provide a unique insight into the many functions that a designed architectural location may have. De Certeau says that a place is the order in accord with which elements are distributed in relationships of co-existence. A place is stability, an instantaneous configuration of positions. A space however, defines a location by the things that happen within it. The definition of a space is builds further upon the definition of a place, because it accounts for the movements, intersections and interactions

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Monsters, Materials + Skyscrapers

Reading Response 2: ‘Destruction’ in Japanese Pop Culture

April 2, 2019 Yuqi

While commonly understood by general audiences as a straightforward derivative of humiliation and lingering traumas from the second world war, Japanese apocalyptic imagination comprises sub-genres more than the cliched detonations of fission bombs by ill-natured men: which span across natural disasters and extraterrestrial invasions. The fictional narratives have tapped into more than the nuclear anxiety of shuddered ground and radioactive remnants. This archipelago nation in Sinking Japan (1954) was entirely submerged by the eruption of the dormant Fuji, while in Akira (1988) it unveiled a vision of a “neo” Tokyo, where supernatural power Akira restored the order in the post-apocalypse

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Monsters, Materials + Skyscrapers

Reading response – Wonderland behind the disasters

April 2, 2019 Dongni

the Hitachi City Hall, Hitachi In <Oh No, There goes Tokyo> Tsutsui W.M mentioned that the “doom-laden dreams” of Japanese popular culture, Tokyo suffered various disasters. From real ones such as earthquakes, tidal waves, fires and so on to the creative ones such as giant monsters, robots. The destructions of Tokyo showed on daily media reveals public’s insecurity awareness. After the lingering trauma of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, this kind of imagination is generally understood the earthquakes, tidal which may happen at an uncertain time and inability to deal with these horrors. Though the apocalyptic imagination is a negative reflection

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Monsters, Materials + Skyscrapers

Reading Response 2 : The Effect of Movies on People

April 2, 2019 Yong Hyun

In the reading “Oh No There Goes Tokyo”, it talks about Gojira (1954), a dark film that portrayed the memories of the nuclear bomb of Hiroshima. The original aim of the movie was to deliver a situation similar to the end of nuclear testing. However, Godzilla was defeated at the end, which conveyed a message that despite radioactive impacts overseas, Japan is a nation that is able to overcome such difficulties. This message had a strong impact on Japanese society. Despite the tragedy that Japan faced after the nuclear bomb, Japan’s economy grew rapidly from the 1950s to the 1970s.

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Sci-Fi Technoscapes

City in the Future

April 2, 2019April 2, 2019 King Yeung

The reading, “Migratory Cities”, is about some examples of moveable cities imagined by writers, urban planners and architects in the past. It is quite inspiring and interesting of how futurists imagined about an innovative city which could be transformed from the ground to a moveable machine. It has reminded me that the first time I had seen a similar idea from a Japanese Anime, Howl’s Moving Castle, by Hayao Miyazaki when I was little. The Moving Castle is similar to the design by Ron Herron. However, the Walking City carries a society inside the megastructure and the moving castle is

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Monsters, Materials + Skyscrapers

Reading response 2: The aftermath of the A-bomb on anime

April 2, 2019April 2, 2019 Chun Hei

In William M. Tsutsui’s writing “Oh No, There Goes Tokyo”, he explained why a lot of anime handled the post-war Japan situation. For instance, in Rodan which giant pteranodons obliterated Fukuoka, is a product of the nuclear trauma that exists in post-war Japan. The atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki – along with the firebombings of Tokyo – were traumatic experiences for the Japanese people. From Akira to Neon Genesis Evangelion, from Grave of the Fireflies to Patlabor, the symbols of the nuclear war are expressed in various ways. Orphaned kids, radiation sickness, a loss of national independence, the destruction

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Architecture, Film + The Modern City

Reading Response 1: Building on Disappearance – Not Only in Hong Kong

April 1, 2019 Yuhui

In the reading Building on Disappearance: Hong Kong Architecture and Colonial Space, the author discusses how the architecture in Hong Kong shows the culture of disappearance. It is hyperdensity and the constant building and rebuilding that lead to a loss of identity. Architecture becomes anonymous, stuck between merely local and placeless. Although the reading focuses mainly on Hong Kong, from my perspective, building on disappearance is a global issue. A loss of identity may be particularly outstanding in Hong Kong, but it is happening all over the world. Architecture represents the most obvious symptom. What does it mean by building

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Workshop 2

Interviewing Miggy Cheng

March 27, 2019 Ziquan

Workshop two: Producing the set, Designing the city Synopsis: This second workshop invites two distinguished guests to come and talk about their careers relating to set production. As a costume designer and set designer, Miggy cheng has involved in many famous film making processes of different genres, including “Rigor Mortis” and “Floating City”. During the workshop, Miggy will share with us more about her personal experiences and perception as a costume researcher and art designer. Amy: Hello Miggy. Thank you very much for your brilliant speech. As I remember what you mentioned before, you said that the costume is like the

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