Author AlSayyad presents different layers of observation of the city in the modern world, especially in a time where mass surveillance and mediums like film are available to the masses. He elaborates on the “gaze” and how the notion of viewing and observing both people occupying the city and the actual concrete infrastructure captures the mundanity of life, generating a new archetype of experiencing space. A feature of the article that I found really interesting was the consideration of different gazes such as the token ‘male gaze’ inspiring power imbalance and a different “modern sexual economy.”    Using examples from

Continue readingReading response: Nezar AlSayyad

In the extract of cinema urbanism, Nezar ALSayyad has carried out three films that illustrate the evolution of voyeurism. And how it has raised further social problems such as privacy, gender equality and power.      Modern surveillance has always been a controversial topic. It avoids “peeping Tom” behaviors (it monitors criminal behaviors), yet itself is a “peeping tom” that is widely available for powerful authorities. As mentioned in all three films, powerful authorities, usually males, have the access. Which has led the problem to transform from power inequality to gender inequality, as women at this point are being objectified.

Continue readingReading Response: Nezar AlSayyad

In the extract of cinema urbanism, Nezar ALSayyad has carried out three films that illustrate the evolution of voyeurism. And how it has raised further social problems such as privacy, gender equality and power.    Modern surveillance has always been a controversial topic. It avoids “peeping Tom” behaviors (it monitors criminal behaviors), yet itself is a “peeping tom” that is widely available for powerful authorities. As mentioned in all three films, powerful authorities, usually males, have the access. Which has led the problem to transform from power inequality to gender inequality, as women at this point are being objectified. This

Continue readingReading Response: Nezar AlSayyad

This article introduced an emerging trend of modernity which is voyeuristic modernity. With the technological advancement, abundance of electronic surveillance has appeared. Therefore, many of movies not only record the imaging, but also depict how is the lifestyle of a city, by observing pedestrians, buildings and so on. Urban cities can be featured by voyeur at various degree. for example. In the movie of Rear Window,  Jeff, as a main character, observed his neighbour, Thorwald, in order to investigate the unfolded murder case through the rear window. We can thereby feel the atmosphere of the movie instead of being told

Continue readingReading Response: Nezar AlSayyad

This piece brings up an interesting point regarding voyeurism. I never thought of the idea of receiving pleasure from watching someone without them knowing; the idea of looking through a lens or a window into someone else’s life can give someone a sense of control for the voyeur, and at the same time give a sense of insecurity for the person being watched on. Rear Window uses the courtyard as a common ground for neighbours to freely interact with one another; it’s supposed to give a sense of safety and warmth as everyone is super friendly with one another. However,

Continue readingReading Response: Nezar AlSayyad

In this reading material, the author examines the voyeur as symbolic characters of the surveillance city state and analyzes the the social phenomena behind this by applying three films: Rear Window, Silver, and The End of Violence. The way how the author relates the three films is impressive. Through windows, camera lens, or the screen, mysteries and entanglements were progressively unveiled. Desire for power, control, pleasure, and truth behind murders became the original enticement for surveillance. I was intrigued by the concept “panopticon”, which the author introduces at the beginning of this chapter and is appeared several times when relating

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After the reading of of Nezar AISayyad, I would like to talk about the extent and aspects in which cinema and film are influencing our lives. The story in the reading is quite interesting and wired, the main character Jeff uses his binocle to observe his neighbors everyday, and accidently discover the clues of a murder. It is a story that we are not quite familiar with because we usually do not see anybody spying cause it is kind of illegal, but the story help us to think in director’s view, and the view of characters, that can help us,

Continue readingReading Response: Nezar AlSayyad