Boyer’s point of dematerialisation of physical space is especially fascinating as most technology featured in 1960s sci-fi movies are now implemented in our cyber communications and thus allowed us to “physically” interact in virtual reality. Virtual space right now tends to be a fluid space mimicking the physical reality, and therefore as we develop technology to properly explore this virtual space, we start to experience the “annihilation of space and time”. Space is not being limited to a physical box anymore. This mimicry conveys that there is a strong connection between the two spaces, but I believe a strong connection

Continue readingReading Response – M. Christine Boyer

The concept of “Distributed Cities” is a very interesting direction to explore, with a city that governs and manages itself automatically, and could be “mapped as a discontinuous scattering of nodes and pieces”, making up a “larger whole”. But I think current cities already have similar aspects, for example how Hong Kong has Central as its economic center, and I would also like to know how the “distributed cities” can improve the lives of those who aren’t fortunate enough to live in upper-class areas. Similarly, the concept of “Migrating Cities” is also fascinating to discuss, where cities could relocate themselves.

Continue reading[Reading Response: Carl Abbott]

Abbotts’s piece introduces many different kinds of imagined cities in sci-fi movies. Although these cities were said to be ‘futuristic’, there are many parallels that can be drawn between them and the existing cities or cities that have been existed before. Take the distributed city ‘The Swarm’ which is constituted of airships serving different functions as an example, it resembles the cities that are involved in the global distribution of labour in the modern world. From this example, we can see that sci-fi movies have significance in foreseeing and predicting the possible trends that may occur in the future. By juxtaposing

Continue reading[Reading Response: ]Carl Abbott

Abbot’s text generated discussion during the tutorial in regards to how films that portray Sci-fi and the future affects its audiences. We identified the 21st century trend of more pessimistic Sci-fi films (notably Wall-E) compared to the 20th century which had more optimistic portrayals (Back to the Future). Personally dystopian future films have had a strong influence on me in terms of myself becoming more conscious of my day-to-day actions and how it affects the environment. However my prolonged exposure to these films have caused me to also become quite pessimistic about the future (I have no desire to see

Continue readingReading Response: Carl Abbot

“Migratory cities” seem fantastic and full of scientific and technological sense. However, as Abbott said the flowing city will be in a “bubble” and the “walking city” will be a “self-sufficient” city. Both of them show the closed attitude. For the happiness inside the city ,they would like to disconnect from the world and nature.This is some similar to “build a wall between slum and rich neighborhood” in Brazil ,which makes “closed neighborhood” with many disadvantage. And the movement of the mass requires a great deal of energy. Sci-fi film Wondering Earth is under the background of the engine that

Continue reading[Reading Response: Carl Abbott]

The discussion of “distributed city” is particularly interesting in spatial sociology and also demonstrated by science fiction. By separating the functional districts into physical spaces that distant from each other, will the production model of the city remain similar as before? Saskia Sassen’s answer might be denial, for she argued that with the growth of demand for highly professional labor, the requirement of nearby related infrastructure and service will also increase. For example, around the agglomeration of banks and finance companies in Central, where people work for a high salary and long hours, hospitals, parks, and malls guaranteed their basic

Continue readingReading Response:Carl Abbott

The description of the lag-time places deeply touched me. The develop of technology and Internet are so fast, and the rise of the metropolis and its bright appearance always make people yearn for it. But on the edge of the city, in those gray areas, people have advanced technology, but not the basic living and social security to go with it, thus forming the chaos of “forgotten cities”. The growth of cybercity scares me. If human has advanced technology but the social structure breaks down, then we are likely to inevitably enter the future of cyberpunk. Powerful corporations take control and small individuals lose their dignity. I don’t

Continue readingReading Response: M. Christine Boyer