The author detailed explains a logical transform from the modern city (the Machine City) to the postmodern city (the Cyber Cities). Referred to Michel Foucault, she examines the discipline as a most efficacious power that shaped the city. People’s dream of order, acts of comparing, contrasting and categorizing made the machinelike norm to establish authority over individuals, namely sovereign, which I believe very related to the 19th century and early 20th century’s urban planning. No matter Corbusier’s Radiant City or Howard’s Garden City, they all wish a fixed, rational and grand order that could last forever, yet, failed rapidly. Nonetheless,

Continue readingReading response: M. Christine Boyer

The film Snowpiercer (2013) attracts me a lot. After the tutorial I watched it and thus I have a better understanding of “movable city”. The train and the Engine play an important role in it. Because of the ecological disaster, a tiny remnant of humans have found shelter on a train endlessly circling the globe. On the train everything is just like the original world, only shown in a more cruel way.  Inequality is amplified, killing is justified, even revolt events are designed, just for the “balance” of the train. This running train is just like a small-scale world. This film

Continue readingReading Response: Carl Abbott

Carl Abbot discusses the possibility of migratory cities in the future. He has classified migratory cities into three types: distributed cities, hunter-gatherers, cities riding the rail. These cities are generally referred to as walker or okie city. People living in certain cities migrate from one place to another, still maintaining the same livelihood and preserving civilization. It helps people in connecting with mother nature. The author gives several examples to elucidate problems like discrimination, environmental problems as a result of developing new technologies.  He wonders whether the fast development of technology make the world a better place or will it

Continue reading[READING RESPONSE] CARL ABBOTT

One thing about these migratory cities that is hard to understand is the degree of dependency it projects for our future cities. One thing about these migratory cities that is hard to understand is the degree of dependency it projects for our future cities. In one way, we are becoming more independent.  The physical separation between cities on the geographical scape makes these imaginations seem more like independent entities when compared to our existing ones.  Each person in the city will also be assigned a role and will have to stay committed to that one job in order for the

Continue reading[READING RESPONSE] CARL ABBOTT

One of the inspiring ideas in the reading is about discipline. In the past, the king had the power to execute the criminals. As time passes, execution is abolished, and the government tends to use more gentle ways to treat the criminals. The way proposed by Michel Foucault is observation. In his idea, a circular prison is built with an observation tower in the center. In this way, several workers are enough for the surveillance of the prison. When the prisoners know they are being monitored, they will behave well. It is important for the establishment of discipline. This kind

Continue reading[READING RESPONSE] Christine Boyer

I was interested in the “moving cities” that were proposed through Science Fiction in Abbot C.’s article, all made by a question of “But what if a city could move?”(74) Therefore, in our tutorial session, we talked about various moving cities, including a train in a film, Snowpiercer. The train, which represents an industrialized past and technology superior future, is a “moving city” through the ice where social discriminations are greater as a “generation ship”.(81) The train a material that shows both oppression and privilege, the ground of a rebellious plot. I guess that was why I felt like everything

Continue reading[Reading Response: Carl Abbott]

This essay “leaving the movie theatre” has gave me a really huge or impactful insight on how I view the movie theatre experience I had before, I like going to the movie theatre instead of watching it on my home’s television because the atmosphere and the sound equipment from the theatre are way more better than my home’s setup. But when I finished reading this essay, I realized the word “hypnotize” is used very frequently, and there must be a reason for why Roland is insisting on this word, and I discovered that actually I understand the usage of word,

Continue reading[READING RESPONSE] Roland Barthes