[FIELDWORK] HER, LUJIAZUI & WUJIAOCHANG

HER, DIR. SPIKE JONZE (2013)            Lujiazui & Wujiaochang, Shanghai Warner Bros. released Her in 2013, a science-fiction romantic comedy film written, directed, and produced by Spike Jonze.1 Set in the near future, the protagonist, Theodore Twombly, is a letter writer who has just experienced the failure of his marriage. To dispel his loneliness, he buys a new operating system for his computer: the seductive, gentle, and humorous Samantha. Throughout the film, she has no face, only a voice. They fall in love, although Theodore keeps trying to have a relationship with a real woman. But this

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Field Report

Selected Film: Vampire Cleanup Department (2017) by Anthony Yan Site: Tai Wo Street, Wan Chai, Hong Kong         This film tells a story about imaginary zombie events happens in urban city. The scene was set in Hong Kong in 21st century in Wan Chai, when zombie activities were secretly monitored and controlled by a group of special operation organization. This group of people disguised themselves as cleaners in the city. In this story, the male lead is a new member to join the team, and later he fell in love with a female zombie. This kind of

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Reading Response: Joseph Rosa

From the reading, in early times, Modern architecture deterred people. It was viewed as stern cold designs that shouldn’t appear in household design. But be used in office settings. Traditional housing in movie looks more warm and close to people. In contrast, modern housing built with more steel and white regular materials, looks more cold and not comfy to live in. So, people didn’t accept using modern designs in earlier times. Another thing to mention is there were stereotypes regarding housing as created in films, which means image of different types of housing and residents in it differs. For example,

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Reading Response: Joseph Rosa

Joseph Rosa’s article, which was published in 2000, suggested that the modernist buildings in the movies are usually connected with some ‘illicit and unsavory behaviors’ like murder or adultery. After 20 years, modernist works are more linked with technology and conceptualization, thus are more likely to be presented in Sci-fi movies or Marvel movies, e.g., the house of Iron man. However, the trend in 2000 still has some influence in today’s movie settings. In a very popular Hollywood movie – The Invisible Man (2020), directed by Leigh Whannel, the story is happened in a very modernist house with all-glass wall,

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Reading Response: Pamela Robertson Wojcik

“Apartment is more than setting.” In fact, many times residence could be the most important element that shapes the narrative. In a microscopic way, just like anyone of us displaying our truest and most comfortable selves in our homes, apartment plot is the best way to illustrate a person’s character and thoughts: how an officer worker return to his humble flat and reflect his depressing and suffocating daily life; or a secret agent having harmonious and warm family time in her ordinary cozy house, which establishes a sharp contrast and boundary between different scenarios. In a macroscopic way, apartment reflects

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Reading Response: Pamela Robertson Wojcik

After learning the business proposal genre last semester from CAES, understanding and absorbing the “genre” concept again provides me with a familiar but unique feeling, just like Edward Relph’s saying, “vicarious insideness”. I’m like an outsider to see how apartment plot act as genre as narratives and domestic urbanism (porousness, encounter, improvisation, simultaneity, and play). Meanwhile, I’m also getting conscious of how it works for production and spectator in the global context. This reading makes me understand apartment plot as a genre from both an insider and outsider’s view. Likewise, the film situates us both as insiders and outsiders, where

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[FIELDWORK] BETTER DAYS, TUBE-SHAPED APARTMENT

[FIELDWORK] BETTER DAYS, DIR. DEREK TSANG (2019) Tube-shaped apartment, Hai Tang district, Chong Qing The film Better Days directed by Derek Tsang was released in October 2019. It tells the story of Chen Nian, who is a senior three student being bullied by her classmates. After she meets a street character named Xiao Bei, he decides to protect Chen Nian from school violence. The whole story took place in Chong Qing, which is a city full of stairs. The characters in the film have to go up and down the stairs when traveling through this city. The complicated space relationship

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[FIELDWORK] THE WAY WE ARE, TIN YIU ESTATE

THE WAY WE ARE, DIR. ANN HUI (2008)            Tin Yiu Estate, Yuen Long District, Hong Kong The Way We Are (天水圍的日與夜) takes places in Tin Yiu Estate, Tin Shui Wai. Homes of 300,000 people. Shot on HD in a documentary style, the film delineates the everyday lives of 貴姐, her son 家安 and their neighbour 阿婆 through the eyes of a voyeur. With music in the background, 阿婆 finds her $320 dried mushrooms*. Scene from The Way We Are 2008, directed by Ann Hui. Tin Yiu Estate presented in the film is nearly the same as experienced

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[FIELDWORK]FAREWELL MY CONCUBINE, MEI LANFANG MEMORIAL HALL

FAREWELL MY CONCUBINE, DIR. CHEN KAI GE(1993) Mei Lanfang Memorial Hall, Haidian District, Beijing  Cheng turned his mind to a woman and left the school. Scene from ‘Farewell My Concubine,’ 1993, directed by Chen Kai Ge. The film “Farewell My Concubine,” released by Chen Kai Ge, narrates a tragedy about two drama actors who play Peking opera having different values about life and drama. Cheng Die Yi(one of the main characters) was infatuated with the play so deep that he couldn’t distinguish between the play and reality, and he fell in love with his brother, Duan Xiao Lou. Under the

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[Reading Response: Michel de Certeau]

In this article, de Certeau gives us definitions and comparisons between ‘space’ and ‘place’ as well as ‘map’ and ‘tour’. It noted that place is describing the order of elements that are distributed in relationships of coexistence, while space is consist of movements of mobile elements. Deeper, space is a practiced place, giving me a new view of ‘existence is spatial’. I was wondering why would these connect to tour and map? Actually, similarities could be found in distinguishing ‘map’ and ‘tour’, the tour includes the interactions with live beings, such as ‘you turn left’ and ‘you’ll see’ compared with

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