Category: 2024 Blog

Cat Links 2024 Blog

[Reading Response 2] Katarzyna Ancuta’s Communal After-Living: Asian Ghosts and the City

Posted on mattsee

Ancuta presents in the passage the idea that ghosts in media are portrayed differently depending on the architectural backdrop. I am intrigued by this idea since it shows how different forms of housing setting can not only affect our daily lives, but more importantly, influence how we process the supernatural and extreme emotions like terror. I find it interesting that by altering the setting, the agency and motives of ghosts seemingly transform, the focus at times shifts to the architecture, its layout and features, rather than the story of the ghost itself. By analysing ghost movies that are set in

Continue reading[Reading Response 2] Katarzyna Ancuta’s Communal After-Living: Asian Ghosts and the City

Cat Links 2024 Blog, Lecture 6: Housing Stories

[Reading response 2] – Communal after living: Asian ghost and the city

Posted on answ530

Ghost stories mainly focus on the theme of non-human and supernatural, often create a sense of horror due to its nature of mystery and unknown. Using this particular feature, the article depicts the correlation between the ideology of ghost and the urban architectural environment in Asian cities, and addresses Asian culture and their attitude towards ghost cities, eventually brings out their impact on various social issues. First, it is a common phenomenon that the underlying animistic beliefs and pratices are rooted in people’s ideal mindset, which affects the perception of ghosts in Asian cultures. The cultural rituals are the products

Continue reading[Reading response 2] – Communal after living: Asian ghost and the city

Cat Links Lecture 6: Housing Stories

[Reading Response 2]: In Search of the Ghostly In Context

Posted on karinhoo

The book focuses on how Fruit Chan’s film defamiliarizes the city of Hong Kong, challenging the dominating genres at that time. He used spectral elements as a means to explore the city’s omitted problems and historical events. Chan’s film depicts haunted spaces as symbolic representations of large historical issues or repressed memories associated with those spaces, becoming a metaphorical reflection of the deeper issue that fills up the collective memory of the city. Chan describes the city as a place where ghosts gather, representing the dense history that is in tension with the act of remembering and sorrow. In the

Continue reading[Reading Response 2]: In Search of the Ghostly In Context

Cat Links Lecture 7: Monsters, Materials & Skyscrapers, Uncategorized

[Reading Response 2] Oh No, There Goes Tokyo – Anvesha Bajpai

Posted on anvesha

I was interested in exploring the deep psychological trauma ingrained in post-war Japan, particularly stemming from the experience of nuclear warfare which has a profound influence on Japanese popular culture, leading to doomsday cities such as Tokyo as recurring themes in films and media. Critics like Susan Sontag suggest these narratives serve as a means to address and cope with the collective trauma experienced by the population. Susan Sontag’s perspective on the appeal of postwar science fiction cinema, exemplified through films like “Gojira” (1954), illustrates the connection between trauma and storytelling. “Gojira” visually captures the destruction of Tokyo. Sontag argues

Continue reading[Reading Response 2] Oh No, There Goes Tokyo – Anvesha Bajpai

Cat Links 2024 Blog

[Reading Response 2]-In search of the Ghostly in context

Posted on u3609481

“In Search of the Ghostly in Context” offers a fascinating analysis of how Fruit Chan’s film captures the spirit of estrangement within Hong Kong’s urban setting by utilizing the architecture of public housing estates and historic districts. The reading deftly explores how these locales are portrayed—not just as actual places, but also as vessels for haunting memories and socioeconomic inequality that highlight the more sinister aspects of the city’s quick industrialization and historical changes. The article emphasizes how architectural space profoundly affects cinematic story and character identity, especially considering Hong Kong’s transformation both before and after the handover in 1997.

Continue reading[Reading Response 2]-In search of the Ghostly in context

Cat Links 2024 Blog, Lecture 8: Sci-Fi Technoscapes

[Reading Response 2] Migratory Cities

Posted on Mark

I think when the cities can move, they are not ‘city’ anymore. Instead, they should be called transportation tools. There are many transportation can move people from place to place while they can work, entertain, and live on machines such as aircraft carriers, trains, airships, and rockets. Similar stories can be told by changing the ‘city’ to other carriers such as pirate ships, then the story becomes “One Piece”, stronger pirates engulf weaker pirates. The main character trying to defect the strong pirates to get treasure. In the idea of moving to a residential place, I think of the vehicle

Continue reading[Reading Response 2] Migratory Cities

Cat Links 2024 Blog, Lecture 6: Housing Stories, Uncategorized

[Reading Response2] In Search of the Ghostly in Context : Esther M. K. Cheung

Posted on jacky714

The reading mentions the blend of reality and surrealism in Fruit Chan’s film Made In Hong Kong, which alters the audience’s sense of reality. In the movie, he defamiliarises Hong Kong and creates a “spectral city” instead. This style differs from Fruit Chan’s other films, which usually have more elements of realism. Moreover, the reading mentions Fruit Chan’s another ghostly city film “Finale in Blood”. In that film, “ghostly” is not all about including real spectres and ghosts. Instead, he uses “ghostly” as a transformative tool to defamiliarise the city, to give the film an uncanniness and uneasiness. The analysis

Continue reading[Reading Response2] In Search of the Ghostly in Context : Esther M. K. Cheung

Cat Links 2024 Blog, Lecture 7: Monsters, Materials & Skyscrapers

[Reading Response] Hong Kong: Culture and the politics of disappearance.

Posted on yxning

Reading respond to Hong Kong: Culture and the politics of disappearance from Abbas, M. A. This article discusses the vanishing Hong Kong culture and politics. It examines how Hong Kong’s unique urban environment and landscape disappeared due to government policies. The text analyzes how the built environment and architecture of Hong Kong reflect a sense of transience and impermanence, as the city continuously experiences demolition, redevelopment, and change. For example, the Hong Kong Cultural Centre and the clock tower shows an imaginary community but works to keep the colonial subject in place, occupied with gazing at images of identity. As

Continue reading[Reading Response] Hong Kong: Culture and the politics of disappearance.

Cat Links 2024 Blog, Lecture 5: Urban Infrastructure as Event

[READING RESPONSE]The Multilevel Metropolis–XIONG Na Zona 3036260345

Posted on u3626034

Reimagining Urban Skyways: Balancing Innovation with Sustainability in City Planning The authors elucidate the frequently disregarded yet crucial impact of urban skyways on city spatial patterns. Despite their widespread use around the world, these raised walkways haven’t been closely studied enough, which leads me to reconsider the broader effects and challenges that come with using them on a large scale. The text underscores the nexus between skyways and urban space creation, noting their adoption for aggregating transportation, commercial activities, and property value. Looking forward, as we think about where city planning is headed, it seems crucial to me to think

Continue reading[READING RESPONSE]The Multilevel Metropolis–XIONG Na Zona 3036260345

Cat Links 2024 Blog

[READING RESPONSE] “Build It and They Will Come”: Transformation of Pudong into a Copy of the Global City

Posted on wilsoon

As the passage highlights, the urban space in global cities like Shanghai caters to the needs of the elite, leading to the devaluation of the lived space of the general population. Consequently, low- and middle-income residents are forced to relocate to peripheral areas of the city. This widening gap between the different classes of city users raises concerns about social equity and inclusiveness in urban planning and development. To address these concerns, it is crucial for policymakers and urban planners to strike a balance between creating globally competitive cities and ensuring the well-being of all residents. This could involve promoting

Continue reading[READING RESPONSE] “Build It and They Will Come”: Transformation of Pudong into a Copy of the Global City