Category: 2024 Blog

Cat Links 2024 Blog, Lecture 6: Housing Stories

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

Posted on u3626460

In this article, the author discussed the intricate relationship between urban spaces, Asian cultures and the presence of ghosts. Unlike Westerners, who typically view ghosts as remnants of the past or manifestations of trauma, Asian cultures view ghosts as an integral part of the universe. It’s common in Asia to believe in the existence of ghosts, in countries like China, Japan and Korea. Therefore, to represent normalcy in Asian cities, the inclusion and accommodation of ghosts become essential. As a result of rapid urbanisation, people are leaving their traditional rural and natural environments and moving into dense, modern cities. The

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Reading response 2 Communal After-Living: Asian Ghosts and the City-Katarzyna Ancuta

Posted on ch3618

The essay discusses the relationship between urban environments, Asian cultures, and the presence of ghosts. The article also discusses a very interesting concept about “living ghosts”. In ghost movies in Asian cities, there is a clear distinction between the apartment where the living ghost is located and the traditional haunted house. Traditional haunted houses often have clear boundaries that should not be broken and are often associated with a specific family or person. In contrast, living ghosts in apartments are linked to factors such as economic status, social isolation, or health problems that make the ghosts in the apartment not

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[READING RESPONSE 2] L7 Oh No, There Goes Tokyo

Posted on u3612738

“What Doesn’t Kill You Makes You Stronger.”——Friedrich Nietzsche Since World War II, Tokyo seems to be more often depicted as the object of destruction, which may related to Tokyo’s historical disaster experience, reflecting Japan’s postwar society’s trauma and uneasy emotions about war and nuclear weapons. Japanese films and movies reflect the state of mind of the Japanese people to a certain extent – a contradictory state of mind that combines pessimism and optimism. On the one hand, the scars that the war has burned on them and the horror and darkness of the movie image can be seen as a

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[Reading Response 2]: The Multilevel Metropolis by Jennifer Yoo and Vincent James

Posted on u3622798

Luk Sin Ching (3036227989) This chapter raises an interesting phenomenon that skywalks, footbridges, or skyways have become the symbol of urbanism worldwide. These skywalks have radically altered the form and spatial logic of cities around the world. For example, Hong Kong has floating three-dimensional circuits that connect transit stations, shopping malls, office towers, and parks. But why do we have skywalks? Civic leaders began to “pedestrianize” their urban centers and connect and consolidate interior spaces through skybridges and arcades, to make downtown convenient, comfortable, safe, and climate-controlled for office workers and shoppers. The spatial ambiguity created by the stacked circulation levels

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Cat Links 2024 Blog, Lecture 6: Housing Stories

[READING RESPONSE #2] In Search of the Ghostly in Context by Cheung

Posted on u3618772

In the chapter titled “In Search of the Ghostly in Context,” Cheung offers an insightful analysis of space-time dislocation. He critiques governmental inaction in public housing conditions, addresses the struggles faced by the lower and middle working classes, and extends his discussion to the wider socio-political landscape in Hong Kong during its era of transition, through which he skillfully employed the symbolism of the ‘ghost’ and cinematic techniques. Cheung conveys themes of marginalization, homelessness, and despair among Hong Kong’s working class in Chan’s films though employing subtle language and symbolism. Specifically, the depiction of houses as ‘prison houses’ and the

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

Posted on liu2004

The text gives opinions on the relationship among humans, ghosts, and the city, while the author mainly focuses on Asian regions. When talking about ghosts and their spaces, haunted apartments and haunted houses were mentioned as two different concepts, while haunted houses can be clearly recognized as scary places, but a haunted apartment often looks common and could be hidden in the city. Also, haunted apartments are used more frequently in Asian horror films. Then the text brought us to the discussion on ghosts and “living ghosts”. According to Katarzyna Ancuta, the ghosts are the by-product of the city’s capitalism,

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Fieldtrip Report Transcript

Posted on yxning

…so we’ve talked about how spaces in Mong Kok have been vanishing, spaces like buildings, or architecture. What place have we found interesting in Mong Kok that is vanishing? It is interesting that we found a place called Shing Fung Hong, which is a joss money shop located in MK Canto Road with over 20 years of history. Yeah, I believe it sells joss money and incense, they’re items used in traditional Chinese religious and ancestral worship practices. What is joss money actually? Joss money, also known as “spirit money” or “ghost money,” is a type of ceremonial currency that

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Cat Links Lecture 6: Housing Stories

[Exercise] Moving House – Polina Saburova

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This documentary left me with a mixed feeling as it shed light on the drastic measures people are forced to take in order to “free the space” for the housing solutions. Even in such situations, they stick to their culture and traditions. It seems that the density of population can indeed have a unifying effect on people and their cultural traditions. When people are forced to live in close to each other or in shared spaces, there may be an even greater emphasis on preserving the collective cultural identity. It also reminded me of the phrase in my native language

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Moving House Reflection

Posted on yxning

This documentary shows a conflicts between traditional land ownership and modern urban development in Singapore. It is hard to decide which side is wrong. However, it clearly showed that this kind of conflicts could be solve peacefully. Although i believe that not all families are willing to move their ancestors, the scene is still inspiring when learning about urban development.

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Moving house reflection – Wong Hei Chit

Posted on answ530

A very similar situation comparing to Hong Kong, though it might not be as serious as that in Singapore, it might be worsening in the coming years due to rising population. The government should balance between the housing problem and other social issues (i.e. shortage of columbarium), and determine those that should be prioritised according to their urgency. Wong Hei Chit 3036220541