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[Reading Response 2] Oh No, There Goes Tokyo by William M. Tsutsui, Cheung Wan Suet

There is a thematic parallel between Japan’s calamitous historical past and its visual culture and artistic creation, predominantly characterised by the doom-laden fictional apocalypses. From natural disasters to the nuclear threat, to the burst of a beautiful bubble of economic prosperity, the historical vulnerability led to the perceivable pessimism and unhealable trauma expression in most aspects of its cultural output.  However, the reading expresses an interesting point of view to challenge the very established notion of the gloomy “aesthetic of destruction” with a contrasting kind of optimism and hopefulness that lay underneath the seeming surface of pessimism. For films of

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Reading response2 : In Search of the Ghostly in Context

“Where class is discussed, it is mainly to critique the plight of middle-class people. However, Chan’s focus on socially marginalized classes has attracted some critics’ attention.” —-In Search of the Ghostly in Context This paragraph emphasizes the significance of exploring the intersection between urban space and social marginality in Hong Kong films, especially those that focus on the experiences of the socially marginalized classes. The author notices that while middle-class issues have been the primary focus of critical discourses on Hong Kong films, Chan’s films stand out for their exploration of the experiences of those who have been marginalized within

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[Reading Response] M. Christine Boyer: “The Imaginary Real World of CyberCities”

    In today’s rapidly evolving technological landscape that we live in,  significant aspects of our identity reflect upon our connections and experiences within our community-buildings. In her article “The Imaginary Real World of CyberCities,” written by M. Christine Boyer, she explores how these technologies transform our understanding of identity, raising concerns about potential losses of identity and how a place turns into placelessness. Traditionally,  our sense of belonging is deeply rooted within the environment through historical, cultural, and personal interactions. However, virtually, the perception of a place becomes abstract, diminishing its tangible authenticity.      Boyer mentions the key

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[Reading Response] Oh No, There Goes Tokyo_Zhao Meijing

Reading response 2 Oh No, There Goes Tokyo: Recreational Apocalypse and the City in Postwar Japanese Popular Culture Zhao Meijing 3036126991 This article mainly discusses the reasons and functions of the disaster culture in Japan from post-World War II to today. Tokyo has been permanently destroyed in many artworks. It mirrored Tokyo’s historical vulnerability to catastrophe, especially the trauma of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. In the post-World War II period, the Japanese regarded life as complete insecurity. The successful resistance to monsters was the escape from failure in history. However, repeating the catastrophe made audiences less concerned about the reality. On

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

Lee Tsz Chun 3036066373 This book explores the intersection of urban environments, Asian ghosts’ narratives, and some cultural belief in Asia. Asian culture had believed that ghosts and humans have always been a part of the universe. The article had highlighted an interesting point that Asian horror movie often happened in an apartment like Apt mentioned in it. The article contrasts them with the Western horror movie, stating the difference of living space Asian living place are often crowded and intensive, and people seldom had conversions with neighborhood. They represent the loneliness in Asian urban style and implies the cultural

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[Reading Response 2] The Imaginary Real World of Cyber-Cities

I believe that both Machine Cities and CyberCities have emerged to create technologically advanced and connected urban environments. I will discuss how they affect people’s lives mainly from my perspective and personal experience. As the architectural space of the Machine City can accommodate and integrate advanced intelligent transportation technologies, I think this will improve our daily lives to a great extent. For example, I often suffer from traffic congestion, which negatively affects both my mood and efficiency. When urban space can accommodate an efficient traffic management system, our time can be saved. Also, reducing traffic congestion can reduce automobile emissions, which

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

The article mainly talks about the relationship between people, buildings, and ghosts in Asian cities, and a part of it is dedicated to ghosts in China.  What I’m most interested in is why people created the concept of ‘ghosts.’ In fact, until now, humans have not figured out whether there are ghosts after death. So, how was the “ghost” thing created? In the article, the author offers his answer: shaped to a large extent by underlying animistic beliefs and practices that continue to inform popular interpretations of official religious and philosophical doctrines in the region, ghosts, and humans have always

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

This article shed the light on the cultural and societal aspects of Asian cities and their relationship with ghosts.    The author mention haunted house and haunted apartment. The difference between haunted house and haunted apartment is that haunted house is the setting or the environment of the house will create a spooky atmosphere. In the text state that “There are always too many doors and staircases leading nowhere in particular; cellars, attics, utility rooms and closets transform into hidden passages leading to secret locations” The haunted apartment represent isolation. Also it is more ordinary and less noticeable. It trigger me to think

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[Reading Response 2] Infrastructural Tourism by Shannon Mattern

Yueming LI [3036260462] The article mentioned the definition of infrastructure and poses thoughts about the Interconnectivity of systems, wirelessness of infrastructures, and choices by users. An example of infrastructure for systems is electronic light, often seen at the surface or object level by users such as on the wall or the ceiling, often with no thought about the wires behind it that were embedded into the walls, and how they connect to the electricity station from home.    In terms of choices made by users, and their impact on the environment. One may choose to send electronic files to save

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[Reading Response 2] : Hong Kong: Culture and the Politics of Disappearance

Abbas’s composition regarding the disappearance of historical buildings in Hong Kong raises concerns about preservation and integration. The “disappearance” is implied as a substitution for another, starting from waves of Chinese immigration and economic development changing the city into a vast network of interconnected architectural systems. The external horizontal pressures contributed to local and merely local places being demolished for vertical high-rise buildings. This is the case of the Shek Kip Mei, the first public housing estate to counter an urban crisis from the government acquiring valuable land. Simultaneously, these new spaces serve multiple purposes, mixing commercial and residential use.

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