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Cat Links 2024 Blog, Lecture 4: Everyday Spaces as Narrative

[Reading Response] De Certeau, M. (1984). Walking in the City, and Spatial Stories.

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From the perspective of De Certeau, I believe that the practice of urban space in Hong Kong, especially against a backdrop of towering buildings, is a rewriting of the city’s text by every individual’s actions and choices. The high-density residential and commercial areas compel residents to find personalized ways to utilize limited spaces, such as rooftop gardens and corner shops, which are personal statements against standardized spaces. These seemingly trivial daily practices form the unique social texture and cultural landscape of Hong Kong. Therefore, as a young person growing up in this city, I place great importance on those spatial

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[Reading Response 2] The imaginary real world of CyberCities

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The reading discusses the modern machine city and cybercities. Personally, I like the modern machine city more than cybercities. Although our real world now is not a modern machine city, which is merely our imagination (Boyer, 1992), I believe that it will change to a modern machine city in the future. It is a dynamic city where all places, as the reading stated, the school, the prison, the factory and home, are controlled by machines with precise mathematics products and the creativity of engineers (Boyer, 1992). In cinematic expression, modern machine city is effective and efficient. The standardized operation of

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Cat Links 2024 Blog, Lecture 6: Housing Stories

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

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The representational space of In Search of Ghostly Contexts is an important platform for marginalized individuals to fight for their rights and solve social inequalities. Made in Hong Kong, a film by Fruit Chan, addresses this inequity by integrating its critique into the larger socio-political framework of Hong Kong’s upcoming political transfer. In Made in Hong Kong, Susan’s suicide highlights the inequitable living conditions generated by government neglect and represents the decay and ghostliness of Hong Kong’s urban landscape.   Prior to the handover in 1997, Hong Kong saw a significant political upheaval uncertainty. Such worries are reflected in films

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Cat Links 2024 Blog

[Reading response2] Li Xiaoping 3036066464

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Michel de Certeau’s book, “Walking in the City ” really intrigued me with its take, on life observed from the top of the World Trade Center. It vividly portrays the contrast between the citys planned structure and its lived reality. De Certeau suggests that when viewed from heights the city transforms into a “text” awaiting interpretation losing its liveliness and turning into static symbols. What stood out to me in De Certeau writing was his depiction of the shapers of the city—not the planners or architects but everyday pedestrians. These individuals carve out their paths and narratives continuously reshaping and

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Cat Links Lecture 6: Housing Stories

[Reading Response2] Katarzyna Ancuta: ‘Communal After-Living: Asian Ghosts and the City’

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This reading is mainly looking into three themes: co-living for the ghosts and living,  loneliness and isolation, and the ghosts as a representation of failed economic dreams.    What captivates me the most, is the relationship between the city, public housing and ghosts. Public housing often appears in blocks of concrete filled with small windows, catering to low-to-medium income level citizens. There’s a quote that resonates with me, “ The loneliness of apartment ghosts mirrors the loneliness of humans.” I noticed its lack of maintenance, such as peeling walls and gloomy staircases, would always give me chills. Adult residents, burdened

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[Reading Response] Oh No, There Goes Tokyo

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For this reading response, I will be addressing some of the arguments brought up during the tutorial for the “Oh No, There Goes Tokyo” text. One of the main points that was mentioned was the influence of Japan’s disaster related past, specifically the events such as World War II, and how it was reflected in many of the films such as Rodan and Gojira. As a recap, Rodan was a film where the plot followed giant pteranodons destroying the Japanese city of Fukuoka which parallels the disaster events of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. I think these arguments

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

[Reading Response] The Imaginary Real World of CyberCities by M. Christine Boyer

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Cybercities, a hybrid of physical and virtual space, are discussed by the author in “The Imaginary Real World of Cybercities”. Having a glimpse of the whole world, we may marvel at the fact that technology has been evolving in a rapid way. People are exposed to this digital era, and are more and more familiar with the concept of Cybercities. In this article, the author explores how digital technologies affect people’s perception of time and space and presents the challenges and opportunities for architectural design and social issues as well as urban planning under the context of Cybercities. The article

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Cat Links Lecture 6: Housing Stories

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

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This reading proposed three themes: the living and dead cohabiting, how ghosts and the living associate with social disconnection in times of rapid urbanization and the criticization of prosperous rich developed cities. The second point intrigued me as I drew connections with previous readings regarding public housings and loneliness between individuals. The writer argues that living environment contributes to social isolation, which is reflected in productions featuring ghosts haunting tenants and expressing their dissatisfactions towards the living. In Asian horror films, the low to middle income class is focused when presenting this idea. As governments try to occupy as many

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Reading Response-In search of the Ghostly in context- Chan Wing Sum

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“In Search of the Ghostly in Context” provides interesting insights into Fruit Chan’s film “Made in Hong Kong” and its exploration of the ghostly. The use of ghostly elements in the film challenges our usual way of understanding the city and its history. What intrigues me is how the ghostly elements disrupt traditional storytelling and invite us to question our preconceived ideas about Hong Kong. By introducing supernatural elements, the film presents alternative perspectives and marginalized experiences, breaking away from dominant narratives. The idea of the ghostly representing memory and unresolved past is particularly striking. It reminds us that cities

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[Reading Response 2] Walking in the City ,and Spatial Stories by De Certeau, M

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Although the book title is walking in the city, I think the idea of ​​the book is more focused on the relationship between space and humans. In the very beginning author using the top view to describe the city , he is using the pedestrian behavior to tell me that they should have some unexpected behavior acting in the city the book cite the Charlie Chaplin idea of ​​describing cane to support the idea ‘he does other things with the same thing and the goes beyond the limits that the determinants of the object set on its utilization’ I feels

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