The three sources provided depict how voyeurs existed in different architectural styles and times. From the beginning, when voyeurs used binoculars to observe the lives of their neighbourhoods to satisfy their curiosity, to the later when they used indoor surveillance and cameras all over the streets. The use of surveillance has undoubtedly helped society reduce crime rates, but whether the presence of surveillance constitutes an invasion of citizens’ privacy is a question worth discussing. We despise the existence of voyeurs and want our privacy to be respected. However, few people protest when the government proposes to create a utopian, sin-free

Continue readingReading Response: Nezar AlSayyad

Two roles were proposed in the three subjected films in this week’s tutorial. Voyeur plays a character that gain pleasure over observing others in an invisible manner, whereas Flaneur is nevertheless the pedestrian, an observer with no other purpose than to be examine the contemporary life. As the world move on to the industrialise modern era, the concept of privacy fades along with the innovation of technology. A new degree of voyeurism is introduce to the public, the surveillance cameras that had been pre-installed in both private and public space. Especially to the luxurious high-rise modern looking building that gives a

Continue readingReading Response: Nezar AlSayyad and Michel de Certeau

AlSayyad’s text described the city from the viewpoint of voyeur. It explained how one can look at the city within certain frames. AlSayyad explained an expanding scale and level of voyeur in viewing the outside world. Starting from peeping through window to surveillance camera inside building then state-wide surveillance system. The text led to a few reflections about todays’ world. First, in the examples mentioned, female is usually under controlled by men that reflect the gender role in the society is imbalance. Secondly, truth is questioned as we rely a lot on technology especially the surveillance camera. Technology allowed us

Continue readingReading Response: Nezar AlSayyad

The article discusses the voyeurism that existed in modern cities based on the architecture construction such as window viewing to achieve the desire, which leads to variable negative phenomena within society, including residents’ life isolation, privacy surveillance, and gender bias. In response to these social issues, the circumstance of the virtual world created by using high power Len and surveillance remain controversial. According to the article, which reinforces the “male gaze,” Mulvey argued the trend of women objectification from the male gaze. Specifically, the two of the articles’ films also described the lens as a tool for pleasure, especially in

Continue readingReading Response: Nezar AlSayyad

The concept of voyeur and flaneur is discussed in this week’s tutorial. In the first movie Rear window, the main character is more like a flaneur instead of voyeur in my opinion, because the relationship between the main character and his neighbors seems to be two-sided. When he peeks through the window to see what his neighbors are doing, the neighbors could also see him through the window. However, in the second movie Sliver, the owner of the building observes what the people in his building is doing through cameras. This is an unbalanced relationship cause the residents have no

Continue readingReading Response: Nezar AlSayyad

Start with the three movies, this article introduces Voyeuristic Modernity and gives some ideas behind it. On the one hand, despite people may be uncomfortable with their privacy being invaded when they are under the systems of surveillance and it might violate human rights in some sense, the systems of surveillance have played a great role in maintaining social order and stability. As in the third movie, Ray has seen the kidnapping because his job is to monitor the video screens at an FBI crime prevention facility. However, on another aspect, monitoring system act as the virtual spectacle as the

Continue readingReading Response: Nezar AISayyad