The Lettered City and Colonial Enterprise

"The Lettered City" by Angel Rama is an eloquent texts on the deployment of European symbolic structures to construct material replicas of European cities in 16th century South America. Ramas work relates to Baudriallard's orders of representation and to Wally's idea of conceptual transport acoss media. A couple of quotes:

"Before their appearance as material entities, cities had to be constructed as symbolic representations. Therefore, the permanence of the whole depended on the immutability of signs themselvess - on words that transmitted the will to build the city in accordance with stipulated norms."

The conquerors stil aserted territorial claims through rituals impregnated with magic, but noe ethey required a writer of some sort (scribe, notary, chronicler) to cast their foundational acts in the form of imperishable signs."

Over the framework provided by linguistic discourse, the (city) planners stretched the canvas of graphic design. Not subject to the semantic multiplicity of words, this second layer of signs surpassed the virtue of the first as an instrument of planning."


David Mc

Baudrillard's Simulacrum

CLIP SHOULD WORK NOW!!!!

Sometimes, I think, we can take the simulacrum too literally. Watching this clip of the documentary Surplus, really helped me put it into context of Baudrillard's attack on Capitalism.

Here is part 2/7 of Erik Gandini's Surplus. It is a brilliant and mesmerizing yet didactic piece of propaganda. I have watched it several times and have never failed not to be sucked in by its hypnotic nature.

The clip I am talking about ends before the Sex Doll factory tour starts. Though I would recommend watching the whole documentary if you can.

AFTER the 2:25 minute mark there is an interview in a Sex Doll factory so be forewarned!



Carrie

who doesn't like clockwork?

Okay, now that we're onto some Japanese kick, check out the mother that inspired Kubrick (he pretty much steals some scenes, verbatim)... it's madness: Funeral Parade of Roses!!!! Gorgeous black and white. Crazy depiction (straddling pure documentary) of 60's Japanese queer and trans culture, plus Oedipal inspiration. Yeah i know; I wish I'd thought of it first.
...pleasure dome free screening on friday at cinecycle, dudes. www.pdome.org

-serenaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

Books that Hayle mentions, and that I also love

Hi everyone. I thought I'd take advantage of the blog to post the titles of books that I've read/am reading, which were also mentioned in Katherine Hayles article (since she mentioned so many books and authors). My Cousin, My Gastroenterologist, by Mark Leyner is the book that she quotes a large portion of.
Hayle also mentioned Gabriel García Márquez (or maybe she didn't, I don't remember), but I started reading One Hundred Years of Solitude after reading her article, so she and Marquez are now eternally linked in my mind.
I don't have physical copies to lend out, but I do have digital copies that, with David's permission, I guess I could send to anyone interested.

Chris Watson

text as image - a japanese cinematic interpretation

As always an exciting and provocative discussion in class today.

I offer an additional screening and reading relating to the presentation today of PILLOW BOOK and Greenaway's approach to text, the book, cultural difference and multimedia:

1. KWAIDAN, 1964, Japanese film directed by Masaki Kobayashi, especially the section "Hoichi". A horror film of sorts but not in the sense of gore. Rather more suspense and a bit of horror. Bodies protected by word/images of Buddhist prayers written on them. Interesting conceptual and visual dynamic with PILLOW BOOK. (This film is in OCAD library, not on reserve.)

2. "Atomic Light (Shadow Optics)", a book by Akira Mizuta Lipsett, especially chapter 5, Exscription/Antigraphy. In this chapter Lipsett deals with Kwaidan and text as image inscribed on body but from the perspective of the racialized/othered japanese body, a body constructed/inscribed/medicalized/experimented/transparented/ destroyed by atomic weapons/particles, which render archives/memory impossible, except as bodily experience. Amazing philosophical range in his writing.

BLOG ON! - Everyone should have the sign in and password now, so make this blog yours -redesign it (to the extent blogger allows), add your comments, be controversial but respectful...

David Mc

Blog up and running

As promised, I've set up a blog for our Future Cinema and Narrative class.

Last class there were many great suggestions of additional readings for the class, so please post them here so everyone can access them.

As well, please feel free to use this as a discussion space for ideas raised by work screened in class or by the readings.

Two suggestions for additional readings that I would like to make are:

1. Tausk, Victor (1919) On the Origin of "The Influencing Machine"in Schizophrenia, in a number of anthologies but most easily found in Incorporations, ed. Jonathan Crary and Sanford Kwinter: Zone (1992) p. 569 - this text offers early analysis of the concept of human-machine relations from a psychiatric perspective, could provide some interesting counterpoints to Hayles' Post-human

2. Warner, Michael. “The Mass Public and the Mass Subject.” The Phantom Public Sphere. Ed. Bruce Robbins. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1993. - this article offers good insights into how mass media constructs a collective body that is then subjected to vioelnce, media and actual violence, and gives insights into the ideology of televisual mass media narratives.

Enjoy! And I look forward to reading your posts!

David Mc