Culture : Space

Catcalling video: public response

 

I agree with Hanna Rosin's critique of "10 Hours of Walking in NYC as a Woman".  The video effectively makes the point that women are routinely harassed by men on the street.  However, because of poor editing choices harassment is framed as a racial issue as the majority of men featured in the video are black or Latino.  And after reading some of the YouTube comments (63K to date), some men self-identifying as white don't believe harassment on the street is a problem, because *they* don't do that!  As one commenter argued:

"Did U notice that those who "harassed" her were mostly black low-life people? I mean U should be aware that there are many different people with different cultural or other differences in attitude or manners. U can't blame all men for that. P.S. I think they were "harassing" that girl because she has a fat ass which is considered as a beauty nowadays among this group of people."

Like Rosin, I remembered the earlier video by Jessica Williams on the Daily Show, which does a great job of illustrating the extent of the problem (using a map with pins!) by featuring men, both black and white and across various socioeconomic occupations harassing a diverse group of women.

The Daily Show
Get More: Daily Show Full Episodes,Indecision Political Humor,The Daily Show on Facebook

 

Navigation Technology

 

Henry Grabar's article "Smartphones and the Uncertain Future of 'Spatial Thinking'" hit home!  A recent experience navigating DC left me with a sense of unease as I was unable to recall any of the street names near a place that I visit often. I relate to the following: 

"But I've lately undergone a crisis of confidence: I find it hard to hit the road without consulting my phone. And while I'd like to think the recommended route (from Google, Waze, Hopstop, etc.) is just one influence among many—that I have other preferences their algorithms can't perceive—I'm not too proud to confess that I trust the computer more than I trust myself. The habits, hubris, and quirky predilections that once manipulated my movements are being replaced by the judgments of artificial intelligence."

Sitting in my car, I realized that not only do I not know the surrounding streets, but I also didn't have a sense of how to get home by car or foot.  I have become so dependent on the phone that I often use Google maps to orient myself while on foot!  

 

 

Stereotypes and Orange Is the New Black

Source: Netflix.com

 

Noah Berlastsky in the Atlantic argues that representations of men in Orange Is the New Black is inadequate considering the much higher rates of incarceration in comparison to women. In his words:

"According to Orange Is the New Black, though, men in prison are 'super-predators' while women in prison are, often, innocent victims, doomed by circumstances and their own painful but touching character flaws."

Yes, representations of men are stereotypical, primarily obsessed with power and sex (and sometimes violence) on the show.  However, while Season 2 seems to want to deal primarily with race, gender, class and inequities in the prison system, watching the show (I am only 7 episodes in) I sometimes feel like it is pandering to men, i.e., the sex scenes and depictions of inequitable relationships.  I find myself asking: "Are they trying to increase male viewership?"

So while I appreciate the diverse cast and focus on women, I find the spectacle of women trapped in prison (a key space of power and control!), shifting between empowerment and objectification, problematic as many of the sex scenes to date reinforce dominant representations of women performing sexual acts for male visual pleasure, undermining some of the noteworthy representations on the show.  

On the Radar: Upcoming Documentary on Gentrification in Atlantic

Atlanta native and filmmaker King Williams is producing a documentary on gentrification in Atlanta, GA.  His kickstarter campaign was successful so keep an eye out for the upcoming film.

Desciption from the film's website:

"The Atlanta Way is an in-depth analysis of how Atlanta’s relationship with gentrification has been a byproduct of decades of clandestine backroom dealings, oblique public relations campaigns & the treatment of its growing underclass.

Focusing on investment and profit over outright defiant opposition, Atlanta positioned itself to be an outlier amongst other southern cities. This would be no more evident in its development of public housing, airport, highways, suburbs and the centennial Olympic games.

Atlanta is the first city in the US to open its doors to public housing and the first to successfully close all of its public housing as well. The Atlanta Housing Authority, utilizing a series of revolutionary as well as controversial programs aimed at curbing an even more controversial system of public housing projects."

 

 

 

Interesting Reads

Are teenagers part of the reason why malls are dying? John McDuling writing for Atlantic Cities looks at Piper Jaffray’s semi-annual study into teen behavior in American Teens Don't Hang Out at Malls Anymore.

Who is responsible for gentrification and who has the right to criticize? A.O. Scott's article, Whose Brooklyn Is It, Anyway?, looks at media representations and gentrification--specifically in Brooklyn in response to Spike Lee's well publicized rant. 

Not just blue and red or purple states--the politics of metro areas within states. Richard Florida analyzes sprawl in metro areas and the relationship to conservative politics in America's Most Sprawling Cities Are Also the Most Republican.

 

The Future of Housing, Inequality and Wealth

Richard Florida's examination of a recent report by the Demand Institute highlights the geographic impact of the projected housing market and inequality. 

An excerpt:

"The ten percent of communities at the very top of the spectrum account for more than half (52 percent) of the nation's housing value – nearly $4.4 trillion in real estate assets. Despite the recession, these communities have experienced a 73 percent growth in housing value since 2000. Between 2000 and 2012, the group of cities in the top 10 percent also experienced 51 percent of the increase in income and 49 percent of the employment opportunities.

At the other end of the spectrum are the cities and towns where housing is worth far less and continues to be a far weaker investment. The bottom 40 percent of the report's sample accounted for a mere 8 percent of the total housing wealth. The bottom 40 percent of communities have seen just 9 percent of the increase in income and 9 percent of the growth in employment opportunities from 2000 to 2012."

You can read his entire post on the Atlantic Cities website here.

The Mediated Flaneur?

Source: Simpsons, Fox.com

Source: Simpsons, Official preview on Youtube.

Last week the Simpson's aired "Specs in the City" -- a funny and thoughtful commentary on Google Glass.  Mr. Burns gives all of his employees a pair of Oogle goggles as a "gift" to spy on his employees.  Homer becomes addicted to the glasses, even going so far as to use the glasses in bed with Marge.  In Homer's words:  "No one can live in a non-augmented reality!" Giving up his glasses to Marge, he spies on her as she follows her daily routine at home and in the town.  

The episodes addresses issues from privacy, mediated reality ("augmented" reality according to the Simpsons), to performativity.  

The full episode is available on Fox.com or Hulu.com if you missed it.  

 

Iconic TV Homes

Photo: "Brady Bunch" Interior

Photo:  "Full House" Exterior

Photo: "Cosby Show" Exterior

Marketplace.org published an online quiz to test your knowledge of houses in pop culture.  The quiz features memorable homes from TV shows such as the "Brady Bunch" and "Full House."  I scored 9 out of 9 (although I guessed for the last two!). 

Zillow also published a bird's eye view of famous TV homes. 

What does it mean that I can easily recognize these homes? Does it matter?  How have these images shaped my beliefs about what is means to own a home?

I am thinking about the housing crisis and homeownership as one of the central features of the American Dream. One promising research direction is the construction of the American Dream through representations of the domestic sphere and the “good life” on TV. I want to explore the ways cultural and social differences (e.g., class, race and ethnicity, sexualty, gender) are communicated and negotiated in TV representations of spatial domesticity. 

 

"Miss Representation"

I have been meaning to recommend the documentary film "Miss Representation" by Jennifer Lynn Siebel (available on Netflix).  The film looks at depictions of women in the media and is a good introduction to gender issues for high school and college students.  

Interesting reads

Sheldon and Leonard's apartment from the Big Bang Theory

Credit: www.cbs.com

 

Bankrate.com:  What 6 TV homes would cost in real life. By Dana Dratch

Slate:  Are Artists to Blame for Gentrification? By Ben Davis