Contexts of Practice BCOP100 - 14th October

Wednesday 14th October 2015

Course Module - BCOP100                     Contexts of practice                  Lecture - Lucy Leake

Place and non place

We started of the lesson by watching the first 20 minutes of the film "This is England". Montage at the start which was showing wars/crisis, memorable events and famous people such as Margret Thatcher, at the end of the montage it was showing footage from the Falklands war which told us as the audience that the film was perhaps dating back to the 80's. This is then reinforced at the start by the date that pops up over the photo of Shawn's dad, he was in the war and died, throughout the film, Shawn the boy doesn't like anyone talking about the war or his dad, in fact he fights Combo at the start, they become closely attached until the end of the film (I know this from watching it). 

When watching the film we noticed that a lot of the people are living in tatty homes, council estate flats, also we are made aware that there are a bunch of chavs who are hanging out under the subway, they look thuggish, not sociable which is emphasised through the dark colours and the shadows on the walls behind them. Despite them being sat under a subway, this was their place, they had made it their own, we see graffiti saying "Milky waz ere" and then shortly after we are introduced to Milky as being Woodies main man. Turned into a place of ownership. MAKING lonely places into their own playground.

Place - Something is in one place and not another, implies stability or something is fixed like relationships. Everything is in it's place. Graffiti is seen as a way of reclaiming spaces.

Non place - Non-places generate solitude, it is what one passes through on the way to something else, leaving no impression behind or any feelings for the place, often somewhere where others don't visit. They are places designed for one specific function and don't have any meanings or feelings, traditionally inherit in place.

Sense of place 
We are distant from place, it is said that nowadays we don't go out a lot, we prefer to stay inside on our phones or play on the consoles in front of screens. Itinerancy - Get out their, experience more of the world. Super Modernity - Different take on how we live - Finding our identity in our surroundings. Is it not natural to be in a constant state of movement rather than standing still.
We are all moving in a world of global change - Remember unique qualities, physical and how is it perceived.

Example of sense of place 
Koyaanisqatsi - Until now you have never seen the world in a different way - Life out of balance, we watched the trailer as a class for the film and we realised that their was no dialogue until the end where there was a line of VO, the trailer showed a narrative through different time lapses, speed up and slowed down in various places to give the feel that time is moving on.

Space

 Space is produced as an effect of functions that orient it i.e. the street is transformed into space by the people on it, means that space is a practiced place, the space doesn't define the use, the behaviour does.

Personal space
Invisible and undefined three dimensional area surrounding an individual and when invaded it can cause nervousness, discomfort, embarrassment or contact with others. Example - Tigers personal space is 30 feet (fact got from our powerpoint presentation).

Other spaces
We have intimate space (our space), personal space (talk with family and friends), social space (talk with acquaintances) and public space (public speaking).

Humans may be highly sensitve to places and spaces:
Agoraphobia: Fear of public/open spaces
Claustrophobia: Fear of confined/enclosed spaces
Domatophobia: Fear of houses, home
Ecophobia: Fear of home surroundings
Kenophobia: Fear of empty rooms
Koinoniphobia: Fear of rooms
Oikomania: Abnormal interest in being at home
Oikophilia: Attraction to one’s home (sexual)

TOPOPHILIA - Love of Place - Attached to a place

More spaces
Physical space - Whats going on around us.

Cinema space - Shared spaces like the cinemas allow us to feel connected to stories and belong in the same room, have the same ideas and takes on what is going on.

More places 
Home - as our place, we like to test spatial boundaries within our homes, creating territory i.e. playing with a fort as a child.

Third place - this sort of place offers an escape and builds community narrative known as a place between home and work. Example - TV i.e. soap opera's.

Hyper-real places - Pretend and incredibly real, get to experiment, push boundaries of your own existence i.e. GTA game you can get the cops to chase you by breaking the laws within the game, shooting, driving like a mad man and robbing stores etc.

References

This is England (2006) Directed by Shane Meadows [Film]. UK: IFC Films

Koyaanisqatsi (1982) Directed by Godfrey Reggio [Film]. USA: Island Alive, New Cinema