Although there are no lead actresses in Frank Darabont’s The Shawshank Redemption, women and their manifestations play a vital role in the protagonist Andy Dufresne’s life and escape from Shawshank Prison. Feminist theory identifies the ‘male gaze’ or scopophiliac desire - traditionally the desirous gaze of male characters directed at female ones – as a pervasive cinematic … [Read more...] about Male Gazes, Pin-Up Girls & One Man’s Escape
Urban Inventions: Answer the Phone, Your Favorite Book is Calling
This week is dedicated to the reappropriation of obsolete urban space. Phone booth libraries are starting to take the world by storm. The community book sharing movement has grown in the United Kingdom, using those iconic red phone booths, as well as in Portland and New York City. New York City founder of the Department of Urban Betterment (DUB) and professor at Columbia … [Read more...] about Urban Inventions: Answer the Phone, Your Favorite Book is Calling
Urban Inventions: Green Roofs
Parklets create more green space in cities on the street level but what about fourteen stories in the air? Green roofs are becoming a popular addition to many homes, apartment complexes, businesses, and hotels. Similar to parklets, green roofs are an effective way of making ‘green’ already constructed space in an urban environment. While initially very expensive to develop, … [Read more...] about Urban Inventions: Green Roofs
Urban Inventions: Taking Back the City
What is green, the size of a car, and costs $.25 an hour? A: The parklet. The parklet was created by the design firm, Rebar, in San Francisco in 2005. A parklet is a mini park placed in parking spaces in urban environments. Originally designed as a simple green space with a bench and a tree, some parklets now have Wifi and even a USB port so people can charge their … [Read more...] about Urban Inventions: Taking Back the City
Urban Inventions: To Fliz or Not to Fliz
Statistics show that chances are, if you are reading this blog, you are somewhere in a city – maybe you are sitting in traffic on the 110, waiting for the T, or sipping a cold iced coffee at Starbucks, trying to stay cool in this ridiculous Los Angeles heat wave. In 2008, half the world lived in an urban environment. By 2050, it is estimated that 70% of the world’s population … [Read more...] about Urban Inventions: To Fliz or Not to Fliz