This afternoon I gave the public lecture at Fudan that I am asked to give as part of the arrangement with them. Of course, this scared the hell out of me. I gave an introduction to our project, using the paper that Janet and I wrote for Hong Kong on enchantment as the basis, but changing the case studies to the Museum here and Pentagon Plaza.
Interestingly, the questioners were more interested in the use of public screens in China for political slogans than I have been so far. Professor Lu Xinyu asked me, in the context of a broader discussion of enchantment, disenchantment and reenchantment, if nationalism had taken over as the secular religion of modernity. Professor Ma Ling commented about the biggest screen in Pudong, which can be seen from across the river in Puxi, and is often used for political slogans of one sort or another.
A male student spoke in English to make two strong critical points, both of which I appreciated. First, he emphasized that any account of screens and public spaces has to take account of online public spaces accessed through screens. And second, he was concerned that while the walking method might uncover unknown things, it is not systematic. I think acknowledging both these points while sticking with our project is important to make sure people don’t think we’re unaware of these things. In the first place, we are confining ourselves to screens in public spaces, not public spaces accessed through screens. And in the second place, our emphasis on singularity v. the administrative drive to map means that we are not really striving for representativeness.
Another student asked about whether the screens on the subways and busses are invasive. This then led to a discussion about the public’s rights in public space and how screens should or should not be regulated. Similarly, a student told me about a huge screen in a shopping plaza in Chengdu that used to carry the news and other programming, which people quite liked, but which is now 100% advertising, which is not so appreciated.
The room, which must have held 200+ was totally packed, which I found intimidating. But it also indicates that people are interested. Since then, I’ve heard from several people by email and there has been a sense that this is a fresh and relevant topic etc.
Before the talk, there was a lunch. I also spoke with Professor Gu Zheng, the leading urban photography expert. In June, we hatched a plan to work together through his undergraduate class this autumn. It turns out he has already got them to write short responses concerning their ideas about screens. I will visit his class next Monday morning, and he will photocopy and give me a set of the responses then. Later in the semester they will photograph screens. We will see how this turns out, but I’m very eager and curious to get as many local responses to screens as possible.
After the talk, I was taken to coffee with a group of people, including some from the journal Urban China. I was interviewed by one of the editors (Tong Xin) and we will see what comes out of that. He also gave me some back issues. Later that day, I had time to check them out. The journal is affiliated with Tongji University, the major place here for design and urban planning, and just around the corner from Fudan. It’s a fascinating publication, because it’s not so much an academic as a public intellectual journal, and it includes everything from well-illustrated academic research about roundabouts to more anthropological articles and shorter pieces about the curiosities of city life. I could see immediately why they were interested in what we are doing. Tong Xin suggested that maybe next time I am in Shanghai, I might go on one of my screen walks and they might accompany me. Given that they obviously know a lot about the city and its workings, that could be very interesting indeed.
We had coffee in a place in the Wanda Guangchang section of Pentagon Plaza. So, next, Wu Dan, Yu Wenhao, and my former TA, Zhang Shujuan, took a walk around the square. Initially this was to familiarize Wu Dan with it and prepare for photographing it with Wenhao later in the week. But we also wandered to parts I haven’t paid so much attention to before and I learnt things along the way. Wu Dan and Shujuan told me that the Orient Shopping Centre, now the sad second-run store, used to be a very high-end store, where you could buy a pair of jeans for RMB20,000 if you so wished. Probably their now slightly tatty screen used to be the cutting edge height of technology just a few years ago.
We also wandered around the Youyicheng — empty as ever. Shujuan pointed out the clothes in here are very middle-aged, whereas Wanda Guangchang across Songhu Road is younger, and has a reputation as a place for young people to come to from far away and hang out. We wondered about whether this place might pick up more once the no.10 line gets a subway station here? Or if it’s a real estate investment? Or…? The Atlantic mall next door to the Youyicheng, which is just off my radar, was pointed out as the local low-end supermarket. We walked through that and around the back streets, where an old retail neighbourhood comes right up against the Youyicheng, somewhat incongruously.
Continuing north we happened against a brand, spanking new development that is clearly not quite finished. This envelopes the old 1930s Yangpu Sport Stadium, and is called KIC — Knowledge and Innovation Community. Oracle have their logo on an office, as does the Chinese Google, Baidu, and various others. Clearly this is intended to be a big creative industry centre. There is also new housing on the other side of Songhu Road, and my guess is this is part of a big strategy to move this whole neighbourhood upmarket as a sort of University District with associated firms and young professionals moving in. This might eventually provide the consumers that Youyicheng needs. There is a clear tension between this vision and the older residential blocks that provide the pavement ballroom dancers outside Paris Printemps. The development is being run by the Shui-On (Rui-An) Corporation from Hong Kong, who are the same people who did the Xintiandi development.
