Urbanization and the Migrant in British Cinema
Gareth Millington Urbanization and the Migrant in British Cinema Spectres of the City
Gareth Millington University of York York, UK ISBN 978-1-137-47398-1 ISBN 978-1-137-47399-8 (ebook) DOI 10.1057/978-1-137-47399-8 Library of Congress Control Number: 2016954324 The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s) 2016 The author(s) has/have asserted their right(s) to be identified as the author(s) of this work in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. This work is subject to copyright. All rights are solely and exclusively licensed by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed. The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. The publisher, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, express or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made. Cover illustration: Mono Circles John Rawsterne/patternhead.com Printed on acid-free paper This Palgrave Pivot imprint is published by Springer Nature The registered company Macmillan Publishers Ltd. London The registered company address is: The Campus, 4 Crinan Street, London, N1 9XW, United Kingdom
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Thanks to everyone who has supported me while I was writing this book. Special thanks to David Beer who has been encouraging of this project from its inception. I owe a great deal to the fantastic students on my cinema and cities module over the last four years. I have been lucky enough to read some wonderful assignments and been tipped off about many excellent films on cities. Thanks especially to Vladimir Rizov who, in the very first year of the course, suggested to me the possibility of studying the absence of the city in movies. Vlad also pointed me in the direction of a great quote from Valences of the Dialectic, so thanks also for that. Thank you to Hannah Pinsent, who suggested some useful references for the sections in the book that deal with cinema and romantic love. Thanks to Judith Allan at Palgrave Macmillan for her patience. Thanks to MoMA and SCALA for the rights for the Giacometti image. Finally, and most importantly, the book would not have been possible without Anya s unwavering love and support and the daily joys of smiles and cuddles with Edie and Isabel. The book is dedicated to them. v
CONTENTS 1 Introduction: Cinema and Urban Society 1 2 Cinema, Cities and Urbanization 19 3 Urbanization and Migration: From City to Camp? 45 4 Dissolving City 75 5 Horizontal Distributions 107 6 Conclusion: Contra Brooklyn : Dissensus and the Limits of Realism 137 Bibliography 147 Index 149 vii
LIST OF FIGURES Fig. 3.1 The inner city and outer inner city (adapted from Millington 2012) 68 Fig. 4.1 Beautiful People A Multicultural Housing Estate in London 78 Fig. 4.2 Ghosts London 84 Fig. 4.3 Somers Town Tomo, Maria and Marek in Paris 86 Fig. 4.4 Last Resort Stonehaven 90 Fig. 4.5 Ghosts Thetford 93 Fig. 4.6 Ghosts Thetford from an upstairs window 94 Fig. 5.1 It s a Free World Super-diversity 110 Fig. 5.2 In This World A football match in a Kurdish Village, Iran 120 Fig. 5.3 Ghosts Morecambe Bay 123 Fig. 5.4 Alberto Giacometti, City Square (La Place), 1948, New York, Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) Photo SCALA, Florence 124 Fig. 5.5 Last Resort Mondialisation 127 ix