seen from United States
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With Disneyland being one of the most visited places according to Instagram- it’s no wonder we are seeking out locations and places of recommendation that is seen on social media. Once in these places we are subjected to act differently, by taking selfies and photos without properly enjoying the space, as that’s what is expected and seen on social media
Japan, Pokemon Go.
Our concert of space and place has been drastically altered with the creation of this popular internet sensation. With the aim of encouraging fitness and exercise it quickly became a space where people tuned into screen and networks rater than their surroundings. By including real life environments, our perception has been altered and we now think of these ‘hotspots’ as something more.
“Space is the site of connections, actions and struggles; it is the medium of strategies” Lefebvre (1974)
Banksy highlights and uses this to his advantage to showcase how space can become a canvas for opinion of struggle and modern day life (especially when it comes to social media expectations).
Te Puni Village - A First Years Dream
First-year halls are almost like a rite of passage when upon moving into the tertiary study portion of your life, whether you stay at home or you move away it is something that most first years in New Zealand do. There is a social construct created around the first-year hall, it sells the study dream. You are given the freedom you crave but are looked after like a bunch of children in one big playpen with a dining hall, beds and a binge drinking culture. Te Puni means a transition to me, it represents the biggest decision I have embarked on in my short life. It represents independence, it represents my dream of moving away for university and why I worked so hard but ultimately it represents growth. Te Puni the building and the first-year experience doesn’t mean much to me, but the feelings and the personal growth I faced this year means everything.
Te Puni is generally represented by the University, selling the idea of an elite of first-year hall. A purpose built a first choice hall to cater to those students who have an above average academic record and can afford the luxuries Te Puni has to offer. The pictures represented on the university website show a fun community enjoying the top-class facilities in the buildings while ultimately working toward the goal of a successful education, with the hall being built on the foundations of support and success in academic study.
The story the pictures don’t show what the life of an actual Te Puni resident is like and this is the story I am hoping to tell. First-year halls are a bit of a contradiction, it’s a place where you are constantly surrounded by people but it is probably the most alone you could ever feel. For me, I don’t struggle with meeting new people and being extroverted but for someone who isn’t like me, I can imagine they have not had a very good year. The hall is advertised as something that is for everyone, but in reality, if you are quiet and shy, a hall probably isn’t the place for you.
Victoria University halls have been under a microscope this year. Earlier in the year, we had Joans Stevens Hall with the title of the feral zoo, recently this title has been given to Te Puni. Stories of wild rampant teenagers drunk out of their minds and trashing their accommodation have been sprawled over the news, a bit of an insight into an everyday weekend at Poon really. A strong, healthy and respectful environment is what Te Puni’s marketing is but, in reality, its nearly uncontrollable first years with a huge thirst for binge drinking plowing their heads and arms through anything that will break, which is a social norm in a first-year halls. A completely unrepresented side told by the university.
People always tell stories of how their first year of university was the best year of their lives and how they met people they will cherish forever and for some, this may be true. But the whitewashed perfect transition home for first years marketed by the university is a ploy for you to lock yourself into a $15,000 contract you can’t get out of when none of the selling points are really up to standard. The storytelling map I hope would give a bit more of an insight into what first-year life in a hall is like. The less perfect, less marketable side that the university probably does not want to show.
Te Puni is a great place, don’t get me wrong. The staff dedicates their lives to ensure you have an enjoyable year but the social construct of a first-year hall is nothing like what it really is.
https://www.arcgis.com/apps/MapJournal/index.html?appid=cb7bdad9795b4ccea4e8e7be1a661d81
Papillon à la craie, part 1 #newpoem everyone has a story, how do you tell yours? #poetryporn #papillonalacraie #papillon #place #space #placeandspace #instapoetry #antiguaguatemala #guatemala everyday i see #vulcandeagua, such an #epicview I am so lucky to experience, it seems very #surreal (at Antigua Guatemala.)
A preview of my first film made for CalArts in 2015, PLACE AND SPACE: NATURE AND THE MAN-MADE OF BEVERLY HILLS. The link to the full film is in my bio. You can also watch it on my Vimeo channel at vimeo.com/28545463 This is an experimental piece made to compliment either a location or then-current hometown by the use of practicing my cinematography techniques. Like, comment, favorite, subscribe, all that jazz! But most of all, enjoy! #placeandspace #shortfilm #film #experimentalfilm #experimentalfilmmaker #experimentalfilms #experiemental #cinematographer #movie #shortmovie #zoomedinshot #depthoffield #beverlyhills
