SF - Jameson

This week, I am going to (try and) take a small piece from our reading and go scuba-diving.

I could not successfully get through Jameson’s discussion of the Bonaventura Hotel without searching the web for more pictures of the hotel to aid in my understanding of his comparisons. Jameson says that the “glass skin” of the hotel wards off the outside city. He compares the exterior of this hotel to mirrored sunglasses which do not allow people to see your eyes; asserting that when people cannot see your eyes you somehow gain a “power over the Other” (509).



I’ve never really felt that way about mirrored sunglasses (or tinted car windows for that matter). For me, putting on mirrored sunglasses is a way to hide my individuality and blend in with everyone else. They say eyes are the windows to the soul. If my eyes cannot be seen I am just another person in the crowd. I believe this is what Jameson means when a bit further down he says that the Bonaventura’s exterior allows it to achieve a “placeless dissociation…from the neighborhood” (509). This assertion – that the Bonaventura is distant and powerful – makes me think of the Emerald City in the Wizard of Oz, which when you compare pictures, are not altogether different from each other: they are similar in shape and gleaming austerity, each has the inner workings of a city, and even entrances that are rather difficult to get into.


***edit - I just reviewed everyone's posts to our blog and see now that someone else has posted pictures and discussed the Bonaventura. Luckily, our discussion does not seem very similar - I hope this is ok. I guess great minds really do think alike!***