Comments for Subdivided Documentary Film Blog http://subdivided.net/blog Subdivided recently screened at UTOPIA FILM FESTIVAL & The WORLD MEDIA CONFERENCE Thu, 20 Nov 2008 20:46:44 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.0.3 Comment on “soulless, isolated, impersonal” by justjake http://subdivided.net/blog/2007/06/28/soulless-isolated-and-impersonal/#comment-2123 Thu, 05 Jul 2007 17:18:07 +0000 http://subdivided.net/blog/2007/06/28/soulless-isolated-and-impersonal/#comment-2123 I watched the show last night. I found it very interesting. I was confused by the end, however. You stated something to the effect that we each are responsible to start creating community where we do not have it and you spoke about having some responsibility for not knowing "the lawn-mower man". Yet, the very end shows, presumably, you putting up a "For Sale" sign. So, what we really should do is abandon all the places that don't have community yet? I watched the show last night. I found it very interesting. I was confused by the end, however. You stated something to the effect that we each are responsible to start creating community where we do not have it and you spoke about having some responsibility for not knowing “the lawn-mower man”. Yet, the very end shows, presumably, you putting up a “For Sale” sign. So, what we really should do is abandon all the places that don’t have community yet?

]]> Comment on Feedback on the KERA Screening - what are your thoughts? by Subdivided Documentary Film Blog » Feedback from June KERA Screenings http://subdivided.net/blog/2007/01/07/feedback-on-the-kera-screening-what-are-your-thoughts/#comment-2106 Thu, 28 Jun 2007 03:18:15 +0000 http://subdivided.net/blog/2007/01/07/feedback-on-the-kera-screening-what-are-your-thoughts/#comment-2106 [...] If you’d like to comment on the recent KERA screenings please use the comments section below, or send a note to list@subdivided.net. Comments from previous screenings are here. [...] […] If you’d like to comment on the recent KERA screenings please use the comments section below, or send a note to list@subdivided.net. Comments from previous screenings are here. […]

]]> Comment on Rethinking Suburbia by mlabay http://subdivided.net/blog/2007/03/05/rethinking-suburbia/#comment-57 Wed, 07 Mar 2007 06:27:38 +0000 http://subdivided.net/blog/2007/03/05/rethinking-suburbia/#comment-57 It's beginning to remind me of that game we played as kids: unsuspecting child chases after the others into the backyard, only to realize that he's been pranked when they quickly turn around, run back inside and lock the door behind them... It’s beginning to remind me of that game we played as kids: unsuspecting child chases after the others into the backyard, only to realize that he’s been pranked when they quickly turn around, run back inside and lock the door behind them…

]]> Comment on Do Large Houses Isolate Us From Each Other? by dsaint http://subdivided.net/blog/2007/02/26/do-large-houses-isolate-us-from-each-other/#comment-55 Tue, 27 Feb 2007 05:54:00 +0000 http://subdivided.net/blog/2007/02/26/do-large-houses-isolate-us-from-each-other/#comment-55 This is a half-formed thought so take it with a grain of salt. These outsized proportions for homes, with their compartmentalized rather than common areas reminded me of <a href="http://www.muar.ru/ve/2003/moscow/index_e.htm" rel="nofollow">an archive of architectural plans for state buildings in Moscow from the 1930s to the early 50s</a>. Only a totalitarian state would create buildings of such ridiculous proportions so as to minimize the individual. There is no humanity in those buildings. Katherine Salant's article about the breakdown of communication in these McMansions reminded me of the complete lack of communication you see in failed totalitarian states. Totalitarian governments and McMansions are about declarations rather than dialogue. Both deplete social capital by isolating the individual. This is a half-formed thought so take it with a grain of salt. These outsized proportions for homes, with their compartmentalized rather than common areas reminded me of an archive of architectural plans for state buildings in Moscow from the 1930s to the early 50s. Only a totalitarian state would create buildings of such ridiculous proportions so as to minimize the individual. There is no humanity in those buildings.

Katherine Salant’s article about the breakdown of communication in these McMansions reminded me of the complete lack of communication you see in failed totalitarian states. Totalitarian governments and McMansions are about declarations rather than dialogue. Both deplete social capital by isolating the individual.

]]> Comment on What about Churches and Schools? by mlabay http://subdivided.net/blog/2007/01/20/what-about-churches-and-schools/#comment-23 Sun, 21 Jan 2007 19:50:10 +0000 http://subdivided.net/blog/2007/01/20/what-about-churches-and-schools/#comment-23 I read with interest James Lee's opinion piece "Feeling Connected" dated Jan. 18th. I agree with James that Dean forgot to mention public gathering spaces, like churches and schools. They comprise the fourth of the four components of suburban sprawl as taught by Andres Duany, a "founding father" of the New Urbanism movement. see: www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=3F372CFBA3A87C1F Although a bit dated, this 1991 lecture and slideshow beautifully lays out the technical aspects causing the social disconnects that Dean Terry portrays in his film. Although churches and schools still play a significant role in people's lives, the fact that you need a car and a licensed driver to get you there have negatively impacted our children and our aging parents. No longer are they able to just walk down a straight street to get there. We've isolated our children, we have marooned our TDL-revoked parents. Another tragedy would be the unprecedented shift of wealth from the commons to the private sector. Our fund-starved secondary schools and public buildings have become bland, unremarkable, gulag-esque institutions while corporate fortunes raise opulent temples to commemorate oil and gas, banking services and insurance policies. You should SEE the lobbies in the newly built hospitals! They have a Starbucks!! (but no nurses) It's time to get our priorities straight, and take this country in a new direction. I read with interest James Lee’s opinion piece “Feeling Connected” dated Jan. 18th.

I agree with James that Dean forgot to mention public gathering spaces, like churches and schools. They comprise the fourth of the four components of suburban sprawl as taught by Andres Duany, a “founding father” of the New Urbanism movement.

see:
www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=3F372CFBA3A87C1F

Although a bit dated, this 1991 lecture and slideshow beautifully lays out the technical aspects causing the social disconnects that Dean Terry portrays in his film.
Although churches and schools still play a significant role in people’s lives, the fact that you need a car and a licensed driver to get you there have negatively impacted our children and our aging parents.

No longer are they able to just walk down a straight street to get there. We’ve isolated our children, we have marooned our TDL-revoked parents.

Another tragedy would be the unprecedented shift of wealth from the commons to the private sector.

Our fund-starved secondary schools and public buildings have become bland, unremarkable, gulag-esque institutions while corporate fortunes raise opulent temples to commemorate oil and gas, banking services and insurance policies.

You should SEE the lobbies in the newly built hospitals! They have a Starbucks!! (but no nurses)

It’s time to get our priorities straight, and take this country in a new direction.

]]> Comment on What about Churches and Schools? by oobi http://subdivided.net/blog/2007/01/20/what-about-churches-and-schools/#comment-22 Sun, 21 Jan 2007 18:31:45 +0000 http://subdivided.net/blog/2007/01/20/what-about-churches-and-schools/#comment-22 I agree, and coincidentally, this topic is discussed in a recent article by Chris Hedges: http://www.alternet.org/story/46908/ (excerpt) The Radical Christian Right Is Built on Suburban Despair By Chris Hedges, AlterNet. Posted January 19, 2007. "Millions of Americans live trapped in soulless exurbs which lack any kind of community, leaving them feeling isolated and vulnerable. Without alternatives for their social despair, they flock to demagogues promising revenge and a mythical utopia. This despair crosses economic boundaries, of course, enveloping many in the middle class who live trapped in huge, soulless exurbs where, lacking any form of community rituals or centers, they also feel deeply isolated, vulnerable and lonely. Those in despair are the most easily manipulated by demagogues, who promise a fantastic utopia, whether it is a worker's paradise, fraternite-egalite-liberte, or the second coming of Jesus Christ. Those in despair search desperately for a solution, the warm embrace of a community to replace the one they lost, a sense of purpose and meaning in life, the assurance they are protected, loved and worthwhile." I agree, and coincidentally, this topic is discussed in a recent article by Chris Hedges:

http://www.alternet.org/story/46908/

(excerpt)

The Radical Christian Right Is Built on Suburban Despair
By Chris Hedges, AlterNet. Posted January 19, 2007.

“Millions of Americans live trapped in soulless exurbs which lack any kind of community, leaving them feeling isolated and vulnerable. Without alternatives for their social despair, they flock to demagogues promising revenge and a mythical utopia.

This despair crosses economic boundaries, of course, enveloping many in the middle class who live trapped in huge, soulless exurbs where, lacking any form of community rituals or centers, they also feel deeply isolated, vulnerable and lonely. Those in despair are the most easily manipulated by demagogues, who promise a fantastic utopia, whether it is a worker’s paradise, fraternite-egalite-liberte, or the second coming of Jesus Christ. Those in despair search desperately for a solution, the warm embrace of a community to replace the one they lost, a sense of purpose and meaning in life, the assurance they are protected, loved and worthwhile.”

]]> Comment on Model Citizen or Model Consumer? by davidmitsak http://subdivided.net/blog/2006/10/12/model-citizen-or-model-consumer/#comment-21 Sat, 20 Jan 2007 14:03:43 +0000 http://subdivided.net/blog/2006/10/12/model-citizen-or-model-consumer/#comment-21 It seems that the suburban sprawl and consumerist life is not working for everyone. For some of us the new frontier is going to be taking habitat design into our own hands and designing and building our own villages, and finding a sense of peace by taking into consideration many of our future generations. I had the good fortune to meet someone from the Taos Pueblos of New Mexico USA. These are the longest continuously inhabited structures in North America. (www.taospueblo.com)They are 1,000 years old. The inhabitants of these homes do not pay rent or mortgage payments. The guy I spoke to, said that may people from his village thinks it strange that "we" would charge each other for shelter. They are living in structures that their ancestors built for them 1,000 years ago. The land around them is preserved for food production and forestry. The homes are clustered together (rather than sprawled out) and minimized in size, to create community and strengthen family bonds. They have shared common house buildings. In our "civilized" arrogance we are quick to want to "help" and provide "aid" to "less developed" countries when better time could be spent learning from them. It is time for the "freedom home" that is free from debt and free from toxins and free from fossil fuel dependent materials. We have the technolgy staring us in the face to make this a reality. Brian Woodward and the folks at Tholego have shown us how we can do the same and live free from the debt for shelter bondage that we were born into and which triggers all other bondage at http://www.sustainable-futures.com/housing/housing.html Check it out and let me know what you think. Yours Sincerely, David Mitsak, ratsack@yeamerica.org It seems that the suburban sprawl and consumerist life is not working for everyone. For some of us the new frontier is going to be taking habitat design into our own hands and designing and building our own villages, and finding a sense of peace by taking into consideration many of our future generations. I had the good fortune to meet someone from the Taos Pueblos of New Mexico USA. These are the longest continuously inhabited structures in North America. (www.taospueblo.com)They are 1,000 years old. The inhabitants of these homes do not pay rent or mortgage payments. The guy I spoke to, said that may people from his village thinks it strange that “we” would charge each other for shelter. They are living in structures that their ancestors built for them 1,000 years ago. The land around them is preserved for food production and forestry. The homes are clustered together (rather than sprawled out) and minimized in size, to create community and strengthen family bonds. They have shared common house buildings. In our “civilized” arrogance we are quick to want to “help” and provide “aid” to “less developed” countries when better time could be spent learning from them. It is time for the “freedom home” that is free from debt and free from toxins and free from fossil fuel dependent materials. We have the technolgy staring us in the face to make this a reality. Brian Woodward and the folks at Tholego have shown us how we can do the same and live free from the debt for shelter bondage that we were born into and which triggers all other bondage at http://www.sustainable-futures.com/housing/housing.html
Check it out and let me know what you think.
Yours Sincerely, David Mitsak, ratsack@yeamerica.org

]]> Comment on Feedback on the KERA Screening - what are your thoughts? by CoalMine_Canary http://subdivided.net/blog/2007/01/07/feedback-on-the-kera-screening-what-are-your-thoughts/#comment-20 Fri, 12 Jan 2007 15:20:46 +0000 http://subdivided.net/blog/2007/01/07/feedback-on-the-kera-screening-what-are-your-thoughts/#comment-20 I'm a native Dallasite in mourning for the dissolution of human warmth &#38; connectedness in this city. Yes, the anonymity &#38; coldness of sprawl &#38; subdivision are endemic to our whole country, but Dallas has a far worse case of it than any other city I've lived in. I'd like to suggest that readers contact KERA-TV 13, as I did yesterday, and ask them to please air this show once a month for the next year. There's already a buzz, but more showings will launch a wider dialogue in Dallas about the forces of dehumanization in our city. Some of us could also voluntarily purchase copies of the Subdivided DVD for our city council representatives. And, of course, we could all initiate patterns of connectedness in our neighborhoods. Sensitive people are canaries in coal mines. Thank you, Dean, for singing your warning song so beautifully and for creating this film as your offering and rally cry to help us raise our collective consciousness. Anyone interested in another canary's experiences in one of Dallas' older neighborhoods under seige can read View From a Canary Perch: www.canaryperch.com I’m a native Dallasite in mourning for the dissolution of human warmth & connectedness in this city. Yes, the anonymity & coldness of sprawl & subdivision are endemic to our whole country, but Dallas has a far worse case of it than any other city I’ve lived in.

I’d like to suggest that readers contact KERA-TV 13, as I did yesterday, and ask them to please air this show once a month for the next year. There’s already a buzz, but more showings will launch a wider dialogue in Dallas about the forces of dehumanization in our city.

Some of us could also voluntarily purchase copies of the Subdivided DVD for our city council representatives. And, of course, we could all initiate patterns of connectedness in our neighborhoods.

Sensitive people are canaries in coal mines. Thank you, Dean, for singing your warning song so beautifully and for creating this film as your offering and rally cry to help us raise our collective consciousness.

Anyone interested in another canary’s experiences in one of Dallas’ older neighborhoods under seige can read View From a Canary Perch: www.canaryperch.com

]]> Comment on OK it’s done… by oobi http://subdivided.net/blog/2006/10/08/ok-its-done/#comment-19 Wed, 10 Jan 2007 07:50:35 +0000 http://subdivided.net/blog/2006/10/08/ok-its-done/#comment-19 Dean, I moved here six years ago, and live upstream from Plano ( in Allen, where we get to bathe in the river, FIRST. Awesome! :-) Before I moved here, all I knew about Plano was that their high schools had a heroin problem. (!!) Allen is fine, but also emblematic of white flight and consumerism gone awry. I'm in my early 40s, and have grown impatient waiting for communities to evolve... Those quaint, funky gateless neighborhoods you show where people actually like each other enough to interact and sit outside on their front porch and don't seem to care whom you vote for...where it takes 10 minutes to get to their offices... where kids go over to each other's houses to share a single trampoline, or (heaven forbid!) a community swimming pool like we did when we were growing up... Yeah, I can see where juxtaposing scenes like that with what many of us settle for might subject you to some sharp critizism by...hmmm.....some losers who substitute online forums for their lack of front-yard social interaction...LOL Dean,

I moved here six years ago, and live upstream from Plano ( in Allen, where we get to bathe in the river, FIRST. Awesome! :-)

Before I moved here, all I knew about Plano was that their high schools had a heroin problem. (!!)

Allen is fine, but also emblematic of white flight and consumerism gone awry.

I’m in my early 40s, and have grown impatient waiting for communities to evolve…

Those quaint, funky gateless neighborhoods you show where people actually like each other enough to interact and sit outside on their front porch and don’t seem to care whom you vote for…where it takes 10 minutes to get to their offices… where kids go over to each other’s houses to share a single trampoline, or (heaven forbid!) a community swimming pool like we did when we were growing up…

Yeah, I can see where juxtaposing scenes like that with what many of us settle for might subject you to some sharp critizism by…hmmm…..some losers who substitute online forums for their lack of front-yard social interaction…LOL

]]> Comment on Feedback on the KERA Screening - what are your thoughts? by credwine http://subdivided.net/blog/2007/01/07/feedback-on-the-kera-screening-what-are-your-thoughts/#comment-18 Tue, 09 Jan 2007 00:49:59 +0000 http://subdivided.net/blog/2007/01/07/feedback-on-the-kera-screening-what-are-your-thoughts/#comment-18 I am so glad that this doc was on PBS. Now, if we can only get this information out to Network and Cable TV so more people can be aware. I constantly see TV coverage about global warming, but then I see commericals for Hummers and Wal-Mart. this frustrates me so much. I'm glad that at least we are starting to acknowledge the real issues. I am so glad that this doc was on PBS. Now, if we can only get this information out to Network and Cable TV so more people can be aware. I constantly see TV coverage about global warming, but then I see commericals for Hummers and Wal-Mart. this frustrates me so much. I’m glad that at least we are starting to acknowledge the real issues.

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