tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13023558.post4927214534503839177..comments2023-08-13T18:00:29.364+10:00Comments on arch-peace editorials: The Detention SpectacleBeatriz Maturanahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06476527926692961102noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13023558.post-38516644016010688052011-05-25T22:02:23.435+10:002011-05-25T22:02:23.435+10:00Peter, your 'prison-lite' experience prett...Peter, your 'prison-lite' experience pretty much gets to the heart of my discomfort with the prison-museum. I think these places rely on that distance between the innocent, detached museum goer 'ús' and the 'villanous' criminal - 'them' - the less palatable prospect of being challenged to identify with the former occupants is a much harder thing to achieve and no doubt less of a ticket-seller. The issue as it applies to detention centres is yet more difficult – asylum seekers are not criminals in my mind and yet concerted government efforts to criminalise them essentially set up the same us/them dichotomy that conveniently relieves “us’’ of the burden of empathy.<br /><br />Beatriz, thanks for your comments. I agree that the imperative is to act now to either improve (if that’s possible) or shut down detention centres. I suspect in some ways it is utterly irresponsible to project a hope for capturing memory (as authentically as possible) that might foster understanding and learning from our mistakes, while allowing the ‘real’ miserable history to continue to take shape. Hopefully it’s not an either/or scenario – ie a battle to be fought on multiple fronts?<br /><br />-EleanorAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13023558.post-60227988786113912912011-05-25T01:18:31.524+10:002011-05-25T01:18:31.524+10:00Eleanor, this is a timely and complex topic, which...Eleanor, this is a timely and complex topic, which you have skilfully unpacked, great editorial!<br /><br />I would like to focus on one of your examples. This is the Villawood detention centre that was once a “Migrant Hostel” and illustrates my concerns in regards to the preservation of some of these structures. In this case, I don’t imagine that the transition from a ‘migrant hostel’ to a detention centre was too difficult to achieve. Migrant hostels in Australia were never conceived or designed to welcome people to this country. These places are harsh to the eye and are segregated from its immediate neighbourhood and from the city. These “hostels” were/are tacked away from people’s views and their consciousness. While the real stories of people currently arriving to migrant centres are of no interest to the general public, it is telling that the re-make of their stories (a few years later and amidst a beautified building) becomes somewhat more palatable and of interest. It is here in particular where I share your concerns in regards to the Dysneyfication of some of these buildings. <br /><br />Rather than romanticising and distorting history by investing in major restorations—to be enjoyed by visitors (rather than users)—perhaps we could do something now to improve the conditions of those currently occupied facilities. In this way the real history (without spectacle), written during people’s arrival in Australia, could indeed be a better one.beatrizhttp://www.archimage.net/index.phpnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13023558.post-9714679860013007562011-05-24T22:22:25.291+10:002011-05-24T22:22:25.291+10:00Great piece Eleanor. It reminded me of my weekend ...Great piece Eleanor. It reminded me of my weekend in Castlemaine in the late '90s, when the old Benthamite panopticon was operating as a hotel. The tiny wine bar was in the solitary confinement dungeon, and an after dark tour took tipsy patrons through the graveyard, where the hung were apparently buried vertical. All feeding our morbid fascination with things villainous, while keeping us at a comfortable distance. PeterAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com