Coinciding with the fiftieth anniversary of the worldwide mass protest movements of 1968—against war, imperialism, racism, poverty, misogyny, and homophobia—the exciting anthology Architectures of Revolt explores the degree to which the real events of political revolt in the urban landscape in 1968 drove change in the attitudes and practices of filmmakers and architects alike.
In and around 1968, as activists and filmmakers took to the streets, commandeering public space, buildings, and media attention, they sought to re-make the urban landscape as an expression of utopian longing or as a dystopian critique of the established order. In Architectures of Revolt, the editor and contributors chronicle city-specific case studies from Paris, Berlin, Milan, and Chicago to New York, Los Angeles, Mexico City, and Tokyo. The films discussed range from avant-garde and agitprop shorts to mainstream narrative feature films. All of them share a focus on the ci
Trade Review
"Although studies of art and politics and their many intersections in the late 1960s abound, editor Mark Shiel’s collection, Architectures of Revolt, is unique in its geographical scope. The variety of cities examined in the eight essays are a testament to 1968’s ongoing importance on a global scale.... [T]his collection is a persuasive and illuminating addition to studies of the interconnections among the social, political, cinematic and architectural movements of that tumultuous, ever-prescient year.... [W]ell-written and often provocative."-- Film International