Introduction

Abstract

This introduction aims to articulate the manner in which the built environment and architecture have been complicit in watching and overseeing bodies. Using examples such as Laura Poitras’ Project X and examples from television and film (including The Handmaids’ Tale), this introduction outlines the methodological frame employed by subsequent chapters and investigates the multitude of “silent” surveilling systems at work within our spatial environment. The discussion in the introduction will bring together the disciplines of urban planning, geography, film, television, literature, and cultural studies in order to demonstrate their interconnectedness within the spatial reading of surveillance. This chapter will also position the collection within current cultural studies, as well as demonstrate the pertinence of the collection’s scope to current urban renovation and gentrification in the West. Furthermore, the introduction provides a brief outline of each of the chapter’s examinations and how these work to create a cohesive and broadly informed collection. The introduction therefore explains the nature and purpose of the book and the logic of its contents.