The City Behind the Image: From Phase 1 to Cinema

In an article published on Artribune Magazine #56, the author reflects on the experience of observing urban landscapes during Italy's 'Phase 1' lockdown, drawing parallels with cinematic dystopias. The text references Mark Fisher's 'Capitalist Realism' (2009) and Alfonso Cuarón's 'Children of Men' (2006), where a window frames an inert London. It also cites Bong Joon-ho's 'Snowpiercer' (2013), where rebels glimpse the sky through a train window, and Scott Derrickson's 'Doctor Strange' (2016), which evokes Italo Calvino's city of Moriana. The author posits that the act of looking not only influences but affects the city, preventing it from remaining a flat surface. The piece explores how passive observation during lockdown mirrored these filmic scenes, questioning what changed imperceptibly outside.