Cresswell introduces ‘place-memory’ (pg121), which is essentially the idea that places can also hold memories that are supported and remembered by a large number of individuals. Westbeth is an iconic place, with a waiting list of eleven years for an apartment. ‘Place memory’ seems to be more complex than that. To some who fear being a forgotten memory, Westbeth presents them with the opportunity to be remembered. Without Westbeth, the audience would not have met Ilsa and Edith (who have less successful careers compared to Dudley) who long to be remembered like most artists. This is more strongly evident in Ilsa. Ilsa not only fears being forgotten but also forgetting. She longs to be connected to a place more than any of the other characters. Living at Westbeth, she knows that she is connected to a place but she longs for more. She confesses her regrets of not having children; after she passes she has no one to give her things to. While the other residents leave their apartments to their children and grandchildren, Ilsa’s apartment will be given to a stranger.

The most intriguing part of this reading for me was the way Creswell divided politics and place. According to Creswell, ‘politics is in the conscience but place will haunt you’. While this  is unrelated to Winter at Westbeth, it is in a way related to the human condition. If you have ever lost a loved one at a particular place, or a place haunts you, the reality is you will feel stiffled by that place. With the recent events taking place in the world, surrounding politics, I have formed a new appreciation of place. The country where my family comes from is a place where many terrible things are currently happening. It isn’t visibly bad to the extent where there is a war but i choose not to travel there simply because while the politics haunt me, i do not want to remember the place. Many of the best people I know fear going back to that country but they are in more pain because Istanbul haunts them. The beauty of Istanbul is written in songs and poems but i have no such memories, since i have not been to the country my family migrated from since I was 10. I have an opportunity to travel there this year but i thought to myself, why do that knowing that the place will eventually haunt me…when I am very aware of the politics of the country.

Through Cresswell’s notion of place, it can be concluded that place is essential for telling stories, whether it be magical or political. Cresswell teaches that place is anywhere we want it to be and i want wherever my ‘place’ is, to be as meaningful as Westbeth. 

 

 

References

Cresswell, T 2015, Place: An introduction, John Wiley and sons, New Jersey, United States of America.

Winter at Westbeth 2015, documentary, Unicorn Films, United States of America, Directed by Rohan Spong.