WHAT'S REMEMBERED LIVES

The movie Nomadland depicted a recent socio-economic phenomenon: a large number of “homeless” people are living in vehicles, wandering around looking for jobs, or gathering together for support and encouragement. This group of people also includes those living “rent-free” on public land or “camping in hiding” in cities and towns. Imaginations about “home” were broken down and reconstructed in the movie.

Due to the financial crisis, investment failure, layoffs and other reasons, they lose the house and only receive little social security fund. Hence, they can not afford to rent a house, and have to drift around in their RVs. (Foster and Magdoff 2009, 12) According to the movie Nomadland, in many circumstances, the RV almost costs the little savings left, so they are forced to engage in some temporary work.

Meanwhile, they need to confront the increasingly psychical powerlessness, and the feeling of wandering and loneliness when they are alone. They will hold some parties because they still have demands for social life, and hope that someone can accompany them instead of facing various difficulties alone. Essentially, they do not actively choose the life in RV, they can not afford the traditional house, and passively choose this survival strategy.

As a movable heterotopia, this new form of space with “car as home” has subverted and questioned the concept of “home”, which is preciously tied up with real estate and financial capital industries. The new “homeless” way of life, which struggles to break away from the existing social rules and conventions, is not only the sustained impact of the 2007-2008 financial crisis, but also a reflection of the depth of the current global crisis of capitalism. The director makes a gentle but powerful critique of American society, while still positively affirming the value of human nature in hardship, perseverance as well as mutual care, and manifesting a special concern and care for the suffering. We can also provide some care and help for those homeless people from the perspective of the construction industry.

In global financial crisis in 2007, it is the housing credit crisis that triggers a large-scale phenomenon of homeless. The reason why housing loans can transform and support such complicated financial derivatives lies in the ideology of "home".

This process first turns what everyone should own and enjoy, namely the living space needed for basic activities of life, into assets that everyone has to make great efforts to possess. When "home" is tied to real estate and financial capital, it has alienated itself into a tyranny that squeezes individual life. (Foster and Magdoff 2009, 12) Homelessness, as we define it today, is a relatively recent socio-economic phenomenon, the “freaks and loners” who left the countryside, failed to find a stable job in the city, and became increasingly ill mentally or physically are the very damage and cost of industrialization, technology, and urbanization.

Homelessness in the aftermath of the global financial crisis is not confined to specific countries and regions, but a universal and global situation caused by the growing polarization between the rich and the poor. In this sense, can designers and architects help to tackle the impending problem of homelessness? Or are we so constrained by profit-oriented customers that we can no longer generate socially-conscious designs to benefit people?

I believe we need a better understanding of the problem before that.