Fiske/Davis

The phrase "public space", in my opinion, pertains to any area in which any group in society may occupy. Examples of public space, according to John Fiske and Mike Davis would include malls and the streets; although each man takes his own stance on each issue.

To begin, I'll talk about Fiske's article, "Shopping For Pleasure: Malls, Power, and Resistance". In his article about people who use the mall as a sort of a playground, Fiske points out that one can differentiate between the haves and the have-nots by the way they shop, or don't shop so-to-speak. His belief is that those who only walk the mall and browse, or window shop, should not really be in the mall at all because they are only wasting the time of the shop owners, employees, and, oddly enough, the mall security. Although Fiske seems to take sides with the bourgeois, albeit in a somewhat comical attitude, he also explains of the youth's attendance at malls in order to build status and reputations. He stated that "youths consumed images and space instead of commodities, a kind of sensuous consumption that did not creat profits." When speaking of wasting the time of mall security, Fiske is referring to the youths that tempt and use "trickery", but also says that these same kids are not much different from the "lunch hour window shopper", therefore stating that these young people and non-consumers really have no business in the mall whatsoever-they are just in the way.

Mike Davis' article, "Fortress Los Angeles: The Militarization of Urban Space", on the other hand, came from a very different perspective on a serious subject. Davis enlightens us about the loss of public space for the ever-growing population of poverty stricken that are residing in Los Angeles. In a grave tone Davis gives us a timeline from the once "pleasure domes of the elite Westside" to the now "repressive ghettos and barrios", and then informs us of the government's lack of interest, or help for those in dire need. In contrast to Fiske's article, the subject matter in this article are have the right of public space taken away from them, and they can do nothing about it. The areas of major trouble are being quarantined, bull-dozed, and the people being pushed out with malicious intent. In short, and well-sta