Narrating the Global Financial Crisis: Urban Imaginaries and the Politics of Myth

261 Pages·2017·14.338 MB·English

by  Miriam Meissner (auth.)

Palgrave Studies in Globalization,
Culture and Society
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MiriamMeissner
Narrating the Global
Financial Crisis
Urban Imaginaries and the Politics of Myth
MiriamMeissner
DepartmentofSociology
LancasterUniversity
Lancaster,UnitedKingdom
PalgraveStudiesinGlobalization,CultureandSociety
ISBN978-3-319-45410-8 ISBN978-3-319-45411-5(eBook)
DOI10.1007/978-3-319-45411-5
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A
CKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Writing this book would have been impossible, and also much less plea-
sant, without the support of many, whom I wish to thank here. The
Amsterdam School for Cultural Analysis (ASCA) at the University of
Amsterdam generously provided the financial support for the first four
years of this project, which allowed me to focus fully on the research and
writing,aswellastotraveland“test”myideasindifferentenvironments.
TheFacultyofArtsandSocialSciencesatLancasterUniversityprovidedits
supportforthefinalizationofthisprojectandhelpedmetoincludesome
ofthe visual materialthat Idiscussin thisbookas illustrations.
Manyscholarshavehelpedmetodevelop,challengeandre-developmy
ideas for this book. I would like to thank some of them, in particular, for
sharing their interests and insights, as well as for helping me to bring my
writingintoapublishableform.MoregratitudethanIcouldexpresshere
goes to Christoph Lindner, who encouraged this project from its very
beginning five years ago, and whose heartening enthusiasm, attentive
feedback, and thoughtful practical advice were crucial to every step of its
furtherdevelopment.
I wish to thank Marieke de Goede, Jeroen de Kloet, Nicky Marsh,
Esther Peeren, Patricia Pisters, and Gillian Rose for their careful reading
and invaluable comments on my writing. Esther Peeren and Jeroen de
KloetIwanttothanktwice.Theirhelpandconfidenceallowedmetohave
this book be part of the Palgrave Studies in Globalization, Culture and
Society series, which is a great opportunity. I thank Joyce Goggin for
passing on to me her fascination with the critical study of finance and
financialfiction,andforincludingmeineveryeventrelatedtothesetopics.
v
vi ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I wish to thank Patricia Pisters and Greg de Cuir for encouraging me to
publishmyfirstresearchfindingsinNECSUS:EuropeanJournalofMedia
Studies. I also thank NECSUS for allowing me to reprint some of that
materialinthisbook.IamgratefultoJuliaOttandJosephHeathcottfor
invitingandwelcomingmeattheNewSchoolforSocialResearch,which–
apartfromaninterestingguestresearchexperience–alsoprovidedagreat
opportunity togetto know New York.
In terms of moral and intellectual support, I wish to thank all of the
members of ASCA for being such an energizing, inspiring and warm-
hearted group! ASCA’s Ph.D. community provided great support for,
anddistractionfrom,thisproject.Iamgratefulforallthehelpful,exciting
andfunnyconversationsattheoffice,duringbreaksandbeyond.Fromthe
Ph.D. community, I particularly wish to thank Judith Naeff and Pedram
Dibazar, whom I consider a dream team, as well as Simon Ferdinand,
Marie Beauchamps, Tim Yaczo, Tijmen Klous, Selçuk Balamir, Lara
Mazurski, Enis Dinç, Uzma Abid Ansari, Blandine Joret, Nur Ozgenalp,
NiallMartin, MelleKromhoutandIreneVillaescusa Illán.
Myfriendshavebeen,andcontinuetobegreatinsupportingme,butalso
inmakingsurethatIdonotget“lostinmyhead”.Icannotacknowledgeall
of the different ways in which they manage to do so, but I wish to thank
someofthem,inparticular,forbeingthereformethroughoutthepastfew
years.Anna-HelenaKlumpen,Dea van Lierop, and Diana Sotode Jesús, I
thank for being close during our first few years in Amsterdam, and for
continuing to care and stay in touch in spite of our present distance.
Marine Delgado, Clara Dutilleul, Marina Henao, Marika Tsombikos,
Lorna Kirkpatrick and Jella Lorenz – my Radioweg family – I thank for a
fantastic time living together, for their care, their wit, and for making
Amsterdamhome.IthankNeliDobrevaforherlongtimesupportandbelief
inme,andforprovidingahomeinParis;DanaRubinMaciotiforbeingan
inspirational thinker and fighter; Hania Raciborska for organizing energiz-
ing travels around Europe; Elwira Lewandowska and Ritesh Kumar for
“adopting me” as an almost stranger at their place in New York – and for
beingthebest(andalsothemostfunny)impressionItookhomefromthis
city.IamalsogratefultoJuliaBaldus,FrancisBendel,LenaHeuel,Carmela
LaMarca,AlicjaMalinowski,JennyNeumann,ClaudiaPinnhammer,Anita
Prochnicki, Ilka Schlegel and Marie-Christine Ulmen, for staying in touch
andmakingmefeelasifIneverleftwheneverIcomebacktoBonn.
Finally, I wish to express much gratitude to my family – to my grand-
parentsMariaandWernerKrapohl,andGertrudandGüntherMeissner,as
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS vii
wellastoWalter,Heike,Patrick,TobiasMeissnerandMargareteSiegberg–
forbelievinginmeevenifitwasnotalwaysclearwhatIwasdoing(maybeit
still isn’t). Most of all, I wish to thank my parents, Jeannine and Bernd
Meissner, for their trust and love, and for finding ways to be, move and
celebrate with me at every moment and despite any geographical distance.
Last but not least, I thank Federico Savini, for sharing with me all the
important(andalsosomeofthelessimportant)thoughts,ideasandfeelings
ofthelastyears,andforbeingabletoturneventhemoredifficultmoments
intolaughter.
C
ONTENTS
1 Introduction:Myths of Financeandthe City 1
2 Mythical Crisis Perspectives 17
3 Setting the Scene: Financial SpacesandArchitectures 41
4 Figuring Flows:Urban TransportMyths of Trading 83
5 Dwellingin Times ofFinancialization: Dreams, Ruins,
Escapism 133
6 Spectersof Financeandthe Black BoxCity 173
7 Conclusion: Financialization, Spectral Absence
andthe Politics of Myth 221
Bibliography 229
Index 243
ix
L F
IST OF IGURES
Fig.3.1 GeometricalaestheticsintheopeningcreditsofWallStreet:
MoneyNeverSleeps(2010) 53
Fig.3.2 HighangleshotofthegridcityinInsideJob(2010) 55
Fig.3.3 ThefinancialgazeinFreefall(2009) 56
Fig.3.4 Estrangedperspectives:tradingscreenreflections
inthewindowpaneofaLondon-basedinvestmentbank
inFreefall(2009) 59
Fig.3.5 SkylineindexinWallStreet:MoneyNeverSleeps(2010) 61
Fig.3.6 FictitiouscapitalblockskyscraperinTheBigShort(2015) 63
Fig.3.7 Skyscraper-bombimaginary.FrontcoverofDERSPIEGEL
(29/2009) 67
Fig.3.8 BuildingthebubbleinInsideJob(2010) 68
Fig.3.9 Transparencyversuspreclusion.MeetingatLehmanBrothers
shortlybeforeitsbankruptcy,photobyKevinCoombs
(2008,Reuters) 74
Fig.3.10 SpectralheraldsofthecrisisinWallStreet:MoneyNeverSleeps
(2010) 78
Fig.4.1 Subwayspecters:flashbacktoLouisZabel’ssuicideinWall
Street:MoneyNeverSleeps(2010) 92
Fig.4.2 PhotographofWinnieastheunderlyingassetofGekko
andJacob’s“subwaydeals”inWallStreet:MoneyNever
Sleeps(2010) 129
Fig.4.3 SacrificialsuicideinCosmopolis(2012) 130
Fig.5.1 HousingimaginaryofwealthdistributionintheU.S.A,
publishedinVanityFair(2011).IllustrationbyStephen
Doyle.CourtesyofDoylePartners 135
xi