I chose to examine Maurilia, the city where old postcards are held up as an example of a graceful golden age. The current metropolis, despite all its conveniences, cannot compare to Old Maurilia in the nostalgic minds of its residents.
In order to explore the description of the city, I applied Calvino's words to Birmingham; this city is appropriate both because I know a little about its history and also because as a large city there exist many photographs and accounts of its past. I was particularly interested by Marco Polo's observation that had Maurilia stayed the same, the residents would not look as fondly on it as they do now it has gone. This led me to consider the reality behind the postcards I was using; the working-class man standing in front of the beautiful cathedral in one picture probably lived outside the city centre, perhaps in the old Birmingham 'Back to Back' houses, tiny terraces with no modern amenities. These houses, which have recently been restored and turned into a museum, were occupied up until the 1970s. Therefore there exist 'eyewitness' accounts of life in these houses, and the quotation I use in the presentation is from Bette Green, a resident in the 1930s (about 20 years later than the postcards, which date from the first two decades of the twentieth century). While most people might think the postcard images of a city are no bad thing, since they allow us to look back on a place with happy memories, she is angry at the postcard-like presentation of her old home. She contends that it in no way reflects the harsh realities of life as she experienced them, and seems to feel as if this trivializes her family's difficulties.
(You can read more of her story and learn more about the Back to Backs at http://www.24hourmuseum.org.uk/birmingham/local/TRA23962.html?ixsid=)
Therefore from my own exploration of Maurilia I concluded that Marco Polo was right when he claimed that the city shown by the old postcards and the new city are two different places which happen to have the same name; I would go further and say that the city in the old postcards and the old city itself are also two different places. But the anodyne cleanliness and happy image presented in the old postcards took on a new, slightly sinister meaning. By choosing this kind of image to present themselves to the world, cities are deliberately hiding their darker sides and leaving the experience of a large number of their residents unacknowledged.
Maurilia, City of Nostalgia.pptx