Why do empty malls, abandoned hallways, silent airports, and forgotten buildings feel so strangely alive?
In this video, I explore the philosophy of liminal spaces through the lens of enchanted materialism, arguing that these uncanny environments reveal the hidden vitality of the material world. Drawing on Jane Bennett's theory of vibrant matter, Mark Fisher's hauntology, Victor Turner's anthropology of liminality, Val Plumwood's ecological philosophy, and Andrei Tarkovsky's Stalker, I examine why spaces emptied of their ordinary purpose become charged with memory, nostalgia, and unrealized possibility.
Along the way, we explore dead malls, abandoned architecture, Roadside Picnic, the Zone, high strangeness, non-places, the decline of the public square, and the strange emotional landscape of late capitalism.
Chapters
00:00 Introduction
02:55 What Are Liminal Spaces?
14:20 Dead Malls & Hauntology
29:10 Places, Non-Places & Meaning
43:30 The Zone: Roadside Picnic & Stalker
58:10 High Strangeness & Enchanted Matter
1:12:45 The Loss of the Public Square
1:25:50 Jane Bennett, Val Plumwood & Re-Enchantment
1:34:30 Conclusion
#LiminalSpaces #Hauntology #MarkFisher #JaneBennett #Stalker #Backrooms #RoadsidePicnic #Philosophy #UrbanExploration #DeadMalls #WeirdStudies #Enchantment #VictorTurner #ValPlumwood #Materialism
Featuring clips from Jane Bennett, Mark Fisher, Future Shock (1972), Val Plumwood in Land of the Crocodile, the Stalker trailer, and Robert Schneider discussing Arnold van Gennep's Rites of Passage.
If you've ever been fascinated by liminal spaces, the Backrooms, urban exploration, hauntology, weird fiction, or the philosophy of place, this deep dive is for you.
