Hongkongism in Stephen Chiau Sing-Chi's Cinema, Pastiche and Localism
Hongkongism in Stephen Chiau Sing-chi's cinema, Pastiche and Localism
This article aims to show the Hongkongism in Stephen Chiau Sing-chi's cinema by analyzing how he creates his own sense of humour and whether it has any type. Above all, I would like to correct the 'Reductionistic Reading' which confuses Hongkongese identities with the political insecurities caused by restitution of Hongkong to China in 1997. Of course, nostalgic images in some of his movies may recall pre-1997 Hong Kong. However, these images are different from political parody because they do not contain a special deconstruction or fundamental curiosity but just a random summation of empty images. Another common love affair and happy-ending structure combined with those empty images may be one reason why his cinema cannot be categorized into post-modern. Locality dominates Stephen Chiau Sing-chi's cinema. First, his cinema take advantage of Hong Kong viewers by using music and words of Cantonese Opera. Second, his cinema is in line with social comedies which feature typical man-heroes of Cantonese Camp. These two characteristics make his cinema lie in traditional formaility and concept. However, there are some aspects of post-moderns; Speaking metaphor through the mouths of Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan, Using fake images to confuse time-based narratives, Borrowing images from cartoons or commercials. His cinema tickle the old nostalgia of Hong Kong movie-goers on the one hand, make the overseas viewers get accustomed to a new sense of humour without learning a new culture. 'Moleitau' is, in a unshell, something located in the border between the tradition and post-modern. In the borderline, tradition and post-modern crashes each other forwarding imperfection to the viewers. This lower-class aesthetics make people laugh in a very convenient manner. This mix of traditional concepts and post-modern formailities and the sense of humor in them could explain the paradoxical identities of
This article aims to show the Hongkongism in Stephen Chiau Sing-chi's cinema by analyzing how he creates his own sense of humour and whether it has any type. Above all, I would like to correct the 'Reductionistic Reading' which confuses Hongkongese identities with the political insecurities caused by restitution of Hongkong to China in 1997. Of course, nostalgic images in some of his movies may recall pre-1997 Hong Kong. However, these images are different from political parody because they do not contain a special deconstruction or fundamental curiosity but just a random summation of empty images. Another common love affair and happy-ending structure combined with those empty images may be one reason why his cinema cannot be categorized into post-modern. Locality dominates Stephen Chiau Sing-chi's cinema. First, his cinema take advantage of Hong Kong viewers by using music and words of Cantonese Opera. Second, his cinema is in line with social comedies which feature typical man-heroes of Cantonese Camp. These two characteristics make his cinema lie in traditional formaility and concept. However, there are some aspects of post-moderns; Speaking metaphor through the mouths of Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan, Using fake images to confuse time-based narratives, Borrowing images from cartoons or commercials. His cinema tickle the old nostalgia of Hong Kong movie-goers on the one hand, make the overseas viewers get accustomed to a new sense of humour without learning a new culture. 'Moleitau' is, in a unshell, something located in the border between the tradition and post-modern. In the borderline, tradition and post-modern crashes each other forwarding imperfection to the viewers. This lower-class aesthetics make people laugh in a very convenient manner. This mix of traditional concepts and post-modern formailities and the sense of humor in them could explain the paradoxical identities of