Power of Men in Chungking Express
How is power represented through the study of Cop 223 and Cop 663? Power takes many forms in Chungking Express, and thought both 223 and 663 are police officers, who theoretically represent power and authority in all of Hong Kong, neither of them really has much actual power in the narrative. Chungking Express’ main theme is rejection, or loss of a relationship; both 223 and 663 have been dumped, and spend the majority of the film pining after their last love in some way. In this respect, the women of the film have the majority of the power. Cop 223 considers himself to be a ladies man, so he believes women to be beneath him and unable to resist his power. This is reinforced when the owner of the Midnight Express gives
223 a small speech about how women ‘can’t wait around too long, otherwise they go crazy’.
This rather low and misogynistic view is hugely contrasted by the next scene, where 223 calls some of the women he has previously known in his life, who all reject him. Interestingly, each of the women he calls fits into a different archetype of woman: the Maiden, the Mother and the
Crone. This expands on the theme of rejection by showing that women in all stages of their life find 223 undesirable. This all ties back to the fact that women have a lot more power in the film than men give them credit for. 223 lacks so much power when it comes to women, in fact, that he decides to fall in love with the first women that enters the bar in the penultimate scene.
That woman, the woman in the blonde wig, is arguably the opposite to everything 223 believes, as she is an incredibly strong woman in her own right; having spent most of the night chasing after escaped drug smugglers and murdering her exlover. Cop 663 is dumped during the course of his segment of the film, but he differentiates from
223 hugely by not searching out love from any woman he finds. Instead, 663 becomes more morose and depressed, and seeks comfort from the inanimate
223 a small speech about how women ‘can’t wait around too long, otherwise they go crazy’.
This rather low and misogynistic view is hugely contrasted by the next scene, where 223 calls some of the women he has previously known in his life, who all reject him. Interestingly, each of the women he calls fits into a different archetype of woman: the Maiden, the Mother and the
Crone. This expands on the theme of rejection by showing that women in all stages of their life find 223 undesirable. This all ties back to the fact that women have a lot more power in the film than men give them credit for. 223 lacks so much power when it comes to women, in fact, that he decides to fall in love with the first women that enters the bar in the penultimate scene.
That woman, the woman in the blonde wig, is arguably the opposite to everything 223 believes, as she is an incredibly strong woman in her own right; having spent most of the night chasing after escaped drug smugglers and murdering her exlover. Cop 663 is dumped during the course of his segment of the film, but he differentiates from
223 hugely by not searching out love from any woman he finds. Instead, 663 becomes more morose and depressed, and seeks comfort from the inanimate