Ackbar Abbas examines Hong Kong through the lens of the exorbitant city and generic city. The idea that movies like the Crouching Tigers perfectly exemplifies the inclusion of a “generic city”, where the idea of an idealistic techno-fueled city is optimized through the use of CGI and the portrayal of “cyber Kung Fu”. On the other hand, Hong Kong is described as an exorbitant city where movies like “In the mood for love” shows clips of everyday life and irrational impulses of human nature, conveying the idea that Hong Kong is more than just a few images of one dimension depictions. Although one can interpret that the name of an exorbitant city is more invaluable than the “generic city” per se, these are mere neologisms that are subjective to one’s mind and look at HK from a specific perspective. Abbas reminds us that films are only depictions of the preordained, and there are countless definitions of the environment that we are living in.
Wesley Wong Ting Fai 3035664740
Excellent reading response to Abbas that highlights the complexity of the representation of a city.