The idea of Generic City gives me a new perspective to look at the cities shown and depicted in different movies. Understanding generic city as a city without history, Hong Kong is an great example of it. Due to the short but complex history of Hong Kong, there are both Chinese and Western culture here, which reflects the idea of generic city. In the film In the Mood for Love, the clothes that the actors wore shows this characteristic. Women wear cheongsam, which is more in a Chinese culture, while men wear suits, which is from western countries. The idea of Generic City also explains why the image of Hong Kong are so different in different movies. A city without history means that the place can be more “imaginative”, as everything, including the architectures, are not restricted by the local culture left or made by the history. Therefore, in some movies, Hong Kong can be an advanced city with a lot of skyscrapers, and in some movies, Hong Kong can be a city with dense and old shabby buildings; to fit the plot of the story, Hong Kong can also be a fishery city similar to Venice, where the streets are filled with water and people travelled by boats.
Yu Yuet Chi, 3035789966
What makes a city without history? Even when a city exists for a day, there is history. You may need to be more specific about the lacking of history in Hong Kong. I do appreciate your point on how imaginative people can be when they try to look at the city through a different lens. There are multiple perspectives in different films. Do you think film is a way to resist the city from being more generic? If so, would it be contradictory to say Hong Kong as a Generic City offers different viewpoints towards this city? What do you think the films in a Generic City are like? Will there be multiple voices?