[Reading Response] Hong Kong: Culture and the politics of disappearance

 Ackbar Abbas’s article, “Building on Disappearance,” delves deep into the ramifications of Hong Kong’s rapid urbanization, examining the *vanishing* effects it has had on the built environment, urban fabric, and cultural heritage. Abbas explores the relationship between architectural entities and collective memory; it highlights the heightened significance of the theme of disappearance in Hong Kong cinema, particularly in the aftermath of the pivotal 1997 handover to China. His analysis underscores the profound impact of vanishing edifices, the loss of architectural continuity, and the erasure of cultural landmarks on the city’s sociocultural tapestry. And he touches on the anxiety people in

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Moving House (2001)

“After development comes redevelopment” as a way of life where the dead people are also affected to be moved is sad. Tradition cannot be maintained because of the government planning of lands; the dead parents “moving” from a larger “house” to a smaller “house” which is the columbarium. The exhumation exercises that are shown in the video is is uncanny and creepy, and let us know how a dense city means the cityscape and way of living is ever changing and full of uncertainty. -3036237831

Question for Director Chen

I’ve noticed that the female protagonist is always driving her car and there are many scenes of the traffic and the sound effects of car horns in the background. I would like to know if the traffic or the vehicles a symbolism in this film as how she is constantly moving around, selling people houses but failed to find a home for herself that settles her. Btw, do you like Mitski?

[Reading Response] Cuts Through Hong Kong, Seng, E. (2021)

3036237831 Wong Chun Fung “Cuts through Hong Kong” uses Wong Kar Wai’s film “In the Mood for Love.” as a springboard to explore the theme of change and inevitability of the transient cityscape of Hong Kong in the 1960s and brings out the idea that our landscapes can be preserved through films. This reading depicts the transition of Hong Kong in the past, when it was a British colony. The film captures the mood of Hong Kong in the 60s, where “private spaces felt like public spaces” with the intimate relationships between one and other that will be gone soon

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