Author: Zhiyu

Cat Links 2024 Blog, Final Video Essay

[Field-Homework 3] Disappearing City: Tong Lau

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Title: DISAPPEARING CITY: TONG LAU, SHANGHAI STREET; Wang Zhiyu, 2024 Tong Lau, Mong Kok, Hong Kong   Introduction:  Tong Lau, meaning ‘Chinese building,’ is a significant type of residential building that was integral to Hong Kong’s architectural heritage. However, these traditional buildings have largely disappeared due to their old age and urban development, with fewer than 1 percent remaining. This essay aims to explore the disappearance of Tong Lau, focusing on the example of Tong Lau at Shanghai Street and its implications for the loss of community and old Hong Kong identity. Tong Lau buildings were typically 4 to 8

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Cat Links 2024 Blog, Uncategorized

[Reading Response 2] Katarzyna Ancuta: Communal After-Living: Asian Ghosts and the City

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The original reading highlights the impact of urbanization on isolation and loneliness by analyzing the film “Apt.” (2006), emphasizing the commodification of real estate and the consequent dissolution of human connections. In the tutorial, we discussed other causes of modern isolation, such as the use of technology. However, my tutor’s assertion that the internet exacerbates isolation may not fully capture the issue’s complexity. In my opinion, technology can negatively and positively affect social isolation. On one hand, excessive reliance on the internet and technology could aggravate isolation. A study titled “Social Media Use and Perceived Social Isolation Among Young Adults

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Cat Links 2024 Blog, Lecture 6: Housing Stories

Wang Zhiyu’s reflection towards “moving house”

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By showing the moving house of the dead for the living, the film “Moving House” reflects on the cost of modernization and public policy, preserving a moment in Singapore’s history where the past and future are often in painful negotiations. The film delves into the broader social phenomena of house moving and saying goodbye to tradition through individual stories.

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[reading response1]Urban Cinema and the cultural identity of Hong Kong

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Hong Kong’s thriving film industry, especially during the 1960s, played a crucial role in shaping cultural expressions that fused together old and new, local and foreign elements. Teddy Girls (1969) is a great example, showcasing the Westernized aspects of youth culture, including a fashion show at the Girls’ Rehabilitation Institute that was influenced by the latest designs in the West. At the same time, it also reveals the layer of local life, such as the scene where Siao’s mother commits suicide after being betrayed by her lover, which reflects Chinese traditional values that women should live for men. This film

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