It’s interesting how non-places are represented in the movie. For example, the use of peripheral urban spaces in All the President’s Men evokes physical constraint, and reinforces the overall sense of alienation. Non-places are places that are becoming more and more similar in the course of globalization, a kind of public space in which people are removed in order to achieve standardization and efficiency. Although there is a large number of people flowing in such a space, it cannot carry people’s emotions or gather people’s memories. I think it’s hard for a place to give people a sense of security

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In Abbas’ text, the Hong Kong films Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and In the Mood for Love are used as examples to demonstrate the global identity issue of Hong Kong around 1997, the year of transfer of sovereignty over Hong Kong. These films respond to the idea of Generic City by creating, forming divergent cinematic practices. Due to the development and rise of some China cities such as Shanghai, Hong Kong’s position in the global community has gradually become less unique. Meanwhile, Hong Kong people’s oppositional thought towards China is quite altered, at least in the 2000s. Therefore, some old

Continue readingReading Response: Ackbar Abbas

If you had watched the 7th of the Fast&Furious, you must Remember the scene that Don drove a sportcar flew though three skyscrapers. Maybe you have forgot where those buildings were, but you can tell that is an Arabian county. Why? In a particular area, like Europe. If you leave out of all the landmark but only focus on the street, you could recognize one or two cities. As Sue mentioned “The topographical distinctiveness” of the city, every city has it unique culture and history. However,in the conspiracy thriller, landmark building was an unmissable element. Every landmark was the outcome

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Today talking about the technology used in a film, we seldom think of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. Admittedly, either elegant or swift movements of the characters are achieved with the help of special effects. I took those for granted when watching the film around six years ago. Jiang Hu, or the martial world, is a kind of romance embedded in the DNA of Chinese people. In our subconscious, it’s natural that people with a high level of Kung Fu can fly over a vast lake or fight in the air. Every time I watch a Kung Fu action movie, I

Continue reading[Reading Response] Ackbar Abbas

The main point I’ve learned from Abbas’s text is the relationship between film and the metropolis and the effect on the audience. Every city has its own unique tangible and intangible heritage that can evoke specific imageries but may not be immediately noticeable through a still image and rather better shown through direct experience. And Abbas claimed one way to form this experience is through a cinematic image. My initial reaction to the text was “Wouldn’t a city’s specific imagery instead limit a director’s creativity when utilising the space?”. After some thinking, I came to an obvious that although one

Continue readingReading Response – Ackbar Abbas