Category: 2022 Blog

Cat Links 2022 Blog, Final Video Essay

[Video Essay]Slow City

Posted on ccxii@connect.hku.hk

Video footage:https://youtu.be/kQwCUiDlK6w   Theme and subject matter: Recently, the government published various policies to control the spreading of the virus while gradually forming an invisible block on people’s interactions. Hence, the video’s theme is based on shooting my living complex’s reconstructed gate during the pandemic to reflect its impacts on human life to the feature of a slow city. The theme is presented by a narrative form surrounding the gate’s complex entry procedures, including registration on personal details, visiting purpose and location, showing the individual China mainland’s health code, and testing the temperature. Also, other components such as gate’s extra

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Cat Links 2022 Blog, Final Video Essay

[Video Essay] Public City

Posted on sytwai@connect.hku.hk

Title: Public City- Restaurant   Credits: Directed by Wai Suet Ying Teresa   Description of the theme:   There are more than 100 Pacific Coffee and more than 150 Starbucks in Hong Kong (Pacific Coffee, n.d.; Starbucks, n.d.). We can see coffee shops almost everywhere in the city. Coffee shops serve coffee, tea, and light snacks such as bagels and pastries to customers. People may meet their friends, study, work, entertain, or just pass time there. After people buy a cup of coffee, they may sit there for a few hours. What is the meaning of a coffee shop to

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Cat Links 2022 Blog, Final Video Essay

[Video Essay] Ecological City

Posted on u3595109@connect.hku.hk

Youtube Video link: https://youtu.be/1UVBvGNu3nM Description of the theme and subject matter Shenzhen, originally a small fishing village, has been developing into a modern metropolis at a high speed since its reform and opening up. High-rise office buildings, shopping malls, and MTR had been constructed, covering all corners of the city. Under such circumstances, Shenzhen’s environment has not been significantly polluted. Moreover, Shenzhen was rated as one of the top 10 beautiful cities in mainland China, and the first ‘National Ecological Civilization Construction Demonstration City’. In order to explore the reasons behind this, I considered which site can properly reflect this

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Cat Links 2022 Blog, Final Video Essay

[Video Essay]Control City

Posted on u3594195@connect.hku.hk

YouTube link: https://youtu.be/9_FRGexkoUg Theme and Subject Matter: I want to show the control city through the playground in two ways. One is pandemic control. On April 7th, there were three new local confirmed COVID cases and one local asymptomatic infection in Guangzhou. Therefore, despite citywide nucleic acid testing and community closure, schools are also on lockdown because of government policy. In this case, students cannot go to school, and there is no one over the playground for weeks. The playground that used to have laughter is now deserted. Even after they can go back to school, students are forced to

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Cat Links 2022 Blog, Final Video Essay, Uncategorized

[Video Essay] Mobile City

Posted on u3591819@connect.hku.hk

Title: Mobile City Youtube Video Link: https://youtu.be/5Mo7J4dnvxg Synopsis and theme The given site is ‘subway passage’, and this is a documentary-style video about the ‘mobility’ of the city by focusing on its underground tunnel amid COVID-19. The foreground of this video is the subway station called ‘Daxinggong Station’ in Nanjing, China, one of the busiest exchange stations in the city. Residents here use the subway as the main means of transportation in moving from one place to another in daily life. When the pandemic first breaks out, people have reduced their usage of the subway. But amid the crisis, the

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Cat Links FIELDWORK, Fieldwork

[FIELDWORK]God of Gamblers 賭神, Lucky Plaza

Posted on cc0329@connect.hku.hk

GOD OF GAMBLERS, DIR. Wong Jing (1989) Lucky Plaza, Shatin, New Territories, Hong Kong God of gamblers is a Hong Kong traditional film directed by Wong Jing and led by Chow Yun-fat, Andy Lau, and Joey Wong. Ko Chun (Chow Yun-fat) is a famous gambler. The main story begins with Chun escaping from a train. After fighting on the train, Chun accidentally stumbles into Little knife (Andy Lau)’s trap, which is intended to play tricks with an Indian. Ko Chun falls under the hill and hits his head. He loses his memory partially. Little knife does not know who is

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Cat Links Fieldwork

[FIELDWORK] MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE III, BANK OF CHINA TOWER/ XITANG

Posted on u3585886@connect.hku.hk

MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE III, DIR. J. J. Abrams (2006) The Shanghai Bank of China Tower/ Xitang, Shanghai Paramount Pictures released Mission: Impossible III in May 2006 in the United States. It is the third instalment in the Mission: Impossible film franchise. The movies are based on an imagery organization called IMF (Impossible Mission Force), which sends its agent to save the world from villains. The protagonist is Ethan Hunt (played by Tom Cruise), one of the IMF agents. At the end of the previous movie, Hunt ‘has retired from the field work’ and became a coach of the new recruits. The

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Cat Links 2022 Blog, Fieldwork

[FIELDWORK] CHUNGKING EXPRESS, CHUNGKING MANSION

Posted on u3577174@connect.hku.hk

CHUNGKING EXPRESS, DIR. Wang Kar-Wai (1994)            CHUNGKING MANSION, Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong           (Chungking mansion) “Chungking Express” is one of the most famous and classic Hong Kong movies created by Mr Wong Kar-Wai. The word “Chongking” in its name comes from Chungking Mansions located in Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong. The film mainly narrates two love stories that are barely intertwined from two policemen: No. 233 and No. 663, who meet new people after being lovelorn. In addition to the main story content, the film also shows the vibrant side of

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Cat Links Lecture 8: Sci-fi Technologies

[Reading Response: Carl Abbott]

Posted on u3575590@connect.hku.hk

In our past few lecture, we have learned about sci-fi techno spaces and monsters in films. It was impressive to discuss about different format of city within scientific technology. Especially, in the reading, it explains about moving city. Before, I read the reading, it was personally believed that space or place cannot be moved. However, as what film ‘Snowspiercer’ presents, there is a moving city. It shares same function of city, but literally it is moving by using the train in the film. Not only this movie, in the films, there are various forms of city via scientific technology. Also,

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Cat Links 2022 Blog, Lecture 8: Sci-fi Technologies

Reading Response: Carl Abbott

Posted on mathur2@connect.hku.hk

The first text by author Carl Abott introduces the concept of ‘migratory cities’ supplemented by examples and comprehensive analysis of media from the science-fiction genre. He introduces examples such as Armada, which is a city consisting of a flotilla of ships together, Snowpiercer, life on a perpetually moving train in a world wrought by natural disaster, and the constantly moving, grinding Earth in the novel Inverted World etc. He shifts the perspective of cities being natural confluence of people congregating at an area for their livelihood from the perspective of a technocrat, to a living, breathing, moving machine.  Through the

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