From the extra knowledge I learned, in the early 1980s, due to the influence of Hong Kong’s “New Wave” reform and innovation, Hong Kong horror films began to learn from and use foreign culture for innovation and breakthrough, forming a “new wave” of horror films different from the traditional. By setting up a closed and depressed environment in the film, the directors render bloody and violent pictures, depict universal characters and use close-up shots, making the “New Wave” horror films at this time show prominent “cosmopolitan” characteristics in the artistic style. In the mid-1980s, Hong Kong people’s psychological demands

Continue readingReading Responce of Week 6

Hong Kong’s historical and political background could explain the vast amount of ghost films in Hong Kong. British colonized Hong Kong for more than 140 years. When Hong Kong was about to return to China in 1997, many Hong Kong people were filled with anxiety and distrust of China and the future. They are uncertain about Hong Kong’s identity, system, order and borders. This fear was expressed in the movie as the fear of ghosts. An example is A CHINESE GHOST STORY. The director used four characters as a metaphor for the complex relationship between Hong Kong, China and the United Kingdom,

Continue readingReading Response: Cheung, E. M. K.

First, The article talked about the originality of ghosts in films: the residue of the past and the comeback of trauma. The locations of Hongkong ghost films are mainly in the apartment, and the author explains that the apartment is often divided into several “coffin homes” for poor people to live in. Those poor people can not afford the cost of graves to have a proper burial so their souls roam the earth. However, with the process of urbanization and capitalization, the ownership of a grave has become a luxury. The majority of the dead are likely to stay apartment-bound.

Continue readingReading Response: Katarzyna Ancuta

The article explores the depiction of ghosts in Asian horror films in the context of urbanization, and explores the relationship between humans and ghosts in Chinese ghost narratives, highlighting the cultural and religious beliefs that underpin these relationships. Firstly, the article examines how Asian apartment horror films portray ghosts. In Asian cultures, it is normal for Asian cities to accommodate ghosts alongside the living. Especially, films made in Japan and South Korea show the alienating character of modern urban communal lifestyles. Besides, the relationship between humans and ghosts in Chinese ghost narratives is also discussed. The article demonstrates how ghosts

Continue readingReading Response: Ancuta, K.

After reading the article ‘Communal After-Living: Asian ghosts and the city,’ I think that the ghost in the film symbolizes the disconnect between the living and the dead, particularly in contemporary urban settings where the two are divided by physical barriers. The concept of “loneliness” is really important in ghost-themed movies. Ghosts in movies can be viewed as a representation of this isolation and the loneliness of contemporary urban life. Moreover, referring to the article ‘In Search of the Ghostly in Context,’ ghosts are used in Fruit Chan’s films to symbolize both the teenagers’ struggles in today’s urban environments and

Continue reading[Reading Response: Ancuta. K. and Cheung E. M. K.]