The article mainly talks about the relationship between people, buildings, and ghosts in Asian cities, and a part of it is dedicated to ghosts in China.  What I’m most interested in is why people created the concept of ‘ghosts.’ In fact, until now, humans have not figured out whether there are ghosts after death. So, how was the “ghost” thing created? In the article, the author offers his answer: shaped to a large extent by underlying animistic beliefs and practices that continue to inform popular interpretations of official religious and philosophical doctrines in the region, ghosts, and humans have always

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

In “Asian Ghosts and Cities”, Katarzyna Ancuta argued that the due to the loneliness of modern urban life, creating an environment that have a haunted norm. He also considered the specifics of different Asian cities and cultures, for example, Korea and Japan, theirs ghost films often reflect the urban isolation. In contrast, ghost stories are created by the dense living environments and rapid modernization in places such as Hong Kong, which leave no room for the dead, forcing ghosts to enter urban living spaces. In the urban space, architecture has been influenced by neoliberal urbanism. So it is no longer

Continue reading[Reading Response 2]: Communal After-Living: Asian Ghosts and the City

As Cheung addresses the depiction of the ghostly city and the demonstration of defamiliarization, I will respond to how the close relationship between them is shown in films. Avery Gordon defines a ghostly city as a location where ghosts gather. I believe that “ghosts” refer to Hong Kong residents who lack authority over the city and are uncertain about the future due to historical reasons. Fruit Chan’s film attempted to investigate Hong Kong via discussions of social issues, rather than focusing on its positive aspects as an international city with amazing views. Since public housing estates are essentially the physical

Continue reading[Reading Response 2] Esther M. K. Cheung: In Search of the Ghostly in Context — Ye Tsz Yu

‘Fruit Chan’s Made in Hong Kong’ by Esther M. K. Cheung, specifically the chapter ‘In Search of the Ghostly in Context’, begins by discussing the themes of defamiliarization, realism and surrealism in Fruit Chan’s films. The reading also delves into the history of Hong Kong’s public housing, exploring the relationship between low-cost housing and the sense of homelessness seen in lower-middle class people.   I was most interested in how the reading discussed the link between how public housing is portrayed in Fruit Chan’s films. The author states that Chan’s films portray public housing estates ‘like ghost towns’, and that

Continue reading[Reading Response 2] In Search of the Ghostly in Context – Chiu Yin Ching