‘In Search of the Ghostly in Context’ discusses how Fruit Chan’s film explores estrangement through uncanny city spaces: low-cost public housing estates and old neighbourhoods in Hong Kong. He considered these places as the representation of the darker side of Hong Kong, such as social and economic inequality. These spaces are represented through lighting, warped space and shadow in the films, providing questions about the presence, absence, visibility, invisibility, appearance and reality of Hong Kong. In addition, Chan addresses the sense of rootlessness and displacement in the modern city, giving those who have been forgotten by the city an opportunity for self-recognition.
I believe that the urban city problems that are discussed in the reading can be attributed to our historical background. It shows how the political transitions impacted people. For example, the 1997 handover of Hong Kong’s sovereignty to China created a lot of uncertainty and fear among the residents. Also, the blooming of the economy of Hong Kong in the late 1970s and 1980s led to a flourishing real estate market and a shift from manufacturing to service and technology industries. Therefore, these make the public estates as homes for marginalized people of Hong Kong society. Thus, the colonial and capitalist processes can leave people feeling displaced from their homes.
It is inspiring that the reading said that “it is not Susan’s ghost that haunts this space but it is this space that has become haunting”. The space has become haunting because the past injustices and forgotten histories continue to influence the present through space and structures. So, the space and the city itself become ghostly but not the individual. This also helps the film to dig deep into the social and economic issues that are hidden stories about Hong Kong’s development.
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