What is a generic city? Can a city be both generic and exorbitant at the same time? To me, both generic and exorbitant cannot be explained literally. Their meaning is not exactly the same as the one in a dictionary. Maybe generic means a city can be represented in a photo while exorbitant means a city with different cultures and histories. Although Abbas considered that an exorbitant city cannot be generic or photogenic at the same time, I believe that it is possible for both of them to coexist. In my view, whether the city is generic or exorbitant is based on how much people know about the city. For instance, if people only know Hong Kong as an international financial hub or a shopping paradise, they may consider this place is generic. However, if people know about Hong Kong’s culture and history or even daily life in local districts such as Shum Shui Po or Kwun Tong, they may consider this place is exorbitant. In my own view, the comment of a particular city is hugely based on how much information do people indeed know about that place.
Name: Li Oi Man
UID: 3035683954
You ask a very good question. Now consider the question again, this time slightly differently: can an “exorbitant city” also be a “generic city”? In thinking through this, you will need to consider what is the premise of the “exorbitant city,” that is, what produces and drives it. A city driven by finance (the money market), where consumption and financial gains is the dominant ideology? Then consider the process of genericness. How does something or some place become generic? If Sham Shui Po is an example of an “exorbitant city” now, how can it resist becoming generic?