When it comes to ghosts in movies, my stereotypes of them are often their appearance in horror genre or comedies, such as The Conjuring or The Ghostbusters. Little did I know that ghosts can indeed carry so many representations on them, and how specific they can relate to Hong Kong. The portrayal of the supernatural world not only work as an instrument of defamiliarization, but also served as a tool to render the sense of anxiety, uncertainty, lost, and loneliness. These atmospheres often reflect the people’s sentiments towards the social political situation during that era, namely the Handover and social inequality in Hong Kong in specific. Which this echoes the notion of film being an archive, documentation of the times, despite using different genres. Another point to add is that it is also very intriguing to see how the use of ghostly figure become site-specific and with unique cultural symbolizations when comparing to other places in the world.
Lee Chin Lok 3036078405
The ghost films in Hong Kong, to some extent, demonstrate the “disappearance” put forward by Abbas and the uncertainty/anxiety towards the political and cultural hybridity. I would suggest framing your analysis based on Abbas’ writing since the ghost films (handover trilogy) analyzed by Cheung is firmly related to Hong Kong’s identity and political transition. Figuring out how ghost serves as a metaphor for highlighting Hong Kong’s “stay” and “gone” would be very fascinating. Besides, your final point is very insightful, which is worth unfolding a discussion by giving some case analysis.