Cheung discusses “Made in Hong Kong”, specifically how the film references Hong Kong as a “spectral city”. Through light and darkness, warped space, shadows and abject images, the director manipulates what can and cannot be seen. Hong Kong’s transition to a global city illustrates an estrangement for the people living there as there exists a large wealth disparity and the sharing of dense spaces of living between the two is difficult. The defamiliarization of the city is reflected through Victoria Harbour, shadowing the unglorified parts of Hong Kong. To me, describing Hong Kong as a spectral city is a metaphor for comparing the past and present. Hong Kong attempts to escape the past, modernizing in a way that most cannot catch up with. Those in poorer conditions exist in the present that attempts to eclipse their presence, thus the feeling of loss and disorientation is created from space-time dislocation.
Name: Michael Man Ho Leung
UID: 3035858808