This article talks about the “ghosts” in an urban setting, Hong Kong, a highly dense and populated city. Ghost can appear in social life in multiple forms. Specifically, one of the forms is that ghosts exist when people experience a failure to attain their goals and dreams. This can be originated from people’s sadness, as one primary aspect that causes the “ghosts.”
Ghost films are mostly made in Hong Kong, Singapore, and Taiwan. In terms of Hong Kong, it has a relatively liberal film industry, people can talk about some controversial and sensitive topics that are banned in mainland China; for example, films with strange and supernatural storylines. Hong Kong filmmakers will have more options and freedom for film selection.
As the article mentions, Hong Kong, as a highly dense city, lacks the availability of housing. The housing issue is the main problem in society. The apartment is usually divided into lots of cubicles. People with lower incomes usually live in the small cubicles, in which the poorest people live with a ghostly life. It mentions that many people have a low-quality life, and Hong Kong does not demonstrate itself in the way most tourists from foreign areas see; most tourists see Hong Kong as an international metropolitan city, but in fact, Hong Kong has the adverse side where citizens live an ordinary life.
HUANG Hou Weng
UID:3036088905
Your response shows good understanding between the modern urban landscape and metaphor of ghosts. There is analysis on the context of the rise of Chinese ghost films as introduced by Ancuta, and explanation of the housing issue in Hong Kong that concocts a sense of ghostliness and contrasts the image of a developed city.