How does an urban context contribute to a sense of “loneliness” and “isolation”? Why is that significant in a ghost story?
An urban context contributes by being constructed without the “human” in mind. When you look at apartment complexes and especially public housing projects, it is clear that they are made to maximize efficiency, profit or some other goal rather than comfort or pleasure. Ancuta writes of the apartments oft portrayed in Asian horror films: “While not completely brutalist in architecture, the environment seems hostile, or at best indifferent and adds to the mildly apocalyptic mood of these films. The loneliness of apartment ghosts mirrors the loneliness of humans. Both appear to be a by-product of living in the city.”(182)
How are public housing estates depicted in Chan’s films and why?
Public housing estates are often where Chan’s films are set. There they are depicted as haunted and haunting living spaces have shaped the mental life of the majority of the population. These are portrayed cinematically in Chan’s works by the manipulation of light and darkness, twisted space, shadows, and depressing imagery, all of which relate to Abbas’s concept of what is partially seen and allegorically perceived. They also help to defamiliarize a city that has become overly accustomed to itself thanks to the Victoria Harbor skyline’s global urban scene, which exalts the idea of modernity as progress. (83)
Clear response and understanding towards the perception of housing in an Asian context and how the issue lends itself to the ghostly. The dissection of how it is communicated in Chan’s film is well developed and written, and I appreciate your point on how the bustling image of the city is defamiliarized when exploring this theme.