‘URBAN CINEMA AND THE CULTURAL IDENTITY OF HONG KONG’ written by Leung Ping-Kwan unravels a group of films and their respective interpretations of culture in Hong Kong, during which the writer raises the issue of housing prices and space. Especially rent prices. This piqued my interest as someone returning to Hong Kong after one and a half decades away. During which, the housing market saw a 160% increase. ‘Space is Gold’, filmed in the 1950s illustrates the aforementioned problems. The film details the struggles of a dockyard worker’s relationship with a greedy landlady as well as “people conversing under the hanging laundry”. Both situations are testament to the incredible demand of living spaces and severe lack of space to supply satisfactory conditions for living. 70 years later, current Hong Kong still retains the same problem. With advancement in technology and resources, Hong Kong’s solution to solve the housing crisis is to reclaim or repurpose old and new land. An example would be expansion into the sea and the renovation of the old Kai Tak airport. However, even with incredible modern techniques such as ocean reclamation, Hong Kong still continues to struggle to solve the housing complication. ‘Space is Gold’ presents a possible solution of moving “up there” (meaning the mainland) which begs the question, is the issue of housing prices really one of space? With the recent change in housing policy, could it perhaps be human greed that is the barrier to a better living?
-HAU TSUEN ADRIAN YUNG 3036002066
It’s noteworthy that you reflect and take on this article from a housing perspective, relating it to our still existing modern day problems. Your research in this topic is very informative and supports your point. Conversely do you feel that there are any themes from movies that are not as relevant in our present day?