Tag: Readiing Response

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[Reading Response] : The Imaginary Real World of CyberCities

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The reading discusses various examples of sci-fi migratory cities in fictitious films. However, as all films do, the phenomena could be explained by societal desires and anxieties.    Using one example, the Walker City in Flood (2009) was a mobile “self-contained mini-city” supported by advanced heavy machinery that allowed it to move on and roam the catastrophically-devastated post-global climate change Earth, constantly scavenging for food and resources for its residents. The tale brings forward the realistic fear of reallife city-dwellers, as symptoms of climate change bit-by-bit propels cities in our very real-lives to transform. The air temperature gets higher and

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Cat Links Lecture 7: Monsters, Materials & Skyscrapers

[READING RESPONSE] WILLIAM M. TSUTSUI: Oh No, There Goes Tokyo

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In Oh No, There Goes Tokyo, the author mainly analyzes the relationship between Japanese culture transition and Japan history, logic behind the appearance of Godzilla and its post influence on city landscape. What attracts me most is the rigorous analysis on strong correlation between Japanese culture and history. Start with the history before WWII, Japanese culture was constantly influenced by natural disaster, nuclear explosion and economic crisis. Elements of devastation and annihilation was subliminally added in creations, leading to a disastrous style of culture. It stimulates my thoughts of Chinese movie culture under certain historical background. Similarly, Chinese movie culture

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[READING RESPONSE] L6 Communal After-Living: Asian Ghosts and the City by Katarzyna Ancuta

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The article emphasizes the need for Asian cities to accommodate ghosts as an integral part of their urban fabric. It highlights the cultural and socio-economic factors that shape the portrayal of ghosts in Asian urban contexts and explores the themes of community, isolation, and migration through the lens of Asian horror cinema. And I will discuss how Asian cities adapt to the presence of ghosts and the living, and the impact on public life and urban mindsets in the context of urbanization and socio-cultural dynamics. The accommodation of ghosts in Asian cities has several implications for communal living and the

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Cat Links 2024 Blog, Lecture 3: The Post-war Asian City as Set

[READING RESPONSE]Noirs: The City, the Woman and Other Spaces by Seng

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The main subject of this article revolves around the exploration of two film genres, melodrama and noir thriller, within the societal context of Hong Kong’s working and upper classes. Among the various films discussed, Black Rose and Elevator Girl, both released in 1965. There are quite a number of differences we can see in both the films. Starting with the characters. The Chan girl from BLack Rose, themselves came from the upper class while Nam from Elevator Girl is from the working class. Both these movies showcase the different parties in Hong Kong. Black Rose has a mysterious feeling to

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Cat Links 2024 Blog, Lecture 1: Architecture, Film & The Modern City

Reading response

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These articles collectively emphasize the critical role of cinema in reflecting and shaping urban culture, identity, and art amid technological advancements and cultural shifts. This wide-ranging discourse covers Barthes’ phenomenological reflections on the alienation experienced in the cinematic space, as well as Benjamin’s critical examination of the declining aura of art in the era of mechanical reproduction. In addition, it provides an in-depth analysis of how cinema interacts with Asian cities and cultural identities, highlighting the medium’s dual function as a reflector and creator. The uniqueness of cinema lies in its ability to simultaneously resonate with societal norms and create

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Cat Links Lecture 4: Everyday Spaces as Narrative

[Reading Response] Spatial Stories, by Michel de Certeau

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This article talks about the difference between place and space, moving from structure to action, the bipolar distinction of maps and itineraries, the procedures of delimitation or “marking boundaries” and “enunciative focalization”. Space itself exists objectively, but people give it meaning and value through their subjective perceptions, experiences and cultural backgrounds, which leads to as many different spaces as there are people. Tour descriptions are more focused on operational and experiential awareness; they show the listener the location by describing specific actions and perceptual details, and are dynamic. In contrast, the map description is more objective and static as it

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Cat Links Lecture 4: Everyday Spaces as Narrative

[Reading Response] Walking in the City

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Certeau’s The Practice of Everyday Life offers a philosophical and social scientific perspective on urban living, particularly in “Walking in the City“, which explores the relationship between pedestrians and urban spaces. This work prompts a reflection on the identity of a “walker” and their role in the urban landscape, which further suggests that urban navigation is shaped by social norms, cultural practices, and collective behaviors. However, questions involves as I trying to find who are the walkers. My tutor said that anyone living within the city can be considered a “walker” through their engagement with and interpretation of the city’s

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Cat Links 2024 Blog, Lecture 4: Everyday Spaces as Narrative

[READING RESPONSE] EUNICE SENG: “Cuts through Hong Kong”

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Seng, Eunice (2021) The article discussed a movie filmed in 2000, In the Mood of Love, from a unique perspective of the time and space that brought up the story. Hong Kong’s appearance in the last century was pivotal to the development of the plot, while the movie also becomes an album of the places that only exist in memory.   Just as Director Wong mentioned, he wanted to document Hong Kong from the past, although some shots were done in time, more are already demolished in Hong Kong. For this reason, some scenes are shot in Bangkok, which was a

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Cat Links Lecture 6 Housing Stories

Reading Response: Cheung, E. M. K.

Posted on davehl@connect.hku.hk

The article from pp. 86-93 discusses about the representation of ghosts in Fruit Chan’s film, Made in Hong Kong. Chan’s surrealist filmic language (or the ghostly figures) acts as a metaphor for the identity and history of Hong Kong. The use of ghosts highlights the issues of social inequality, marginalization, and economic hardship faced by the youth in Hong Kong. For example, one note that Chan highlights the darker side of Hong Kong local culture of prison homes (which also has bad sanitasion and dysfunctional families) Additionally, Chan’s representation of ghosts is about the historical and cultural contexts of Hong

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Cat Links 2023 Blog, Lecture 6: Housing Stories

Reading Response: Esther M. K. Chueng

Posted on clh648@connect.hku.hk

The author focused on analysing the formation of ghostliness in Chan’s movies based on the recent history of Hong Kong’s public housing. The ghostliness was utterly different from the horror movies. It was a sense of anxiety, loneliness and depression caused by the dense and messy residential housing environment for the lower and middle classes in Hong Kong. Chan revealed the significant inequality between privileged and underprivileged classes by focusing on presenting the public housing areas under the ghostly context. Beneath the significant transformation happening in Hong Kong at that time, both commercially and politically, we could discover the anxiety

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