Title: [Underground Heaven: Disappearing City]
Director & Actor: Tan Shuntian 3035777585
The Theme of the Video:
The COVID-19 global pandemic results in the great shock to the global economy, and Hong Kong, as an international city, is having no doubt to be affected. Shopping was one of the most attractive activity to do in Hong Kong, but due to the global lockdown, few travellers can get into Hong Kong to make consumptions, at the same time Hong Kong locals tend to spend less money as well, hence in the first quarter of 2020, the retail industry in Hong Kong lost 36.9% of the total selling amount in 2019.1 As a prediction, the supermarkets and stores, which are previously common to HKers, are facing challenges due to the pandemic outbreak, and this video tries to discuss the former normality of supermarkets and stores to the city, then arguing the forces that make these stores “disappearing”, finally discuss the “reconstructing” of the stores followed by the force that changes them.2
Firstly, the video demonstrates the previous commonness of the supermarkets. As a background information to the assigned topic “underground”, many stores and supermarkets in Hong Kong locate underground, due to the urbanisation of the city which makes the upper ground spaces congested, the retail stores turns to favour underground spaces which require less rental costs.3 Besides, open the supermarkets underground means to have access to nearby parking lots or metro station, making customers to arrive at the store conveniently. Hence, the stores used to work as an “everyday space” for many HKers, being as their daily destination and reflecting the “real” existence of their common, repetitive but important lives.5
However, the pandemic overturns the previous normality. The already-booming development of online shopping was favoured by more customers during the pandemic, due to its convenience and lack of contacts with others.6 Also, the international tourists in Hong Kong declined for 90%, combined with the decreasing spending incentive of the HK locals, giving the retail industry a dilemma of generating less incomes while the sunk costs and rental costs are considerable.2 Hence, the appearance of e-shopping the disappearance of both local and international consumers brings along the disappearing of Hong Kong stores and supermarkets.
Fortunately, the stores could be reconstructed to convert the effect of disappearing.2 The pandemic makes HKers trapped in the congested city, the lack of travelling access led to their nostalgia to enjoy foreign snacks, while the stores could be dependable suppliers to fulfil their desires.7 Besides, HKers are having more time to hang out in their communities, still due to the lack of access for them to go on vacations abroad, and having more careful and detailed shoppings could be their choice to kill time.7 Hence, the supermarkets and stores will never be out-of-date, they are still locating peacefully in the underground spaces, serving for the people in Hong Kong.
Method of Research and documentation (method for making the video):
The usage of online materials are very important for the research. The economy reports and news reported by the government are prioritised to be reviewed, since the economy reports reflect the economic situations of the retail industry, while the governmental investigations are more credible and authorised. The reports by the companies in property industry are also referenced, because they are also the stakeholders. The filming equipment is very simple, just by using two phones, since the video is basically capturing the reality that happens in the city, I just make the video like a real tour in the underground supermarket.
Reflections: Shopping is a very important habit in Hong Kong, and “行街” can be a important constitution of HKers’ daily lives, meaning that supermarkets could be a space of “everyday events” for HKers,5 but I wonder whether people’s habits of shopping changes during the pandemic. I hold to find the change of HKer’s shopping habit during the pandemic, as well whether the lack of tourists can effect the local consumption. Then I get the idea that the global lockdown, the habit of e-shopping and the increasing incentives for saving can result in the disappearance of consumers in the supermarkets, which lead to the supermarkets to disappear from people’s ordinary life. Finally, I want argue that, reconstructing can help the HK stores to preserve the former popularity, since they are the “defenders of native styles”, it is meaningful to keep this nostalgic lifestyle alive.2
——Shuntian Tan 3035777585
References:
1. 吴咏玲(2020). 记者手记：疫情下的香港零售业如何浴火重生？北京:新华网(港澳). http://www.xinhuanet.com/gangao/2020-08/08/c_1126342995.htm.
2. Abbas, M. A. (1997). Hong Kong: Culture and the politics of disappearance (pp. 63- 90). Hong Kong: Hong Kong University Press.
3. Thomas L. Waite (1998). Supermarkets: Tales From the Underground. New York: New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/1988/09/11/realestate/supermarkets-tales-from-the-underground.html.
4. 唐韌(2020). 百貨公司餐廳，為什麼總在最高、最低樓層？看懂「商場淘金」背後原理. 台北：商業週刊. https://www.businessweekly.com.tw/management/blog/3003748
5. De Certeau, M. (1984). Walking in the City. In The Practice of Everyday Life (pp. 91- 110), translated by Steven Randall. Berkeley: University of California Press.
6. 李內賢(2020). 香港益普索（Ipsos）針對新冠狀病毒（Covid-19）對香港消費者的影響的最新研究結果顯示, 消費模式發生了巨大變化, 但消費者的信心並未有顯著下降。香港：益普索（Ipsos). https://www.ipsos.com/sites/default/files/ct/news/documents/2020-04/impact_of_covid19_hk_press_release_-_chinese_02042020.pdf.
7. 王向華(2020). 專家意見：學者：疫情帶旺. 香港：明報. https://ol.mingpao.com/ldy/cultureleisure/dining/20200714/1594666174206/%E5%B0%88%E5%AE%B6%E6%84%8F%E8%A6%8B-%E5%AD%B8%E8%80%85-%E7%96%AB%E6%83%85%E5%B8%B6%E6%97%BA.