My thesis project is about Wong Kar-wai's film Chungking Express and what it reveals about the relationship between the transnational and the local. The film is heavily influenced by foreign and transnational elements. For example, the characters speak different languages other than Cantonese, the characters eat Western food and listen to America, raggae and Punjabi music. The space in which the characters occupy is heavily transnational, a merger of different and unexpected cultures. I want to ask the audience whether Chungking Express reflects a Hong Kong devoid of local "Hong Kong" culture or whether the Hong Kong portrayed is a reflection of how modern and global the city actually is. If I don't have enough time to do this, I think I'll just narrow it down to how Chungking Express reveals the transnational nature of Hong Kong although I consider that to be sort of boring and probably not as "multimedia" friendly.
My project will be an interactive DVD. It will basically open with a video of the history of Hong Kong: how it used to be a territory of China and part of its tianxia, or cultural kingdom, how it was colonized by Britain for 99 years and became a territory of free trade, thereby attracting a number of foreign investors and its eventual return to China in 1997 (although it will not be under Chinese governmental control until 2047). Because the film takes place in 1994, I will not go in depth about 1997 but rather use it as a date of apprehension.
There will then be three platforms: the first explores a bar and the transnational elements present in Chungking Express; the second explores an apartment or hotel and explores the identity crises present in the film; and the last is where you decide whether the film is a criticism of Hong Kong's lack of local culture or is merely a reflection of Hong Kong as a global city.
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5 comments:
hey,
This sounds like a very well-thought out project! As a viewer, though, I guess I would be curious as to how your thesis works in a broader context. Like, as someone fairly uninformed on Hong Kong culture, why should I specifically take interest in the topic? If Wong Kar-wai is criticizing Hong Kong, could it be part of a cinematic movement against globalization, etc?
Ah! I've seen it. I'm from Singapore, and a lot of people draw parallels between our countries, both being ex-British colonies and having strong global influences, and the whole 'no culture' vs 'unique international culture' debate surfaces every now and then. When I saw the film the mix of races and cultures never occurred to me.
If I were to do a film set in Singapore, all these aspects would be present without my trying, and I think HK is very similar. Maybe Wong Kar Wai portrayed that intentionally, but I don't think that's necessarily so. Maybe the focus could involve not just what he intended for it, but what impression the viewer takes away from it? What might be the general profile of audiences which pick up on these issues upon watching the movie?
this sounds really fascinating. i'm vaguely familiar with wong kar-wai, so i'd definitely be interested to see another person's take on his work. i'm just curious about how the third platform works, where we decide. is there more to that or is it just us saying yes or no?
Will you require the user to view "Chungking Express" before beginning the DVD? I've never seen it, so would I have difficulty understanding your project without it? You may want to include short clips of the movie in your project to help illustrate your argument. How are you going to have your user decide whether CE reflects a Hong Kong devoid of local culture or whether it is a global and modern city? Will they select from a drop down menu their responses? You introduced the background of HK-- in economics, we say that if you get into HK, you've gained access to the entire Far East. Could it be that HK is such a global city that what's reflected in the movie is an accurate portrayal of globalization? Eg: I think KFC is opening up a new restaurant every day in China. Think Starbucks and McDonalds... Some people have even suggested using the price of a Big Mac to determine exchange rates. This may stray too far from your argument, but it's interesting to consider how economic power plays a role in cultural change and influences today's films.
sounds awesome! your project does seem a bit ambitious. maybe you could keep it as is, but not go into as much detail (it seems like a labryinth-type project, and that might take too long to complete - you could also just take the transnational aspect and explore it visually as you would the other three platforms, but have just one platform instead of three).
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