Essay on Hong Kong Post-colonial Cinema

Mazierska discusses the overarching theme “trapped in presence” in Wong Kar Wei’s movie as postmodern implication that correlates to Wong’s addicted uses of montage and symbolism in narration and editing (p8, Mazierska). As he considers, Wong’s works share the similarity with several postmodern authors. “The notion of alternative temporalities is central to the narrative organization to postmodern novels, such as those of Italo Calvino and Alain Robber-Grillet.”(p17, Mazierska and Rascaroli). James Udden also argues in “the Stubborn Persistence of Local In Wong Kar-wai” that Wong’s popularity is credited to his typically post-modern philosophy of denying his Hong Kong identity and embracing it at the same time (finnayson, p143). In some more relevant cases, Flannery Wilson discusses Wong’s overlapping narration between presence and future in 2046 as the manifestation of Deleuze’s theory of “crystal of time,” vaguely alluding to the notion that virtual and the real intermingles in 2046 (p164, Finnayson). Brunette also postulates that the sense of resisting the advancement of time correlates to what the Fredric Jameson terms as “longing for the present. (Teo, p358) ” Although it is evident that every production of Wong concerns the subject of love, few theorists have been found so far who posit Wong’s interpretation of love in a post-modernistic framework. The one who got closest to this

Despite the fact that Asian Americans have been in Hollywood for decades, there are very few positive representations of them in film. More often than not, they’ve been depicted as stereotypical caricatures, and more specifically, as foreigners who can’t speak grammatically correct English. Moreover, the negative representations of Asian Americans in film has perpetuated certain misconceptions about their culture. Chan is Missing (1982) calls for more genuine representations of Asian American identities through its cast of complex characters and defiance of Asian stereotypes. The film also urges its viewers to critically think about their own notions of identity through the use of several recurring themes and filmmaking techniques.

Maxine Kingston's Making of More Americans like Amy Tan's Mother Tongue has been a controversial addition to Asian American literature. The writer has tried to answer the critical question of Chinese American identity and hence been criticized for adopting an orientalist framework to win approval of the west. Similarly Rendezvous by Frank Chin and Mother Tongue by Amy Tan also speak of a culture that neatly fits the description of the "Other" in the orientalist framework. It appears alien, remote and immensely degrading to women who were treated like non-human beings by Chinese chauvinistic society. However things changed for the generation of Chinese that grew up in the US or at least that is what authors wants us to believe.

Movies produced in the later half of the twentieth century still suffered from stereotypes set by films from years ago. In Year of the Dragon (1985), Tracy Tzu, despite being a professional newscaster, was also portrayed as seductive and mysterious, “manhandled and dominated by the Caucasian hero, Stanley White, as he overpowers her and carries her off to bed like a trophy” (Rajgopal, 2010, p. 149). These stereotypes of Asian women in film feed into the stereotypes of Asian women offscreen, and being perceived as exotic and submissive contributes to a higher risk of sexual assault, as if they are somehow “asking for it” (Rajgopal, 2010). The portrayal of Asians matched with the progression of history showed America was projecting its fear and othering Asians through media. If Asians are not portrayed in a stereotypical role, then they are given no role at all, rendered invisible by Hollywood and the masses. Because the West was not hugely exposed to the East, “the easiest way to generalize Eastern people was to build fictional characters of an extreme” (Wang, 2010, p. 86). Asians were not talked about, and when they were, it was through caricatures and

In today’s mainstream media, there exists a visible lack of Asian American representation. When they are given roles in film and television, those roles often maintain the stereotypical ideology which has been dominant for decades. Asian American stereotypes in these media range from hard-working and servile to masters of the martial arts and often put forth a misguided or exaggerated impression of what Asian Americans are like as a group. I argue that these stereotypical representations of Asian Americans manifest themselves in viewers’ minds and affect the way they view the minority group far after the they power off their television sets. These stereotypes are challenged when individual Asian Americans emerge and do not fit the mold that Hollywood has created for them. The quotes “looking at independent media artifacts, we can see the difficulties of self-representation, the potential for changing and configuring problematic images from Asian American and the media”(Ono) gives us a understanding to what independent media is to Asian Americans. Along with the quote “Inspires the creative expression of “Asian Americans who have felt excluded by particular forms of racialization”(Ono). These quotes will illustrate the shifting paradigm within the media from mainstream media to independent self produced work becoming the norm and how it can change Asian American lives demonstrated in these two films WHITEWASHING & ASIAN REPRESENTATION | Diversity Speaks - 2017 LA Film

This 57-minute historical film begins with strong evidence, depicting the racism that exploded into violence around the Puget Sound region. Although the truth is hard to hear, the upfront and honest details of the life and struggles of the Chinese

The creation of this homogenous world causes a bubble where the integration of national economies, markets and cultures concedes to an "essentially American dominated culture" (Wayne, 2002, p.2). This import and export of culture, the bubble, and alimented by Globalization itself, brings about that Hollywood captures around 70% of British film market, for example, and the British film industry captures only 1% of the American market (Elliot, 2000). Jameson comes to the problematic assertion that consumption of Hollywood films breaks up the seamless web of habits and habitual practices' of a national culture.

Socially I did not grow up with much exposure to Chinese culture. It is always thought-provoking to learn new information that is why decide to pick a culture with which my background is scarce. I selected to watch a foreign movie called Fearless, also known as Jet Li’s Fearless in the United States. My decision to watch a movie is I enjoy the proficiency to learn from films. I have never watched a foreign film so I was intrigued to experience one. I was not sure what to expect with a foreign movie, except I would have to read subtitles. I imagined the movie would have issues and situation that I could not relate to. I thought the plot may feature cultural problems and I would not understand parts of the movie. I expected the film to feature traditional, collectivism traits typically associated with China. Most of the focus relating to family and society as a whole rather than an individual. I also expected a conservative approach to the movie.

Stuart Hall’s The West and the Rest and Edward Said’s Orientalism both explore notions of power and discourse with regard to the dynamics of the Western world and the non-Western world. The works engage with the concept of a worldwide binary of two unequal sides, and how certain discourses, namely that of “the West and the Rest”, and Orientalism, have both stemmed from this idea and worked to maintain it. While Hall engages with the idea of “the West and the Rest” – the Western world and how it has been defined in opposition to the non-Western – Said analyses the relationship between “the Orient and the Occident” (2). Said’s work reflects in a more concrete way what Hall proposes in his, using the example of “the Orient” as part of “the Rest” against which the Western world positions itself. Both pieces convey significant ideas about how power informs perceptions of difference between societies, and in turn how discourse forms and maintains global hegemonic power.

In subsequent years following the establishment of the People’s Republic of China came a revolutionary new approach to not only producing films, but also film’s very role in communist society. During this period the state gained complete control of the filmmaking industry, decreeing that the utilitarian functions of art and literature were to become a powerful weapon in serving the revolutionary struggle. In an otherwise artistically stifling period in which socialist realism pervaded all creative outlets, Xie Jin managed to retain some autonomy and emerged as one of the cleverest Chinese directors in the early 1960s. In his 1961 film Red Detachment of Women, Jin provides a classic revolutionary melodrama, yet also displays elements of formalism so that the viewer becomes conscious of the manipulations of his film technique. To analyze this film, I will use Mao Zedong’s 1942 “Talks at the Yan 'an Forum on Literature and Art,” clip #10 “Landmark 2,” and clip #6 “We are joining the red army” to elaborate on the major themes and cinematic style that distinguish Xie Jin’s work from his contemporaries.

Ang Lee’s Crouching tiger Hidden Dragon is probably one of the most successful foreign films to ever be screened in America. Being the number one film of the year in 2000. On the other hand it was reportedly considered a flop in China. While it was influenced by American film styles, it still kept true to many aspects of its Chinese film heritage. With very apparent love story, it lacked the Extreme amount of Kung Fu fight scenes eastern audiences have come to enjoy. This is a stunning love story between a monk and widow. While it does have its share of over the top fight scenes, when you start to dig deeper the films many social implications become apparent. With ties to subjects such as religion, martial arts, philosophy, love, and even gender issues. This film is a representation of the modern era and how long practiced traditions are being challenged. Each character and plot line allows a glimpse into the Social and Traditional understanding of a culture.

As seen in most third transnational films from Asia countries, “popular cultural products criss-cross cultural borders everyday” therefore these cultures remain circulating in transnational cinema (Aquilia 2006). The power of transnational cinema could not be ignored as global screen reflects a transnational cultural exchange (Aquilia 2006). My clip shows that those sections of films we studied consisting crossover boundaries of actors and actresses, overseas settings and different cultures portrayed. Athique also argues that non-Indians and people with little Indian history background found enjoyment in the mixture of Bombay films (Athique 2008). Thus, transnational cinema in both ways depicted the cultural identity audiences can relate to, as well as transnational culture exchange among the globe.

culture. This movie clearly brings out the cultural clashes and conflicts between the high context Chinese culture and the low context American culture.

In his Introduction to Orientalism, Edward Said asserts that the “Orient has helped to define Europe as its contrasting image, idea, personality, experience,” (71). Therefore, in Season of Migration to the

“...Orientalism is not so innocent a form of knowledge as this. Instead, he redefines Orientalism as the ubiquity of a sense of the division of the world into two spheres in aesthetic production, popular culture, and scholarly, sociological, and historical texts. In other words, he is suggesting that the concept of difference between east and west is a geopolitical difference which is written up throughout the texts of western culture whether through travel writing, political texts, paintings, or in academic discussions” (Sharp 2009, 31).