When power over hong kong was handed over from Britian to China in 1997, lasting 50 years (until 2047).
one country two states
HONG KONG IN THE 60s
Economic growth prospered to a level where it became one of the 'four Asian tigers'
As a result, living standards drastically improved and job opportunities increased.
Political turbulence: causing a series of riots.
1967 - pro-communists rallied against Britain's colonial rule.
From 1990 to 2004 Wong Kar-Wai channelled a personal and aesthetically idiosyncratic vision of the Hong Kong from his childhood in the 1960s.
Theorist stated 'the history of hong kong is marked by a conspicuous lack of resistance against colonialism.'
Hong Kong became decolonized in 1997 because the territory came to a 'natural end.'
What did the Hong Kong decolonization lead to among the people?
Apprehension and lack of joy, due to the 'lack of a fixed identity for the population, which has characterized the region since the mid nineteenth century.'
Fallen Angels epitomized HK identity crisis via its characters.
Cinematographer?
Christopher Doyle
Producer?
Lau
Editor?
William Chang
Genres?
Neo-noir
Romance
Crime - comedy - drama
In 1848, China gave Hong Kong to the British for 99 years, creating this dislocated status and lack of identity for Hong Kong reflected in the protagonists.
What developed in cinema from 1960 - 2000?
The rise of auteur directors
New waves
Political films
Post modernism
Cult films
What's post-modernism?
A post WW2 period where there was a loss of faith in modernity, this manifested in an emphasis on playfulness, playing with genre and the above representing a collapse of confidence in reality
