PostwarHongKongcinemaplayedanactiveroleinbuildingthecolony’scommunityinthe1950sand1960s.ToJingJingChang,thescreeningofmoviesinpostwarHongKongwasaprocessofshowingthefilmmakers’visionsforHongKongsocietyandsimultaneouslyanattempttoconcealtheiranxietiesandmasktheirpoliticalagenda.Itwasatimewhenthecitywasasiteofintenseideologicalstrugglesamongthecolonialgovernment,ChineseNationalists,andCommunistsympathizers.Themediumoffilmwasrecognizedasapowerfultoolforpublicpersuasionandvariouscampscompetedtowinovertheheartsandmindsoftheaudience.ScreeningCommunitiesthussituatesthehistoryofpostwarHongKongcinemaattheintersectionofColdWarpolitics,Chineseculture,andlocalsociety.
Focusingonthegenresofofficialdocumentaryfilm,leftistfamilymelodrama(lunlipian),andyouthfilm,thisstudyexaminesthetriangulatedrelationshipofcolonialinterventionsinHongKongfilmculture,theriseofleft-leaningCantonesedirectorsasnewculturalelites,andthepositioningofaudiencesascontributorstothecolony’sjourneytowardindustrialmodernity.Filmmakersareshownhavingtoconstantlynegotiatechangingsociopoliticalconditions:theHongKonggovernmentpresentingitselfasacollaborativerulingbody,moralanddidacticmessagesbeingadaptedforcommercialreleases,andwomenbecomingrecognizedasadrivingforcebehindHongKong’spostwarindustrialsuccess.Inputtingforwardahistoricalnarrativethatprivilegesthepoeticsandpoliticsofshapingalocalcommunitythroughacontinuousscreeningprocess,ScreeningCommunitiesoffersanewinterpretationofthedevelopmentofHongKongcinema—onethatbreaksawayfromtheusualaccountsofthe“riseandfall”oftheindustry.
Chineseculture NEGOTIATING KONG COMMUNITIES HONG
