Hong Kong cinema under "one country, two systems" : production, reception and policy

Since the People’s Republic of China (PRC) resumed sovereignty over Hong Kong in 1997, the unprecedented ―one country, two systems (OCTS) policy has been put into practice. While this policy is usually considered from political, economic and legal perspectives, this study proposes a cultural studies approach to the understanding of this political formula through the examination of post-1997 Hong Kong cinema, particularly its production and reception in relation to the policies of both the central and local governments. Crossing and combining the disciplines of cultural studies and film studies, this dissertation has two primary aims: to understand this ―OCTS era as a peculiar cultural-historical conjuncture through the lens of Hong Kong cinema; and to explore the impact and influence of the OCTS policy on Hong Kong cinema as a social, economic and cultural institution. Embedding a textual analysis within contextual inquiry, this study will unravel the interplay between the reflection of the OCTS in the Hong Kong cinematic imaginary and its impact on the industrial operation, commercial performance, and critical response to post-1997 Hong Kong cinema. This thesis will address the production and reception of post-1997 Hong Kong cinema, and its significance for the analytical understanding of the OCTS policy through a number of perspectives. First, in its newly-claimed PRC market, Hong Kong cinema tends to be censored or self-censored. The resulting ―one movie, two versions phenomenon illustrates how Hong Kong and the PRC collaborate economically on the basis of ―one country while, at the same time, they diverge politically under the ―two systems. Second, the prominent presence of Mainland actresses in the thriving film co-productions is an indication of the changing dynamics in the Hong Kong-PRC relationship as a result of China’s economic takeoff. However, in an effort to retain a xv distinct local identity, some Hong Kong filmmakers are deliberately ignoring the lucrative PRC market in order to keep Hong Kong cinema unchanged. These ―not for the PRC‖ films are instrumental in monitoring the fulfillment of the ―no change in Hong Kong for fifty years promise made by the OCTS arrangement. Furthermore, either through the cinematic portrayals of Macao and Taiwan, or through the industrial linkages to Singapore and Malaysia, Hong Kong cinema has demonstrated a variety of ―Chineseness-es outside the PRC. The unshakable connections between Hong Kong cinema and Chinese diasporas have posed a serious challenge to the notion of equating ―China to the PRC as defined in the OCTS policy. Finally, the economic integration of Greater China has brought about the emergence of a pan-Chinese cinema mainly based on the Hong Kong martial arts genre. Taking advantage of their common history, cultural heritage and anti-imperialist Chinese nationalism, these pan-Chinese martial arts films have made a significant contribution to an imaginary ―unified cultural China, although the ultimate goal of the OCTS policy— the grand political reunification under the rule of the PRC — is still a dream yet to be fulfilled. By addressing the complexity of the PRC’s ―split reunification‖ with Hong Kong under the OCTS, this study challenges the simple dichotomy of ―PRC socialism vs. Hong Kong capitalism, probing overlapping concepts of ―China— the PRC, the Greater China or the imagined cultural China. Finally, it makes a broader contribution to research on ―national‖ cinemas in the context of dynamic geo-political and socio-cultural change within regions and across the globe

"Chinesenesses" outside Mainland China : Macao and Taiwan through post-1997 Hong Kong Cinema

By examining the filmic representation of Macao and Taiwan in Hong Kong films, mostly released after the 1997 sovereignty transfer, this paper will address the notion of Chineseness in its plural form as associated with different Chinese societies. The purpose is to bring attention to the cosmopolitan side of Chineseness in Hong Kong cinema rather than the mere influence from the Mainland (PRC). I will argue that it is this pluralised, composite Chineseness reflected in Hong Kong cinema that has reinforced its very “Hong Kong-ness” against the impact from the “orthodox” Chineseness of the Mainland. Through a combination of textual and contextual analyses of selected Hong Kong diaspora films respectively set in Macao and Taiwan, this paper aims to provide a general understanding of the imbrications of various Chinese societies within Greater China and, most importantly, the changing role and position of Hong Kong (cinema) within this conceptual China as “one country” before and after it became a special part of the PRC