Memoirs of a Geisha

I liked the scene with the Chairman and the young Sayuri

I'm a little late to the party but I finally watched Memoirs of a Geisha.

Zhang Ziyi as Sayuri

Firstly, I have to say, I loved Zhang Ziyi in this film. She is one of my favourite Chinese actresses and she didn't disappoint in this film. I thought she played the role of Sayuri very well as she really brought out the innocence and fragility of her character through her acting.

For a film that is essentially based around the traditional Japanese concept of a 'geisha', there were no not enough Japanese actors and actresses to fully encapsulate this. The main geisha in the film were played by Chinese actresses - Zhang Ziyi as Sayuri, Gong Li as Hatsumomo and Michelle Yeoh as Mameha. Their English skills were too 'Chinese' and I would assume that their Japanese skills were criticised. On a side note, it was interesting to see Michelle Yeoh in the film. When I analysed Ang Lee's Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, another film which she starred in, she was ridiculed by mainland Chinese audience for having a laughable Chinese accent. This is because she is an ethnic Chinese who is originally from Malaysia, hence the 'impure' accent.

On another level, Memoirs of a Geisha adds to the cultural conflict within and between China and Japan. The film, in its latter stages, is set during World War II, which has a significant impact on the lives of the geishas. This particular aspect of the film would rouse any anti-Japan sentiment that Chinese audiences have and stir up feelings over Japanese's wartime actions in China. As such, Zhang Ziyi's role as a Japanese geisha did not bode well for some.

All other things aside, the film really captured the geisha culture. From the beautiful and expensive kimonos to the intense training at geisha schools to the process of mizuage, Memoirs of a Geisha did very well to provide an insight into the lives of geisha.

The God of Cookery

The God of Cookery is very cooked indeed. So many random sequences that amount to nothing. So many classic moments and memorable quotes. It's when the characters randomly start singing songs that you realise this is classic Stephen Chow humour. Much of the reason why it is so funny is due to the storyline being so meaningless and random. 

The following plot summary was extracted from http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0116426/
"The God of Cookery, a brilliant chef who sits in judgement of those who would challenge his title, loses his title when a jealous chef reveals him to be a con-man and humiliates him publicly. As this new chef takes on the God of Cookery's role, the former God tries to pull himself back on top again, to challenge his rival and find once and for all who is the true God of Cookery."

This niche genre that can only be found in the Hong Kong film industry - there's nothing else like it. As a film aficionado, I love watching films regardless of whether they are 'good' or 'bad'. Though a film like God of Cookery does not receive acclaim from Western audiences, I assume that it is valued by East Asian audiences. For me, it provides something different and different is good. Especially with Stephen Chow, you never know what you're going to get. 

This is exemplified in the below sequence - a sequence that comes out of nowhere, adds no value to the storyline and is purely there for comedy relief. 

Some other funny scenes:

Hong Kong culture is being subsumed into Chinese culture: A study of Hong Kong film, music and media

The Hong Kong Basic Law states “Hong Kong’s previous capitalist system and way of life shall remain unchanged for 50 years”. The key question that needs to be answered relates to the true identity of Hong Kong ‘way of life’. The transfer of sovereignty from British rule to the Chinese communist regime in 1997 has sparked widespread debate on identity politics and where Hong Kong is positioned in the wide scheme of things. In particular, the search for a distinct identity has prompted the film industry, the music industry and the like to initiate such discussion on the post-colonial cultural discourse it is experiencing today.

The Hong Kong film industry has been proactive in addressing issues of identity in its films since the signing of the Sino-British Declaration in 1984. Hong Kong is recognised for its ‘in-betweeness’, neither standing with the East or the West, but rather epitomising a hybridity that has become so crucial in the rise of global capitalism. Though globalisation has improved the affluence of Hong Kong, it has indeed been the source of many problems. Nowadays, Hong Kong relies on its economic success to establish its international status, compromising an individual, cultural identity (Chu, 2004 : 47). Andrew Lau’s Young and Dangerous (1995-2000) storyline appears to encapsulate the situation quite well. The storyline was predominantly set in Hong Kong before crossing borders into countries like Holland, Malaysia and Japan in later editions. This occurred when the triad society realised that the only way to expand ‘business’ is through an international focus on operations. In Young and Dangerous V (1998), the protagonist Nam (Ekin Cheng) reflects on his own identity, realising that as his status and affluence improves, the sense of locality that defines him is lost. He is told by triad boss Chiang to leave the street-fighting in order to pursue legitimate business (Chu, 2004: 51). To Nam, this serves as a complete revolution in identity, during a pivotal time in Hong Kong’s identity (Ferguson, 2010: 42). He must choose between being a ‘local’ triad member in Hong Kong or a businessman who must go global to make his riches. This very problem confronts the people of Hong Kong in their attempt to reconcile global and local dialectics in a space that will always be culturally impure. Hong Kong, currently a hub for international trade, boasts of its capitalist system, separate to the socialist system of Mainland China. Chow (1998) indicates that the Hong Kong focus on economic success is ‘a kind of compensatory logic’, making up for the difficulty in finding individuality. 

The whole premise of Andrew Lau and Alan Mak’s Infernal Affairs trilogy (2002-03) is centred on the identity crisis of triad member Lau Kin-ming (Andy Lau) who goes undercover in the Hong Kong police force. The trilogy encapsulates the “One Country, Two Systems” aspect of Hong Kong post-colonial identity. Lau, who has dual identities, must operate under two systems. As a Special Administrative Region, Hong Kong also operates under two systems – one under the Chinese communist regime and the other under British colonialism as defined by its capitalist economy and rigid bureaucracy (Marchetti, 2007 : 67).  In Infernal Affairs III, Inspector Yeung’s Chinese counterpart Shen is the only principal police character that remains, following the death of Yeung and Lau’s subsequent downfall. As such, this provides an implicit allegory to Hong Kong’s inevitable integration with China and its culture (Marchetti, 2007 : 90). Furthermore, a beneficial Chinese influence is highlighted in the film as Shen provides crucial information leading to the uncovering of Lau as a mole. This suggests that the resolution of the problem in the film and perhaps the problems of the Hong Kong identity may require a Chinese influence.

The development of Canto-pop, a unique product of Hong Kong, highlights the problems faced by Hong Kong in distinguishing itself from China. The rise to prominence of Canto-pop in the 1980s and 90s was sparked by demand from local audiences for the production of music in its local dialect, Cantonese (Ho, 2003 : 7). Singers such as Paula Tsui, Alan Tam and Leslie Cheung were pioneers of the change from singing Mandarin or English to Cantonese (Ho, 2003 : 8). Canto-pop faced many cultural challenges after the Handover, as it struggled to maintain its influence in the pan-Chinese music industry. The fundamental issue can be sourced back to the nature of Canto-pop. On a deeper level, it underlines the struggle to build a distinct Hong Kong culture. Canto-pop has been widely criticised for its lack of originality and innovation. It is rather a hybrid form of music, which combines foreign influences (from countries like America and Japan) with elements of Chinese popular music. Its success stems from its flexibility, being able to adjust to shifting local markets and socio-cultural climates (Ho, 2003). Also, critics have claimed that the decline of Canto-pop is partly due to its movement into the global arena and thus a loss of its local authenticity. Similarly, Hong Kong culture as a whole is only recognised for its hybridity of local and global dialectics and not for its cultural purity. Post-colonial Hong Kong has seen Mandarin become more prominent in society as a result of its introduction in education systems. The market for Mandarin songs (Mando-pop) has increased resulting from a globalised Chinese music industry which now recognises Mando-pop as more important than Canto-pop in shaping Chinese culture (Chu, 2013 : 131). As such, continuous marginalisation of Canto-pop has been the outcome, manifest through the declining use of Cantonese in the industry. The aforementioned capitalist culture of Hong Kong has played a significant role in the changes of the pan-Chinese music industry (Chan and Mak, 2013). Currently, most Hong Kong artists produce their albums in Mandarin, as it exposes them to a market that is larger and clearly more prospective and profitable (Chu, 2013 : 131). Hong Kong music stars Andy Lau and Jacky Cheung are examples of Canto-pop singers who have embraced Mando-pop and reaped the financial benefits and recognition from this change.  With the rising influence of Mandarin in popular Chinese culture, the products of Hong Kong are once again marginalised as just another dimension of China when put under the Western gaze (Chu, 2004 : 47). Hence, it is inevitable that Canto-pop be subsumed into the Chinese market, a market that it is becoming increasingly reliant upon (Chu, 2013 : 135).

Hong Kong’s struggle to come to terms with its own identity is in part due to the consequences of an interaction with China. Young and Dangerous V highlights the political implications of Hong Kong’s unification with China. Triad boss Chiang outlines to Nam that the Beijing government will be keeping a watchful eye on Hong Kong’s actions despite the autonomy it has been promised. Events affecting the Hong Kong media after the Handover have put Chiang’s words in the film to perspective. The issue of political interference sheds light to issues concerning press freedom in Hong Kong. Recently, there have been an increasing number of incidents involving the media, which have resulted in claims of the Beijing government breaching Hong Kong Basic Law. For instance, the Digital Broadcasting Company (DBC), a HK radio station known for providing a platform to challenge the administration and promote freedom of speech (Cheng, 2012), was shutdown in 2012 over corporate disputes. However, many protested claiming that there was underlying pressure from China. China views any overt manifestation of a separate cultural identity as a political threat to its regime (Lo, 2007 : 436). Regardless of the validity of these claims, Chong (2012) suggests that incidents like the shutdown of DBC reflect a situation where dissident views are being suppressed when they shouldn’t be. 

On the question of cultural identity, Hong Kong is also characterised by its press freedom and the ability to exercise freedom of speech – both Western concepts of institutional expression. Indeed, this emphasises the ‘in-betweeness’ of Hong Kong through combining both Asian and Western ideals in its constitution. Though claims have risen suggesting that Hong Kong media is currently being undermined by political pressure close to Beijing.  Today, more than half of Hong Kong’s media bosses are members of China’s parliament and its top consultative body (Chan, 2014). Moreover, state-backed Chinese companies currently dominate the Hong Kong media market. The irony is that China can enforce its culture in Hong Kong by gaining control of the media tycoons – the capitalists who represent the very economic system that separates China from Hong Kong. As a result, the unconscious movement towards integration with Chinese economy has damning implications on any possible emergence of Hong Kong’s own authentic, cultural identity.

Hong Kong’s struggle to form it’s own cultural identity after the Handover is manifest through its film, music and media. Hong Kong’s global status, being an amalgamation of other cultures rather than its own, emphasises the difficulty to separate itself in the first place. Moreover, the decline of Cantonese as un-profitable and losing popularity has prompted a return to Mandarin or rather, the ‘mother-tongue’. Considering its lack of a political identity, Hong Kong has attempted to focus their efforts on establishing its very own ‘lifestyle’, which is one of consumerism, revolving around its capitalist economic system. However, its capitalist culture inevitably leads to a growing economic dependence to China, which offers a larger market. In Young and Dangerous VI, Nam explains the futility of the tensions between Hong Kong and Taiwanese triad societies – he says the bottom line is that ‘they are ultimately all Chinese’. Perhaps the question to be answered should not be able if the Hong Kong cultural identity can sustain a separation from China but rather how fast they will succumb to the ever-present influence of Chinese culture. After all, the first article in Hong Kong Basic Law states: “The Hong Kong SAR is an inalienable part of the People’s Republic of China”.

References

Websites

Chan, Y. (2014). Hong Kong's Free Press In Danger As China Tightens Grip On Media. [online] The Huffington Post. Available at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/yuen-chan/hong-kong-press-freedom_b_4568648.html [Accessed 24 Apr. 2014].

Chong, D. (2012). Political interference alleged in protest over shutdown of DBC. [online] South China Morning Post. Available at: http://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1065299/political-interference-alleged-protest-over-shutdown-dbc [Accessed 24 Apr. 2014].

Academic Journals

Chow, R. (1998) Ethics after Idealism: Theory – Culture – Ethnicity – Reading (Indianapolis and Bloomington: Indiana University Press, p, 177

Chu, Y.W. (2004) “Who Am I? Postcolonial Hong Kong Cinema in the Age of Global Capitalism,” in Esther Cheung and Yiu-wai Chu, Between Home and World: A Reader in Hong Kong Cinema (Hong Kong: Oxford University Press, 2004), pp. 39-58.

Ferguson, L. E. (2010). Hong Kong: Communicating 1997 and beyond through Film. eSharp, Special Issue: Communicating Change: Representing Self and Community in a Technological World, 30.

Ho, W. C. (2003). Between globalisation and localisation: a study of Hong Kong popular music. Popular music, 22(2), 143-157.

Kaeding, M. P. (2011). Identity Formation in Taiwan and Hong Kong–How Much Difference, How Many Similarities?, 258-279

Lo, Kwai-Cheung (2007) “A borderline case: ethnic politics and gangster films in post-1997 Hong Kong,” Postcolonial Studies, 10,4: 431-446

Mak, R. K., & Chan, C. S. (2013). Icons, Culture and Collective Identity of Postwar Hong Kong. Intercultural Communication Studies, 22(1).

Books

Chu, Y. W. (2013). Lost in Transition: Hong Kong Culture in the Age of China. SUNY Press. 131-135Marchetti, G. (2007). Andrew Lau and Alan Mak's Infernal Affairs-The Trilogy: Chinese People and British Rule in Hong Kong, 1841-1880 (Vol. 1). Hong Kong University Press.

What happens when Stephen Chow becomes 007?

FULL MOVIE WITH ENG SUB: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nXLiCCdMYRc

I recently watched the film, From Beijing with Love (1994), which is a Hong Kong action and comedy film directed by none other than Stephen Chow. Whenever I see Stephen Chow in a film, I expect entertainment - I was not disappointed. It was a direct spoof of the James Bond series but... a very cooked one at that.

Forget about the plot. Forget about any character development. It's all about the humour. Some of the scenes in this film are very, very funny. You watch some scenes and begin to wonder how it is even possible for someone to come up with such a random storyline - this question is beyond both you and me. Only Stephen Chow knows the answer.

If you haven't seen any Hong Kong films, let this be a warning. The humour is very culturally specific - most people will find the jokes and gags very stupid and lame, but for those who truly understand Hong Kong cinema, this is just another classic comedy.

In fact, the humour is consistent with other HK comedies that I have watched... which have also been directed by Stephen Chow. The jokes themselves aren't particularly smart or witty - it's the randomness of it all. It makes for quality viewing, especially when you aren't sober.

Here are some of my favourite gags from the film:

East Asian Socially-Engaged Documentary Practices

This week's topic in Asian Cinema is - Alternative Publics: East Asian Socially-Engaged Documentary Practices. Our screening was Meishi Street, a documentary directed by Ou Ning. 

The following excerpt was taken from: http://chinesevisualfestival.org/portfolios/meishi-street-煤市街/ 

"Meishi Street shows ordinary citizens taking a stand against the planned destruction of their homes for the 2008 Beijing Olympics, after the Beijing Municipal Government ordered the demolition of entire neighbourhoods to widen traffic routes. Several evictees of Meishi Street, located next to Tiananmen Square, fought through endless red tape and the indifference of fellow citizens for the right to keep their homes. Given video cameras by the filmmakers, they shot exclusive footage of the eviction process, adding vivid intimacy to their story. Acclaimed at over two dozen museums and galleries around the world, Meishi Street, by renowned visual artist Ou Ning, works as both art and activism, calling worldwide attention to lives being demolished in the name of progress."

One of our readings for this week was an essay written by Ou Ning, who connects an increase in civic consciousness with the rise of digital images in China. 

Some of his arguments include: 

• The Internet has radically changed how Chinese citizens feel about public affairs. 
• The vastly developing pirate industry threatens to cause serious damage to both Chinese and international media industries. As a flexible mode of production and consumption, the pirate industry disrupted the decades-long cultural isolation and information void of China. As a result, it has fostered civic consciousness. 
• The independent film making community forms a collective voice, which can unveil the social injustices and the dark side of reality in China, and thus can prevent the inflation of power and political corruption. 

The article was an interesting read. The link to the essay can be found below:

Ou Ning, “Digital Images and Civic Consciousness” (translated by Yu Hsiao-Hwei), Ou Ning's Blog, <www.alternativearchive.com/ouning/article.asp?id=102>. Essay originally published in Argos Festival 2004 (Brussels: Argos, 2004).

What themes do Korean cultural products explore?

My Sassy Girl

After watching My Sassy Girl, I can definitely understand why it’s called a classic and not just because it redefined what a Korean film was and set the bar for similar styles of films to come. Some of the themes and messages that come out of My Sassy Girl are consistent with its other products, and these are the types of messages that are well-received by other Asian countries. There is still an East-West dichotomy for values and sentiments and this is perhaps the reason why many people from China, Korea, Japan and other Asian countries find it hard to understand and relate to Western cultural products.

Hallyu has taken Asia by storm with the cultural products that its made. Korean popular culture seems to emphasise family and social relationships, something that many other Asian groups can relate to. Korean dramas tend to be associated with plots in which themes such as love, family, hardship, pain and suffering are prominent. The way they portray these ideals is conducive to how other Asians perceive and hold them, hence why they become so successful in Asia. Korean dramas also are quite melodramatic, the exaggeration of such themes means that people are likely to be bawling their eyes out at one stage of the drama and possibly feeling quite angry at other moments. The ability of these dramas to toy with our feelings is what gets people hooked – people can sometimes become personally attached to these dramas. Some of the most popular dramas include: Boys Over Flowers, You’re Beautiful, Playful Kiss, Coffee Prince, Secret Garden… the list goes on. Korean films tend to do this as well, and My Sassy Girl is a pretty good example in that category. You could also watch A Moment to Remember or The Classic as well. 

The persona of ‘the sassy girl’ of being both sexy and innocent is reverberated in the way Korean girl groups and girl idols are presented. They dress up in mini skirts, shoot sexy looks into the cameras and work their booties through televised performances. And yet, they still manage to maintain this innocent, pure look. Here's a classic example of where innocent and sexy are intertwined:

'Gee' by SNSD (one of the most well-known k-pop songs) is essentially about falling in love, but if you look at the dance moves and the skinny jeans, there's just something sexy about it!

Innocence and purity is a popular theme in Korean cultural products. If we look at My Sassy Girl, Jun Ji-Hyun’s character is less of a subject and more of a virginal body, which aims to highlight a neo-Confucian notion on gender roles in Korean society. Her sexual purity may appeal to Asian audiences as it reflects a situation where the body should be physically preserved for the sake of childbearing as a woman moves towards being a wife and a mother. Perhaps this shows the traditional values that are still held in contemporary Korean and other Asian societies. In My Sassy Girl, the relationship between The Girl and Gyeon-woo is absent of any sexual intimacy, where kissing is even non-existent. This is very much different from the perception of sex portrayed in films of the West. 

American songs (such as songs from your Katy Perry’s and Miley Cyrus’) tend to reference sex, getting drunk and partying. This is in stark contrast with songs by Korean idols which are more culturally-friendly. They sing about innocently falling in love, having a crush even having a good day! Sexual references and mature themes are still very much a taboo topic in Korea. Particularly in the music industry, even a small mention of taboo themes in song lyrics will lead to songs being blacklisted, banned on television and labelled unfit for public broadcast. This has happened to YG Entertainment’s power duo, GD&TOP on a few occasions already. 

In saying that, there does exist a market for Korean cultural products for "American-style" / Western-style subject matters. However, in the general case, Korean sensibilities keep it at bay in terms of what sort of messages are being brought out through their dramas, songs and films.

Have a good day guys! 

(IU is one of the female idols who does well to represent the innocent image): 

Beijing International Film Festival

With China being the second largest film market in the world, after it surpassed Japan not too long ago, the Beijing International Film Festival (BJIFF) has gained prominence as an important festival for filmmakers. The BJIFF first began in 2011 and has attracted over ten thousand invited guests and millions of attendees. It aims to promote the development of China’s film industry and encourage exchange, trade and collaboration in film with foreign film industries. 

The BJIFF attracts millions of attendees annually, with a selection of over 100 different activities to choose from across the duration of the festival. This year’s BJIFF also attracted a total of 800 Chinese and international film companies and organizations as well as more than 3,000 invited guests. Some of the celebrated guests in this year’s BJIFF include Chris Dodd, Alfonso Cuaron, Oliver Stone, "Frozen" producer Peter Del Vecho and John Woo.

Film festivals, such as the BJIFF, are rapidly becoming more than just an avenue for both domestic and international filmmakers to showcase their talents. Like all film festivals, it allows film fans and cinephiles to enjoy world cinema on the big screen. Many of the festival-goers will be able to see the classics of Chinese and international cinema on the big screen for the first time – a whole new experience when compared to the scratchy prints or VHS copies on which they watched these films previously. Audiences can see  "Toy Story 3," "Planes," "Wall.E" and a selection of Pixar shorts. An industry panel on animation will also be part of a series of guest speakers.  

Tiantan Award for Best Actress of the 4th BJIFF: Zhang Ziyi 

Fan Bingbing: China's No.1 Celebrity

What’s special about the BJIFF is that it provides a platform for Chinese directors to seek financial investment for the production of their films. This year’s BJIFF has already embraced around 3 billion yuan in contracts signed. This figure tops the amount of funds contracted in all film festivals and related exhibitions ever held in China. Furthermore, the 4^th BJIFF (2014) sees a newly established platform for the exchange of hi-tech film technology with many companies attending to showcase their most advanced products to industry insiders.

Perhaps what has triggered this large amount of interest is the growing importance of the Chinese film industry on the global market. The BJIFF shows China’s willingness to embrace the foreign film industry, though it still provides protection to its domestic industry. With an annual foreign film quota of just 34 foreign films, this makes life difficult for foreign directors to tap into the market.

If they want to have their films shown in China, they would have to produce films that can pass censors or sign co-production deals with Chinese studios and production companies. For example, there is a growing interaction between the British and Chinese film industries with Britain recently signing deals for the two industries to collaborate. Also, this year’s BJIFF would be the first time Britain has taken part in the festival, with more than 10 British films featuring in the program.

The impact of such a film festival is much greater than what I had initially thought and it will be interesting to see how important it becomes in the future, given that China’s film market is tipped to surpass the United States in the not-too-distant future.

References

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/beijing-film-festival-flexes-international-696764
http://www.bjiff.com/20140219/n395302740.shtml
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/beijing-film-festival-brings-hollywood-695870
http://www.chinatopix.com/articles/1774/20140415/4th-beijing-international-film-festival-set-break.htm
http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/envelope/moviesnow/la-et-mn-beijing-film-festival-opens-20140416,0,1801062.story#ixzz30qhfFX7y