Please CHOOSE ONE QUESTION to answer in a full page (250-275 words) response that is double-spaced.
Stephen Chow’s 2004 film, Kung Fu Hustle, represents a stylized Chineseness that Hong Kong Cinema has become famous for. Chow’s film is full of energy, slapstick humor, contains short editing cuts, and reimagines the past (Chow’s film is 1930’s Shanghai). According to Raechel Dumas, in her article titled “Kung Fu Production for Global Consumption: The Depoliticization of Kung Fu in Stephen Chow’s Kung Fu Hustle” states that “In recent years nostalgia has become one of the most valuable aspects of Hong Kong cinema as these directors and others have gained international acclaim for their vivid depictions of local spaces, both past and present.” What does this film say or not say about the Chinese identity? How important is it to be a hero in a culture so heavily influenced by the ideals of Wuxia Pian?
OR
Wong Kar-wai’s In the Mood for Love from the year 2000 represents a stylized Chineseness that Hong Kong Cinema has become famous for. Wong’s film is visually stunning, thought-provoking, contains long, slow narrative takes, and reimagines the past (Wong’s film is 1960’s Hong Kong). This type of nostalgia has become popular in Hong Kong cinema, as directors look back to a time when they weren’t under the political control of a restrictive government. Even though the Hong Kongese had some identity issues then (were they British, Chinese, or somewhere in between?), HK directors often represent the past with a fondness. What does this film say or not say about the Hong Kong Chinese identity? Does Wong’s style of voyeuristic filmmaking with vivid depictions of intimate spaces appeal to you? Why or why not?