Bulletin Autumn‧Winter 2000

Growing Hybridity or Ho n g Kong' s Cultural Identity Prof. Ma conducted several research projects to explore the impact of the mass media on social culture. Summarizing the results, he said Hongkongers ha d a very clear cultural identity back in the 70s and 80s, but since the transition to 1997, this identity has become mixed. This is because Hong Kong's cultural identity emerges from comparisons with the mainland ; its achievements, efficiency, and cosmopolitism s t and out in relief against th e mainland's inadequacies. But these comparisons have been rendered politically incorrect by the 1997 factor. And the state of affairs after the economic downturn leaves them hardly any ground for continued pride. He had used signs often seen in the mass media as representing the mainland to gauge respondents' emotional response. The results showed that the cultural identification of Hongkonger s is increasingly hybrid. This is due to the fact that they are both Hong Kong people and Chinese people, yet the first identity is built upon opposition to the latter. The respondents identified with signs related to national history, which breed feelings of pride and familiarity. On the other hand, signs related to mainland politics and the armed forces breed resentment and repulsion. The Great Wall and the PLA generate different emotional responses Advertisements Record Social Change To explore Hong Kong's lifestyle changes. Prof. Ma also let respondents watch television commercials of the last 30 years which he had categorized. Commercials fo r wine and other alcoholic beverages can be used as one of the ma ny illustrative categories. Alcoholic beverages produced in mainland China in the 70s belonged t o the lowest cultural stratum . Even casting foreigners in the commercials did not help t o improve their image. On the other hand, a porter produced in the West as a common drink for local construction workers was effectively re-portrayed as the choice of Western-educated yuppies in Hong Kong. Local cultural identity emerged hand in hand with the takeoff of the Hong Kong economy back in the 70s. The commercials of that period were all involved in constructing the good (Hong Kong) life. The economic boom of the 80s gave brandy commercials more space for interpretation, and the 'Big Spender' series became a household term. In the 90s, the middle class became the spokesmen for alcoholic beverage commercials, projecting Hong Kong's superiority through images of its people as highly westernized gourmets and travellers. The beer commercials of the more recent years however have a local and regional flavour, reflecting the growing hybridity in the Hong Kong identity. Changes in Social and Cultural Identity as Represented by the Mass Media 23 Preservin g and Illuminating Hong Kong's Cultura l Heritag e .