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April 13, 2023

Book Talk: Tit-for-Tat Media: The Contentious Bodies and Sex Imagery of Political Activism

04:30 pm - 06:00 pm @ Upcoming events Learn More

February 23, 2023

[K-Pop in Public] Cover Dance and Fandom Culture in Hong Kong

03:20 pm - 04:15 pm @ Upcoming events Learn More

February 21, 2023

Public Talk- Exhibition as a Method: Exploring various spectra of LGBTQ+ Perspectives

February 15, 2023

Virtual Forum: “Queer FanTHasia: An Inter-Asia Cultural Perspective on Thai Y-Series”

12:30 pm - 04:30 pm @ Conferences and Symposia, Upcoming events Learn More

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Mirror, Mirror on the wall, can Hong Kong boy band beat the blues and win back disappointed fans?

February 21, 2023Uncategorized[Doctor LI Meiting was interviewed by South China Morning Post on 19 February 2023] By Edith Lin and Jess Ma Lacklustre performances, missing members and an apparent devotion to ad dollars have put off fans Critics say Mirror must work hard to bounce back, as new local stars emerge and global acts return Saleswoman Freda Cheung* used to start conversations with customers by chatting about her favourite Cantopop boy band Mirror, its latest songs and commercials. “The band has been in the city’s collective memory over the past three years,” said the 20-something. “It brought me happiness and diverted my attention from the Covid-19 pandemic and the social unrest of 2019.” Her “happy bubble” burst after an accident at Mirror’s concert last July, when a giant LED screen fell and hit two dancers, injuring one critically. The band stopped performing for two months. Since returning to the public eye, however, it has been dogged by criticism of lacklustre performances, flagging energy and chasing the money from advertisement deals and promotional events. Cheung’s enthusiasm for her idols has dimmed. With Hong Kong reopening after three years and Covid-19 pandemic arrival restrictions scrapped, she said: “I want to prioritise travelling.” Suddenly, a question being asked in Hong Kong is: What has gone wrong for Mirror? The 12-member band shot to stardom in 2018 through ViuTV’s reality-TV talent programme Good Night Show – King Maker, attracting an army of loyal fans of all ages and walks of life. Now there are concerns that the days of fans queuing up for hours for tickets may be over and its international ambitions might not take off. Out of nine public appearances by the band since last October, when it launched the ballad “We All Are”, the Post found that all members showed up at the same event only once. Missing members were either sick or occupied with other work, a sharp contrast with their first two years, when the whole group turned up most of the time. Most members also endorsed fewer brands on their Instagram accounts between last October and January, compared with the four months before the accident. The two most popular members, Keung To and Anson Lo Hon-ting, saw their endorsements shrink from 16 to about six. Competition is heating up too, not only from newcomers in the city but also the return of concerts by global acts such Korean girl group Blackpink and Irish pop band Westlife. Mirror’s latest appearance was at an event last Saturday to launch an international campaign by pharmacy chain Watsons. Keung, 23, was absent when the group performed the advertising single “Go Green” for the first time. That left freelance editor Mavis Tse*, almost 30, feeling dismayed. A fan since 2020, she said she was disappointed with the band’s recent lack of “sincerity”. “Their only group song this year was an advertising song. I feel they have become an ad-driven boy band and hardly do anything together without a paymaster,” she said. The Post reached out to Mirror’s management company, MakerVille, on its strategy for the band and future plans, but did not receive a reply. Time to get its act together Critics said the group had to get its act together to thrive amid increased competition in a reopened world. All was not lost, they added, as Mirror bagged several prizes in the year-end music awards last year. But they warned that the band had to work harder to offer fans at home and overseas fresh and varied performances and not appear to be focused only on landing advertisement deals. Rudi Leung Chi-sing, director of advertising agency Hungry Digital and a music critic for more than 30 years, said Mirror now faced a more diversified market with other celebrities emerging as commercial darlings. One such example is singer Michael Cheung Tin-fu, 26, also known as MC, who made his debut at the Hong Kong Coliseum, the city’s top concert venue, after joining a label two years ago. “The boy band’s market share can be diluted with more alternatives on endorsement … but big brands will not easily give up on them as they guarantee hit rates,” Leung said. He also said advertisers would continue to feature local stars to attract Hongkongers, as the city still needed time to bring back tourists. But he agreed that Mirror could not only rely on advertisements to keep their fame, especially if it hoped to go international, a target MakerVille announced last April. Leung said the band would have to release songs in English and appear in more TV programmes and films that combined local and international elements to compete with the entertainment industry in South Korea and Thailand, which both exported plenty of dramas. “The content has to be able to cross the border, but I can’t see that from the band at the moment. Going international needs songs and visuals, resources and commitment.” Leung said Mirror risked losing its local fan base if it went for the lucrative mainland Chinese market, given the past experience of other artists. Many young local fans have shown their disapproval of singers they felt were chasing the huge mainland market for fame and profit, such as Mike Tsang Pei-tak, who performed in some reality singing shows there last year. Mirror has faced increasing criticism of the quality of its performances, especially after being caught singing out of tune and dancing out of sync. Its best known member Keung, 23, who once vowed to become Asia’s next top singer, was widely panned online for his solo appearance at a music awards ceremony. Internet users were brutal in attacking his performance of the hit single “Spiegel im Spiegel”, when he flapped his arms and jumped down to the crowd crying out: “Everybody jump!” Carrie Lui*, in her 20s and once proud to be a fan, has given up. She sold most of the Mirror merchandise she amassed over the past two years, including magazines, posters and dolls of her favourite boy bands. “As a fangirl, I look for quality performances, not laid-back dance moves and out-of-tune songs,” she said. “Falling for them doesn’t mean that I’ll tolerate everything.” Who is Mirror, really? Li Mei-ting, a cultural studies lecturer at Chinese University, said management company MakerVille had to address Mirror’s lack of a strong, defining identity for the band to flourish. “Mirror’s image is palatable across all ages, but audiences may not be able to see who they actually are,” she said. “I want to know what’s their link to the local community? Their previous hit single ‘Warrior’ carried the message that they are a new, rising generation, but that image hasn’t been sustained.” She also cautioned that the group’s career could not develop by relying on advertisements. She said the perceived incompetence of Mirror’s recent performances reflected management decisions more than the band’s lack of talent. She said: “The problem for Mirror is that there is no time for them to even rest under their schedule, as members jet off to attend the Paris fashion week or film advertisements. How can they have time to train?” Li said fans who followed international pop stars could not help but project standards achieved by Korean or Japanese groups onto the local boy band. “We should ask how our local labels nurture their talent,” she said. “What kind of stars do we want to produce, and are we willing to make the investment for it?” * Names changed at interviewees’ request. : https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3210729/mirror-mirror-wall-can-hong-kong-boy-band-beat-blues-and-win-back-disappointed-fans [...] Read more...

香港紀錄片《給十九歲的我》撤映風波的五個啟示

Queen Elizabeth II: Hong Kong’s grief sends message to Beijing

February 17, 2023Uncategorized[Doctor LI Meiting was interviewed by BBC News, Hong Kong on 15 September 2022] By Grace Tsoi and Joyce Lee Hong Kongers have been lining up for hours this week to pay their respects to the Queen in what has been perhaps the biggest display of affection for the late monarch seen outside the UK. But the collective outpouring of grief says as much about the present as it does about the past, and comes as Beijing has been tightening its grip. The long queues, piles of flowers and cards in the city’s Admiralty district contrast with more muted reactions seen in other former British colonies. Hong Kong returned to Chinese rule under “one country, two systems”, which promised that the city’s way of life – including civil liberties unavailable in the mainland – would be kept for at least 50 years. But a crackdown on protests, Beijing’s imposition of its national security law and only allowing “patriots” to govern are seen by many as reneging on that promise. “There is a mix of complex emotions,” said Dr Li Mei Ting, a cultural and religious studies lecturer at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. Outside the British consulate, mourners opened umbrellas to hide from the scorching sun while “God Save the Queen” played softly from a mobile phone. Parents brought their children along, and one father even wrapped his seven-month-old daughter in a Union Jack flag. “I don’t remember ever seeing Hong Kongers doing this to any leader who passed away,” Ted Hui, a former Hong Kong MP who now lives in Australia, told the BBC. Nostalgia-for-a-golden-age In the city, the Queen was affectionately called si tau por, which means “boss lady” in Cantonese. Many in the queue were older people, among them Mr Lee, aged in his 60s, who had brought chrysanthemums. “I hadn’t bought any flowers before, not even when I was courting girls.” He said he was grateful for the Queen as Hong Kong’s economy flourished and society became liberal and open under colonial rule. Others said the education and medical systems were hugely improved and the city also enjoyed the rule of law under British rule. Hong Kong became a British colony after two Opium Wars in the 19th century and colonial rule lasted for 156 years. Meanwhile mainland China was swept by political turmoil including the Great Famine and the Cultural Revolution. “Hong Kong was peaceful during those days,” said Ms Fung, 75. When Hong Kong people reminisce about the colonial era, they are often referring to the period from the mid-1970s to 1990s, says Dr Li. “People who experienced this period see it as Hong Kong’s golden age,” she said. The British colonial government changed its governance model as a response to deadly anti-colonial riots in 1967, which were sparked by a labour dispute and supported by Beijing. More public housing was built and free primary education was introduced, partly in a bid to ward off further social movements, Dr Li says. But US-based activist Jeffrey Ngo says the last three decades of the colonial period do not give the full picture – and that the British empire had played a “very big role” in paving the way for the current situation. “Plenty of activists have been prosecuted, especially since 2019, under laws that were put in place by the colonial government and were never repealed before 1997.” Last week five speech therapists were convicted under the colonial-era sedition law, for publishing children’s books which portray the Chinese government as wolves and Hong Kongers as sheep. The judge said it was a “brainwashing exercise”, while critics say the sentence was a blow to freedom of speech. The UK also did little to democratise the city for much of the colonial period, Mr Ngo said. Current day discontent For some, commemorating the Queen is a way to express their unhappiness at the Hong Kong government. Protest is no longer possible under Beijing’s sweeping national security law and stringent Covid rules. Mr Tse, who brought his pet Corgi on a leash with a Union Jack, said the mourning was an “alternative form of political expression”. Flying that flag on another day could risk arrest or even prosecution under the national security law – but it is being tolerated for now because of the Queen’s death, he added. Mr Chan came with his wife and two children. He said the family felt close to the Queen as all members were born at Queen Elizabeth Hospital, which was opened in 1963. “We will pay tribute to whoever merits our respect. should not easily accuse people of collusion with foreign forces but not reflect on their own behaviour that causes so much unhappiness among Hong Kongers,” he said. Some in the line were also planning to leave the city. Hong Kong’s population has shrunk by almost 200,000 in two years – and many of those leaving plan to settle in the UK. The UK Hongkongers living in the shadow of the handover What will the next 25 years hold for Hong Kong? “Hong Kongers are queuing under such heat. We share the same ideas and no words are needed to explain,” said Ms Lee, who came with her 21-year-old daughter. “There is a huge contrast between the past and the present… Now we have lost what we had and many people I know are emigrating,” she added before confirming that they plan to leave too. Hong Kong’s identity Younger people without direct experience of the colonial era were also in the queue. Some said they were worried that Hong Kong’s colonial past would be buried under Beijing’s drive to reshape the city. New textbooks now say Hong Kong was never a British colony but was merely occupied by a foreign power. Law student Sam said his grandmother fled mainland China by swimming to the city. “Immigration officers said to my grandma that our si tau por was also a woman, so she would be taken care of in Hong Kong.” Christopher, 15, said traces of Hong Kong’s colonial history are still visible – such as the old banknotes and street signs. “But it feels like they are fading.” “No matter our criticism, the colonial period was part of our Hong Kong identity and history,” said Dr Li. : https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-62898660 [...] Read more...

Can Chinese pop music’s soft power push ever match K-pop’s success?

February 13, 2023Uncategorized[Professor Xuenan CAO was interviewed by South China Morning Post on 30 January 2023] By Cyril Ip China’s entertainment industry has put Chinese popular music – or C-pop – on the international stage, but observers say that whether it can help expand the country’s soft power – as K-pop has done for South Korea – remains in doubt due to rising anti-China sentiment in the West. Many successful C-pop festivals, packed with fans from the Chinese diaspora and beyond, have been staged in the US in the past five years in a sign that Chinese artists are going global on an unprecedented scale. However the genre remains unfamiliar to most Americans, and its soft power potential is equally unexplored. Last year, China ranked fourth overall and 12th in terms of media and communications on a global soft power index published by Brand Finance, an international market consultancy headquartered in London. Cao Xuenan, an assistant professor of cultural studies at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, said: “China’s soft power has not really taken on the pop culture or entertainment industry, and it doesn’t follow the formula that we see in K-pop, which relies heavily on an industrial chain.” She said building infrastructure, particularly in Africa and Southeast Asia, remained the focus of China’s soft power projection. Using music as a currency of influence was a rather Western trait, Cao said, as the West branded pop culture as “containing new ideas related to the youth, and political ideals that challenge the status quo”. She said South Korea had become quite successful lately in appropriating that strategy. “If it draws eyeballs, it is soft power … Korean artists like BTS create more positive associations with Korea on the international stage, and whether people understand the complexity of that cultural phenomenon or not doesn’t matter – as long as they can make people talk about South Korea, they have a huge influence,” Cao said. The South Korean boy band was invited to the White House in May to address the surge in anti-Asian racism in the United States, and to the United Nations in September to speak about the importance of vaccination and sustainable development. Cao said that was partly down to its members “looking really good”, as well as the closeness between Seoul and Washington. But it might be more difficult for Chinese artists to gain acceptance from a Western audience. The Washington-based Pew Research Centre found that 82 per cent of American adults had an unfavourable opinion of China last year, up from 79 per cent in 2020 and more than double the proportion a decade ago. Hong Kong-born pop star Jackson Wang, who in April made history as the first solo Chinese performer at Coachella – the biggest music festival in the US – frequently uses the tagline: “I am Jackson Wang from China.” The 27-year-old’s straightforward shout-out to his birthplace has been heavily analysed and deliberated on social media, with some claiming that it was a “betrayal” of his roots in Hong Kong and South Korea – where he started his music career – as well as an example of “sucking up” to Beijing. “This kind of criticism levelled at Wang reflects the fans and the media’s speculation that there will be more to gain by provoking him to have to justify his national identity,” Cao said, while comparing Wang to Lisa, the Thai member of South Korean girl group Blackpink, who openly embraces her ethnicity without the media associating her with Thai politics. “The Chinese identity is always in Western media, it is a spectacle itself, which is why this question is chased after more for Chinese artists than those of other nationalities – and there is no escape.” Chinese artists could better embody their country’s soft power if their art could avoid being politicised, but sometimes that politicisation originated in China, said Zhang Chi, a postdoctoral international relations researcher at the University of St Andrews in Scotland, referencing Eileen Gu Ailing, the American-born freeski prodigy who won two gold medals and one silver for China at the Winter Olympics in Beijing in February. “Gu’s identity was first discussed by the Chinese public and the mainstream media in China, and the West only caught up on this discourse, so it is not fully attributable to the current climate of Chinese public figures being scrutinised by Western media,” Zhang said, adding that people were naturally interested in knowing where Gu’s “loyalty” lay, given the portrayal of her as a national hero in China. Scaling down nationalistic talking points would be more helpful to the expansion of Chinese soft power, Zhang said. “For most cultural products, not emphasising any political values and ideologies would actually make them more attractive,” she said. “In contrast, imposing ideologies may turn off the audience, especially given anti-China and Sinophobic sentiments, as well as Western governments’ perceptions of China.” Zhang said international cultural exchanges were facing headwinds as distrust and antipathy grew between China and major Western powers. “The enlarged perception gap between them has shrunk the space where cultural products can be appreciated regardless of the political considerations of the sort of values behind them,” she said. But when successful, such as in Wang’s much celebrated performance, the cultural impact of C-pop could affect public opinion. “Chinese celebrities might change overseas communities’ perception of China by demonstrating the abilities of Chinese celebrities to cooperate with world-leading celebrities and attract an international following,” Zhang said. Musicians, despite their ability to further a country’s influence, were not necessarily concerned about politics, said Linda Lee Wai-kuen, the manager of Hunan-born rhythm and blues singer Tia Ray, who performed at the MetaMoon Music Festival at the Barclays Centre in New York in November. Tia, the first and only Chinese artist to appear on the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry’s global singles chart, has expanded her catalogue of collaborations with US and other overseas musicians. “It’s about the persistence of messaging,” Lee said. “Politics and tensions have always been around – it is not as relevant when it comes to making or putting out music. We write and sing about pretty much the same things: falling in love, being heartbroken or feeling happy. “Various Chinese artists, including mine, are all trying to break internationally, and you would find the same with young US artists – they would love to break into the Chinese, or Korean, or Japanese markets.” C-pop could serve as a platform for overseas communities to correct or increase their understanding of China, which might be outdated, while also creating a sense of resonance. “When people think about China, they think of dragons or lanterns or the Great Wall – these are things that are a few thousand years old – from ancient China, not contemporary China,” Lee said. “Cuisine is a great soft power – you may not like or know about the country, but you can love the food, or because of the food, you become intrigued – I think music is the same, it’s pretty borderless.” Despite political tensions, she said there were universal beliefs that Chinese artists could embody that would satisfy the expectations of both their domestic and international fans. “I hope people will respect each other’s values, even if they’re different,” Lee said, while adding that some basic values, such as opposition to sexual harassment, were common to both the US and China. Wang’s appearance at Coachella was part of the Head in the Clouds Festival, an annual music extravaganza organised by US-based music company 88rising, which also has a Shanghai branch. It has been held across stadiums in Los Angeles, Jakarta and Manila since 2018. Lee said “going global” would require C-pop stars to venture into not only the US market, but also the blossoming Asian music scene, and for any C-pop stars to have soft power value, they would have to engage with the local communities overseas, rather than just the Chinese diaspora. “It’s critical that you have a local audience, otherwise you are not breaking into that market,” she said. “Can you imagine if an American artist were to break into the local Hong Kong music scene, and only foreigners go see them?” : https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3207471/can-chinese-pop-musics-soft-power-push-ever-match-k-pops-success [...] Read more...

Call for Presentations- MACM Alumni Symposium: ON CULTURAL MEDIATION | 演講徵集-文化管理碩士課程校友論壇：文化中介篇

January 19, 2023Uncategorized【Call for Presentations- MACM Alumni Symposium: ON CULTURAL MEDIATION】 31st March and 1st April 2023 The Chinese University of Hong Kong Co-organized by: MA in Cultural Management Programme & Centre for Cultural Studies The MACM Alumni Symposium is a platform for current cultural management practitioners who are MACM graduates to share their critical reflections and insights based on their first-hand experience. The symposium focuses on the act of cultural mediation that touches on issues such as professional ethics, cultural rights, cultural identity, and the social dynamics within cultural representation. Here is a (non-exhaustive) list of proposed themes/ topics of discussion for this first symposium: • On Communities • On Conserving • On Creating • On Curating • On Education • On Fundraising • On Leadership • On Marketing • On Research This symposium is open to alumni of the MACM programme. Accepted presentations are organized into groups based on specific themes. Each presenter has 15 minutes to share their insights. After all presenters in each theme have finished their presentations, a Q&A session will be held. Presenters are expected to submit their full presentation essays (1500 in English and 2200 words in Chinese) before the symposium. The essays will be reviewed and compiled into an edited volume (e-book). Confirmed presenters will receive a small honorarium. If you are keen to present in the symposium, please register your interest here by 5th February 2023: https://cloud.itsc.cuhk.edu.hk/webform/view.php?id=13661550 Website:https://ccs.crs.cuhk.edu.hk Enquiry: cuccs@cuhk.edu.hk 【演講徵集- 文化管理碩士課程校友論壇：文化中介篇】 2023 年 3 月 31 日和 4 月 1 日香港中文大學合辦單位：香港中文大學文化管理碩士課程和文化研究中心香港中文大學文化管理碩士課程校友座談會為當前畢業的文化管理從業者提供一個平台，根據他們的第一手經驗分享批判性的思考和見解。本研討會關注文化中介思維的實踐，涉及職業倫理、文化權利、文化認同和文化表徵中的社會動態等問題。以下是本次研討會的擬議討論主題列表 (初擬)： • 社區社群篇 • 保育篇 • 創作篇 • 策展篇 • 教育篇 • 籌款篇 • 領袖篇 • 營銷篇 • 研究篇本次研討會的主要對象為香港中文大學文化管理碩士課程的校友。獲邀的演講將會根據特定主題進行分組。每位演講者有 15 分鐘的時間來分享他們的見解。每個主題的所有演講者完成演講後，將舉行問答環節。演講者需在研討會舉行前提交完整的演講論文（英文 1500 字，中文 2200 字）。這些論文將被編撰成電子書。主辦單位將向獲邀的演講者提供講員費。如果您有興趣參加研討會，請在 2023 年 2 月 5 日之前填寫此表格: https://cloud.itsc.cuhk.edu.hk/webform/view.php?id=13661550 網站:https://ccs.crs.cuhk.edu.hk 查詢: cuccs@cuhk.edu.hk [...] Read more...

Prof. Laikwan Pang on Fellowship at Stanford: An Opportunity to Rejuvenate and Renew

June 20, 2022InterviewsProf. Laikwan Pang was awarded the CUHK-Stanford University Center for Advanced Study in Behavioral Sciences (CASBS) Partner Fellowship in 2021–22. She engaged in an intellectual exchange at CASBS during September 2021–April 2022 with a cohort of distinguished thinkers and researchers from diverse academic disciplines including anthropology, communication, computer sciences and engineering, economics, education, law, political science, among others. Click here to know more about her experience in Stanford: https://www.oal.cuhk.edu.hk/202206-52-cu-casbs/ CUHK-Stanford University CASBS Partner Fellowship Program https://www.oal.cuhk.edu.hk/cuhkcasbs/ [...] Read more...

出櫃，是獲得自己及他人的終極認證嗎？| 林松輝

April 13, 2022Public Engagement出櫃，是獲得自己及他人的終極認證嗎？文// 林松輝編按：當我們談論出櫃時，是否也考慮過出櫃者所要面對和承擔的一切？2021年，香港文化研究者林松輝推出新書《膠卷同志》，從電影媒介著手、結合批判理論、文化研究和後殖民思想，由前現代中國戲曲中的跨性別演出，一直談至後現代離散中的性向／性相。書中對於出櫃敘事提出了深刻反思，並以許多觀眾熟悉的電影《囍宴》作為文本，來探討那些在出櫃驕傲中被遺忘的聲音與問題。（本文摘錄自《膠卷同志：當代中華電影中之男同性戀再現》（香港：手民出版社，2021），原題為〈出櫃與同志解放的修辭〉，標題為編者擬，文章經手民出版社授權轉載。）就同性戀的電影再現而論，對抗負面再現的合理結果，經常是創造出已出櫃的同志角色，畢竟同志解放論述把不出櫃定為自我厭惡的跡象，而出櫃則是發自驕傲的積極行動。過去數十年，出櫃佔據着這樣一個不加質疑——有時候甚至是不可質疑——的地位，不出櫃被視為難以理解的行為。正如莎莉．蒙特（Sally Munt）指出：基於性相被認為是男、女同志身上最受壓迫的部份，我們因而傾向視之為我們身份的真相，這個誘惑掩蓋了一個恆常不變的假象。對男、女同志而言，「出櫃」等於說出受壓迫的真相……米歇爾．傅柯（Michel Foucault）觀察到，告解與基督教宗教禮儀之間的連繫內存於西方的性相中，告解在結構上與證詞和證人有所關連，亦即一個把經驗化為超驗意義的傳教過程。從這個結合中能清晰看到感受變成了操演：經過物質化和變形，感受得以存在並合法化。（1997，187）套用笛卡兒的公式，同志解放論述懇求同性戀者宣稱：「我出櫃故我存在。」當同志解放與同志運動如浪潮般湧到華人社會，出櫃也就更普遍地被視為同性戀者的成長儀式（rite of passage）及其個人性傾向獲得自己及他人的終極認證。如同在西方所見，當代華人社會中的同性戀者愈發視性傾向為其身份、自我和主體性不可或缺的一部份。在中華電影中尋找正面的同性戀再現成為趨勢，出櫃既然被認定具有合法性，並與華人社會對同性戀的壓迫抗衡，若有電影能再現出操演性質強烈的出櫃，便會備受影評人擁護。林松輝：《膠卷同志：當代中華電影中之男同性戀再現》（手民出版社，2021）要求同性戀者出櫃，無論是在電影或現實中，往往反映了同志運動者和影評人的政治理念需要更高的能見度、更多盟友和支持。可是，出櫃的後果又由誰來承擔呢？在《囍宴》中，同性戀的主角偉同只能算是「半出櫃」，因為他只向母親而未向父親出櫃。即使父親意識到兒子是同性戀者，對此心照不宣，某些影評人始終認為，《囍宴》沒有拍出兒子向父親出櫃的一幕是個「敗筆」。已出櫃的香港影評人林奕華質疑：「九十年代的（男）同性戀者為何仍自甘廁身衣櫃？」（1993，70）林氏指控在《囍宴》中，同性戀者再怎樣「乾淨可喜」，也只能留在櫃中才能獲得幸福，這會打消同性戀者出櫃的念頭。（同上，72）這種批評衍生出幾個問題：誰決定同性戀者應否出櫃？出櫃必然促進對同性戀的認識與接納嗎？若出櫃與西方認識論及其操作息息相關（正如蒙特借用傅柯說明），我們還應該視之為放諸四海皆準，並不加區分地施行於其他文化嗎？我首先要提出，儘管出自同志解放論述，出櫃並非必然在道德上比較高尚。要求同性戀者出櫃，無論是在電影或現實中，往往反映了同志運動者和影評人的政治理念需要更高的能見度、更多盟友和支持。可是，出櫃的後果又由誰來承擔呢？伊芙．賽菊寇（Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick）指出，當同性戀者向父母出櫃時，他們是「帶着有可能被嚴重傷害的意識的，而這傷害很可能會是雙向的」。尤其是在恐同的社會中，出櫃的同性戀者或會反過來把父母「推進〔父母所屬的〕保守社群的暗櫃」。（1990，80）倫理、責任、情感和家庭牽絆等問題錯綜複雜地纏在一起，相比起來，壓迫與解放的論述顯得簡單和天真。很有可能，對同性戀者及其家庭而言，出櫃的複雜性與後果甚為約束，暗櫃反而是相對解放的居所。的確，我們不能假定出櫃必然能達到雙重成就，既把同性戀者從令人窒息的暗櫃中解放出來，亦獲得其出櫃對象的理解。《囍宴》的出櫃一幕顯示，要使對方明白未必容易。偉同向母親出櫃後，她質問：「是賽門把你帶壞的嗎？」、「你怎麼這麼糊塗啊？」、「你大學的時候不是也交過女朋友嗎？」諷刺的是，高父以外的所有家庭成員都串通好，要向他隱瞞偉同的同性戀身份，他卻似乎比妻子更從容地接受了。與其視此為「駭人聽聞、難以置信」和「願望成真的幻想」，（Rayns 1994，208）我認為《囍宴》透過父母在面對偉同之同性戀時截然不同的反應，力證把出櫃等同於提升對同性戀的接納程度是危險的。雖然出櫃的意象視覺效果十足，卻不能用作定義世界各地同性戀者之各種經驗的普世框架。就在偉同和賽門因威威懷孕而吵架時，高父發現了兒子是同性戀者的真相。由於偉同和賽門都認定高父、高母不懂英語，因此便在他們面前吵架；高父始終沉默不語，卻多次叫問長問短的妻子閉嘴。其後，我們從高父跟賽門的對話中，得知他略懂英語。他只是「策略性地」保持沉默，（Dariotis and Fung 1997，201）以便與賽門暗中約定，別讓任何人知道他早知偉同是同性戀者。高父的策略是如此運作的：「如果我不讓他們騙我的話，我怎麼能抱得了孫子呢？」高父一心只想着要永續其家族命脈，這固然可被解讀為「自私」，（同上，202）但他承認了偉同的同性戀倒也值得一讚。原本主動約賽門去散步的他，忽然給了賽門一個紅包當作生日禮物，這個紅包跟高母早前給準媳婦威威的一模一樣。利用賽門的生日，高父送紅包的行為等於接納賽門為其「兒婿」。當賽門問高父是否知情時，高父僅回答：“I watch, I hear, I learn. Wai-Tung is my son––so you’re my son also.”（我觀察，我聆聽，我學習。偉同是我的兒子，所以你也是我的兒子。）高父的訊息再清楚不過了：賽門已被接納為高家的一份子。相反，即使偉同已向高母出櫃，她似乎難以像高父般完全接納賽門。她為了進一步認識賽門，唯一的嘗試是問了幾個關於他家庭的問題，又問及他住在三藩市的兩位姐姐是否也「有點奇怪」（指同性戀）。在得知威威決定不墮胎後，高母依然抱有一線希望地說：「說不定他（偉同）的毛病（指同性戀）只是暫時過渡性的。」及「說不定當他看到自己的孩子的時候，自然就會更正過來。」在把偉同父母送上飛機的結尾前，偉同、威威和賽門站在兩老背後一起看婚宴的相簿。看到蒙着眼的威威認不出吻她臉頰的是偉同時，他們都真情流露地發笑。然而，翻到偉同從後摟着賽門的照片時，氣氛卻變了調，高母唐突地闔上相簿，說該是時候走了。到了離境閘口，高母在跟偉同和威威擁抱後，面對賽門欲擁抱她的動作時卻楞住了。化解此窘境的是高父，他抓住賽門的手，感謝他——而非威威——照顧偉同。高父給威威的臨別贈言是：「高家會感謝妳的。」這句話顯示他清晰地區別出賽門作為偉同的伴侶和威威作為偉同孩子的母親這兩個身份。最後，考慮到出櫃這個概念乃建基於西方認識論及其操作上，這不就使之更應該受到質詢，而非不加區分地被套用到各文化上嗎？馬丁．馬納蘭森（Martin F. Manalansan IV）指出，在「口頭上賣弄文化多樣性」的同時，「大眾與學術文獻中出現了一個趨勢」，那就是「硬銷現代、歐洲中心及普世的主體性」，並調用「被建構成鐵板一塊的同志性（gayness）和同志解放」。（1995，429）例如，「有人把沉默和秘密認定為『關在櫃中』，也有人把在公共場域中少見明確地自我認同為同志者歸咎於『恐同』，此等皆未受質詢」。（同上）我則認為，這個趨勢不只盛行於西方評論界，在無論是來自何方或居於何處的擁護同志解放論述者之間，也愈見普遍。雖然出櫃的意象視覺效果十足，卻不能用作定義世界各地同性戀者之各種經驗的普世框架。無論如何，暗櫃既不是單一的空間，出櫃也不是單一和簡單的動作，正如賽菊寇解釋說：「異性戀主義的設想具有致命的靈活性，這意味着⋯⋯人們就連在打盹時也會有新牆在他們四周迸出：每遇到新一輪的學生，更別說新老闆、新社工、新貸款專員、新房東、新醫生，就會豎立起新暗櫃，其特有卻叫人擔憂的光學與物理法則，會向同性戀者索取新的調查、計算、草稿、秘密或要求揭密。」（Sedgwick 1990，68） Epistemology of the Closet, Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick, University of California Press, 1990. Literature, National Culture, and Translated Modernity—China, 1900-1937, LYDIA H. LIU, Stanford University Press, 1995 視逾越既定的正統或反抗既定的支配為亟需履行的使命，反而會變相成為另一種形式的霸權，以團結之名否認社群中的差異，《囍宴》因出櫃議題而收到的迴響就證明了這一點。在《囍宴》中，偉同雖然向高母出櫃，她卻未能完全理解他的性傾向，這會把已推開的櫃門重新關上嗎？高父心照不宣地認可了偉同是同性戀者，這又等於櫃門只是半開嗎？以上清楚說明，無論是在甚麼文化脈絡中，出櫃的比喻都有其局限。更重要的是，伴隨着出櫃而來的政治評估必須納入考量：即對家庭成員的同性戀心照不宣，在道德上不必然比直認不諱更難接受，也不能不假思索地就把環繞着這個默認的氛圍認定為「恐同」。從高母的反應可以得知，我們不能假設出櫃是唯一最好的「解方」。陳慧明（Wei Ming Dariotis）和馮佳晴（音譯，Eileen Chia-Ching Fung）拋出以下幾個問題，為她們就《囍宴》所合寫的論文作結：某程度上，婚宴象徵對同性戀的持續遏制；即使來到結局，也是靠着記載異性戀傳統婚姻的相簿拉近所有角色之間的距離，無論是實際拉近或作為比喻……假如婚宴和高父有限的生命（高父在戲中兩度中風）在戲中的作用是遏止同性戀的「逾越」（transgression），那麼高父向賽門揭露自己一直知情，並接納賽門和偉同真正的關係，是否可以說是中斷了戲中近乎恐同的配方呢？（1997，207）與其堅持要高父公開認可兒子的同性戀，我（與馬納蘭森一道）主張承襲自西方同志解放和同志運動論述的詞彙——例如「踰越」、「恐同」和「出櫃」——才是需要被質詢的。同性戀不必然要比其他性傾向「踰越」更多，而我們也許應該去問到底有甚麼需要被「踰越」。同志運動和同志批評（gay criticism）既然是解放論述和身份認同政治（identitarian politics）的形式之一，以踰越和反抗來表達也是可以理解。不過，尼古拉斯．加納姆（Nicholas Garnham）在回應尤爾根．哈伯馬斯（Jürgen Habermas）的公共領域概念時直指：「左翼文化浪漫主義（left cultural romanticism）視任何形式的草根文化表達為『反抗』，即使反抗的對象並不明確也如是觀之，這在媒體與文化研究中愈發盛行。」（1992，373）在我看來，視逾越既定的正統或反抗既定的支配為亟需履行的使命，反而會變相成為另一種形式的霸權，以團結之名否認社群中的差異，《囍宴》因出櫃議題而收到的迴響就證明了這一點。就電影分析而言，解放經常是意識形態先驗決定，因而犧牲了從細讀而來的文本證據，文本則往往比政治權術來得複雜和細緻。【註】林奕華。1993。〈一場歡喜一場空：喜宴後感〉。《影響》第36期（4月）：69–72。另有男同志觀眾在互聯網上發表了類似的見解，見marchetti 2000，281。正如賽菊寇也指出，「在同志自我揭露（self-disclosure）的過程中⋯⋯最先浮現的會是授權和證據的問題（『你怎麼知道你真的是同志』？）」。（sedgwick 1990，79）有關對踰越的質疑，見wilson 1993和foucault 1998。同樣地，周蕾也指出「若在後設敘事（metanarrative）遭受打擊的此刻有一個後設敘事能逆流茁壯，那便是『反抗』的後設敘事」，而「身份認同政治這個概念承包了政治、階級、種族和性別身份論述，『反抗』已成為支持此概念的修辭」。（chow 1998，113）劉禾則從後殖民理論入手，寫道：「我深覺反諷的是，批評西方支配的這個動作，其結果竟經常是具體化了支配者的權力，非西方文化的能動性被極度地簡化成唯一的可能性：反抗。」（liu 1995，xv–i）【參考書目】 chow, rey. 1998. ethics after idealism: theory-culture-ethnicity-reading. bloomington and indianapolis: indiana university press. dariotis, wei ming, and eileen fung. 1997. “breaking the soy sauce jar: diaspora and displacement in the films of ang lee.” in transnational chinese cinemas: identity, nationhood, gender. ed. sheldon hsiao-peng lu, 187–220. honolulu: university of hawai‘i press. foucault, michel. 1998. “a preface to transgression.” in aesthetics, method, and epistemology: essential works of foucault, 1954–1984, vol. 2. ed. james d. faubion. trans. robert hurley et al., 69–87. london: allen lane, penguin press. garnham, nicholas. 1992. “the media and the public sphere.” in habermas and the public sphere. ed. craig calhoun, 357–76. cambridge, mass., and london: mit press. liu, lydia h. 1995. translingual practice: literature, national culture and translated modernity: china 1900–1937. stanford, calif.: stanford university press. manalansan, martin f., iv. 1995. “in the shadows of stonewall: examining gay transnational politics and the diasporic dilemma.” glq 2 (4): 425–38. marchetti, gina. 2000. “the wedding banquet: global chinese cinema and the asian american experience.” in countervisions: asian american film criticism. ed. darrell y. hamamoto and sandra liu, 275–97. philadelphia: temple university press. munt, sally r. 1997. “the personal, experience, and the self.” in lesbian and gay studies: a critical introduction. ed. adny medhurst and sally r. munt, 186–97. london and washington, d.c.: cassell. rayns, tony. 1994. review of the wedding banquet. in sight and sound film review volume, january 1993–december 1993, 208. london: british film institute. sedgwick, eve kosofsky. 1990. epistemology of the closet. berkeley and los angeles: university of california press. wilson, elizabeth. 1993. “is transgression transgressive?” in activating theory: lesbian, gay, bisexual politics. ed. joseph bristow and angelia r. wilson, 107–17. london: lawrence and wishart. (原載於思潮 AND 批評 2022-04-12：https://www.linking.vision/?p=10455&fbclid=IwAR0196Jf0FXOOcgsLQ-_-fv1XXP_S8ZuE_OkDkERuSBFkM5WyOYHjLMFDV8 ） [...] Read more...

Professor Song Hwee Lim on Re-orientating Screen Studies: A Preliminary Reflection

November 25, 2021Public Engagement / Public LectureProfessor Song Hwee Lim will be the speaker at an online event–Re-orientating Screen Studies: A Preliminary Reflection on 30 November 2021 (14:00 – 15:30 GMT). About the event Three decades since the call to “open the canon” across college campuses in the United States, what is the impetus driving this present call to de-westernize and de-colonize screen studies in the United Kingdom? My intervention in this call will be on two fronts. First, I question the very notions of de-westernization and decolonization and ask if such missions are impossible or even desirable, and for whom. Second, I suggest that the forces of neoliberal capitalism have so deeply penetrated elite universities across the world that the notion of de-westernization has become a moot point even or especially in the so-called non-west. Taken together, this talk argues that the global dynamics and identitarian politics of the twenty-first century demand that any reckoning with de-westernization and decolonization must take into account the legacies of colonialism in both the metropoles and the ex-colonies as well as the basis of knowledge formation as shaped by forces of the Enlightenment and neoliberal capitalism. It will use examples from Singapore, Taiwan, and China and from across the western world to illustrate that the stakes for such a call must lie beyond the academe and be rooted in social justice. For details: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/film-seminar-professor-song-hwee-lim-tickets-189653447567?fbclid=IwAR1yf1z83R3JszVT4MVtYpfszm6sYTKrRgcOYh9vNx8QDsyBv4hlGuX3Hq8 [...] Read more...

《膠卷同志：當代中華電影中之男同性戀再現》經已出版

November 9, 2021Publication 林松輝教授新書《膠卷同志：當代中華電影中之男同性戀再現》經已出版推薦語（按姓氏筆劃序）《膠卷同志》以犀利的批判視野，置疑本質主義身份認同及同志解放論述的詮釋霸權，改從國家與在地脈絡、全球文化經濟、地緣政治、影像美學、再現政治等多方論述的交織互構，重探九十年代華人男同志身影在大銀幕的綻放，並在勾勒各種啟動、協商與實踐的條件與機制時，打破華語脈絡下對同性性相之定見，開闢新的理解路徑。 ──王君琦毫無疑問，林松輝向我們示範了具質素的當代華語電影研究。書中包含具份量的華語和西方文學與電影之原始材料，分析精緻而尖銳，論辯風格不卑不亢。這書讀來令人異常振奮——作者不只對男同性戀的電影再現極為靈敏，同時展示了如何以批判的智性和視野來解讀文本。 ──周蕾，美國杜克大學文學系 Andrew W. Mellon Distinguished Professor of the Humanities 林松輝的書，也許就是一場性愛，或革命：插入、翻雲覆雨、翻天覆地、催生了另外的歷史、想像、命，中華膠卷卷着同志，張開來不單邀請你閱讀，更是慫恿你溫柔的、精銳的、慢慢的，陪他一起觀看，陪他繼續在一切既定的權力關係之中插入。因為，仍須努力。 ──周耀輝，香港浸會大學人文及創作系教授／詞人書籍簡介　跨國中華電影、全球酷兒電影不能忽視之作挑戰中華電影和男同性戀的單一想像提供對當代中華電影中之男同性戀再現的重要分析自1980年代，中國、台灣和香港電影在全球電影舞台日益顯得重要，邊緣的性別形像亦能在公共領域中現身。作者林松輝在書中檢視這些影片的再現政治，反思當下電影研究領域中同性論述的界限。他深入分析了重要的影片和電影作者，囊括李安《囍宴》、陳凱歌《霸王別姬》、張元《東宮西宮》和王家衛《春光乍洩》，出入蔡明亮的酷兒電影詩學和關錦鵬的同志影片美學，由前現代中國戲曲中的跨性別演出，一直談至後現代離散中的性向／性相。本書結合批判理論、文化研究和後殖民思想，觀察敏銳，理論精微。不論是一般讀者、文化研究學生，抑或是電影研究學者，若想了解當代中華文化政治、電影再現理論和酷兒文化，必能從書中獲益良多。作者簡介林松輝，香港中文大學文化及宗教研究系教授。中文著作包括專書《蔡明亮與緩慢電影》、合編《平行文本：文化研究的思想交鋒》。譯者簡介陳瑄，筆名陳穎，國立台灣師範大學英語學系文學組博士生，亦為兼任講師、影評人及譯者。譯有《中國剩女：性別歧視與財富分配不均的權力遊戲》（2015）、《倫敦的生與死：一部關於移民者的大城悲歌》（2018）、《卡卡女性主義》（2019）、《變裝的藝術》（2021），尤專於性別研究之學術翻譯。更多詳情請參閱手民出版社網頁: https://typesetter.hk/2021/11/08/celluloidcomrades/ ⠀ [...] Read more...

Chaoyang masses: the rise of Beijing’s neighbourhood patrols

October 30, 2021Interviews[Professor Wu Kaming was interviewed by the Guardian on 30 October 2021] Chaoyang masses: the rise of Beijing’s neighbourhood patrols By Vincent Ni Red-armbanded neighbourhood watchers have become a common sight on streets of China’s capital They are often seen wearing a red armband patrolling residential neighbourhoods of Chaoyang, the biggest district of Beijing, which is home to nearly 3.5 million people. On a sunny late autumn afternoon, they will sit with a group of retirees in the sun and chat away. But when an individual of interest turns up, their attention quickly diverts to them. In Chinese media and official police statements, these vigilante neighbourhood watchers are called the “Chaoyang masses”. Last week, the state-owned Global Times went a step further, quoting internet users as saying the mysterious group “could match four famous intelligence , the CIA, MI6, KGB and Mossad”. Some jokingly called it “the fifth largest intelligence agency in the world”. For years, volunteers in the Chinese capital have become a part of its daily social fabric. They help run their neighbourhoods by picking up litter and guiding those who are lost. They also observe, listen and follow every clue that might lead to a potential legal case. The rise of the Chaoyang masses exemplifies the extraordinary ability of the ruling Communist party to mobilise grassroots forces to keep the vast country running, but also to keep its populace in check. Last week, when the “piano prince” Li Yundi was detained for allegedly hiring a sex worker, Beijing police credited the “masses” in Chaoyang for tipping them off. Internet users were once again fascinated by the role of these vigilant citizens in bringing down yet another celebrity. Discussions about them quickly erupted on social media. So far, the hashtag: #Who exactly are Chaoyang masses? has been viewed at least 310 million times on the Chinese social media site Weibo. “Bravo, Chaoyang masses, you are unsung heroes!” wrote one commenter. “How did people know that it’s a prostitute and her customer? Why not a married couple, friends, hookup buddies?” questioned another. To longtime Beijingers, the name Chaoyang masses is not unfamiliar, even though they are not the only force running the city’s neighbourhoods, said Ka-ming Wu, an anthropologist at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, who studies the rise of these volunteers. “They are often retirees and female. Many would call them grassroots governing agents for the party state, but grannies themselves speak of their service in terms of contribution and honour.” Ling Li, an expert in Chinese politics and law at the University of Vienna, said the hyperactivity of these neighbourhood watchers is primarily the result of the expansion of state-sponsored public procurements of social services from private individuals or entities. “Although such services may be procured also for the provision of social aids, they are predominantly used to help maintain social stability: for instance, intelligence collection, neighbourhood surveillance, post-incarceration monitoring and other crime prevention activities,” Li said. According to state media, more than 850,000 such volunteers were registered across Beijing in the summer of 2017. In different districts, they have tailor-made names, too. For example, in Xicheng distract, the western part of Beijing with nearly 1.3 million people, they are called “Westside Mamas”. And in Tongzhou in the east, they are called “The common people of Tongzhou”. But the Chaoyang masses are the best known. So much so that in 2017, Beijing police developed a mobile phone app with the same name, offering citizens a tool with which to provide tipoffs. By then, Chaoyang district officials had claimed that about 130,000 names had already been registered with them – 277 people per square kilometre. On average they provided close to 20,000 tipoffs every month, for sins ranging from terrorism to drug use and theft. Earlier this year, a Beijing community police officer told a Chinese newspaper that if neighbourhood watchers on the lookout for prostitution find a girl who always goes home in high heels and short skirts at 2am-3 am with different men, “then it’s time for us to step in and check what exactly she does”. According to the same newspaper report, Chaoyang volunteers are paid 300 yuan to 500 yuan (£35-£60) a month. And if accidents happen in the line of duty, volunteers receive up to 1.2m yuan (£136,000) insurance compensation as well as an additional subsidy. In recent years, neighbourhood watchers have often been credited with turning in prominent artists and celebrities. These include the Hollywood actor Jackie Chan’s son Jaycee, who was arrested on drug-related charges in 2014. The Chaoyang masses have also been praised for keeping an eye on foreign agents, with news reports from as early as 1974 detailing the way they assisted the police in the arrest of Soviet spies. But not every volunteer is happy at the association with spying, or the claims of financial reward, said Wu. “The state wanted to create an impression that there are gender, class and ethnic internal enemies and emphasise the securitisation of urban life, but most volunteers I spoke to were just there to kill time and keep the community clean and nice.” Nevertheless, the authorities began to promote them, releasing a set of cartoons for them in 2015. In 2017, China’s president, Xi Jinping, spoke fondly of them when inspecting Beijing. “Where there are more red armbands, there is extra safety and peace of mind,” he said. “ have three magic weapons,” declared Xia Ke Dao, a Wechat account under the official People’s Daily, last week after the arrest of the now disgraced pianist Li. “They come in large numbers, they are hard to discern, and they are good at reasoning.” : https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/oct/30/vigilante-surveillance-the-rise-of-beijings-neighbourhood-patrols [...] Read more...