Daphne Tsang 

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ALWFAV 4 Symposium: 
Cultural Identities as Props...


Hong Kong has played an essential role in partially shaping Hollywood and the city’s own science fiction cinema, including influencing films such as Blade Runner (1982), the Ghost In The Shell franchise, and 2046 (2004). The three films mentioned all share a notion that has been popularised by David S. Roh, Betsy Huang, and Greta A. Niu, known as techno-orientalism, in which Asia and its culture have been envisioned in 'hypo- or hypertechnological terms in cultural productions and political discourse' (Roh, 2010 p.2).

From incorporating the disciplines of film studies to explore the mise-en-scène of the said films, have revealed hidden layers of the techno-orientalisation of Hong Kong. The revelations range from the misrepresentations of the culture by fragmenting the Chinese inscriptions in the backdrops of Blade Runner and Ghost In The Shell (2017), to using techno-orientalism as a political commentary in 2046 with dark colour palettes. However, with Hong Kong’s Basic Law (freedom of assembly and freedom of speech) slowly coming to an end, it resulted in fear of its cultural erosion.
Date: NOV, 2021
Type: Symposium, Design Research
Location(s): Online via Zoom

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