Of John Woo's Peripheral Vision: Chinese Cultural Studies In Hong Kong?

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In the essay Peripheral Vision: Chinese Cultural Studies in Hong Kong (Ma 2001), Ma discusses that studying Chinese culture in Hong Kong have to be seen as a separated subject from the cultural study in mainland China. Hong Kong and mainland China have formed from the different historical establishment. After the opium war, Hong Kong has become a colonial society and have been separated from the mainland China for more than 150 years. As Ma mentioned in the article, when Hong Kong was still a colonial city, Hong Kong’s political environment was mainly controlled by the British government. To prevent political antagonism, both the English and the Chinese government did not implant any nationalistic conception of local culture. Therefore, Hong Kong culture was the lack of historical or national narrative, but more focusing on local identity and local subculture. In the 40s and 50s when China political and war refugees came to Hong Kong, most of them were poor and low educated. Because of the refugees were coming …show more content…

The code of honor and the brotherhood are the key elements that draw audiences to watch the Triads movie. The Triad protagonists in most of the Hong Kong gangster movie are not the bad guys in the good society, but the survivors of a depressing and a schismatic modern society. (Nochimson, 71:2007) Most of the plots of the Triad movie, the protagonists will always struggle to maintain their honor to the Triad, and the human connections with their friends and the loved one. And it always emphasizes the value of loyalty, righteousness, and brotherhood in the Triads. In the movie, only the protagonists are the “good” gangsters who are faithful and laudable to protect their territories and their comrade. The “bad” gangsters are the thugs who want to destroy the honor of the Triad codo. (Nochimson,

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