Wong Tze Wah Stand up Comedy was hold on 02 - 09 November, 2010 at Hong Kong Coliseum. It was a solo show which is mainly about his career in the media industry in the past twenty years.
In fact, he had the same show in 1990. Although the formats of the shows are also comedy, the themes of the shows are different. In the 1990 show, he focused on telling audience what is a successful actor. In this show, he expressed his experience in media industry through lots of self-mockery. Although he is failure in being an actor, he is a successful comedian nowadays. Through his performance, he sent a message to the audience that we should not give up our dream easily.
Richard Dyer (1981) argues that a star is someone around which a set of semi-mythological meanings are constructed. Image of a star is constructed by the star himself or the news from media. In the case of Wong Tze Wah, he is not the mainstream artists in Hong Kong. Media are seldom focusing on him. Thus, the image of him is mainly created by his performance. Audience may share an idea that he is a funny guy because on his facial expression or speaking tone in his performance. Also, audience may identify he is a hardworking person when he told his experience in his show. He highlighted the point that he did not give up his dream even he met a lots of setback in his career. Moreover, his previous shows reflected some of the social darkness sides. Audience may agree that his shows are meaningful as it provided a room for audience to reflect themselves. It is mainly because of his personal background. He is a well educated person. He graduated from University of Alberta. And he studied in philosophy. Thus, he always uses some interesting metaphors to explain what he wants to tell the audience. And here’s is the link which was the ending that I watched on 8 November, 2010.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6msbpwl3KG4&feature=related
Because of the audience expectation, some people feel disappointed with his latest show as they think it is not as fun as his previous shows. People assume that his performance should be relating and amusing. However, the latest show is mainly about his struggle in the media industry. Some audience may think the show is boring as it is hard for them to access the experience of an artist. To me, I think the show is excellent as he can use special ways to express a complicated idea to the audience.
Apart from the image of Wong Tze Wah, his show was mainly directed by him. Thus, he is the most affective person in the show. As I mentioned before, using metaphor is one of is characteristics. Also, we may easy discover the character “Ar Keung” in his show because it is another icon in his show.
Richard Dyer (1981) argues that a star is someone around which a set of semi-mythological meanings are constructed. Image of a star is constructed by the star himself or the news from media. In the case of Wong Tze Wah, he is not the mainstream artists in Hong Kong. Media are seldom focusing on him. Thus, the image of him is mainly created by his performance. Audience may share an idea that he is a funny guy because on his facial expression or speaking tone in his performance. Also, audience may identify he is a hardworking person when he told his experience in his show. He highlighted the point that he did not give up his dream even he met a lots of setback in his career. Moreover, his previous shows reflected some of the social darkness sides. Audience may agree that his shows are meaningful as it provided a room for audience to reflect themselves. It is mainly because of his personal background. He is a well educated person. He graduated from University of Alberta. And he studied in philosophy. Thus, he always uses some interesting metaphors to explain what he wants to tell the audience. And here’s is the link which was the ending that I watched on 8 November, 2010.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6msbpwl3KG4&feature=related
Because of the audience expectation, some people feel disappointed with his latest show as they think it is not as fun as his previous shows. People assume that his performance should be relating and amusing. However, the latest show is mainly about his struggle in the media industry. Some audience may think the show is boring as it is hard for them to access the experience of an artist. To me, I think the show is excellent as he can use special ways to express a complicated idea to the audience.
Apart from the image of Wong Tze Wah, his show was mainly directed by him. Thus, he is the most affective person in the show. As I mentioned before, using metaphor is one of is characteristics. Also, we may easy discover the character “Ar Keung” in his show because it is another icon in his show.
By Yan Wai Ki (Michelle) 10380469
Know what, I am also a big fan of Wong Tze Wah! After watching this show last year, I have a similar feeling like you: he really has his own ways in “making fun”. You have tried to adopted the star text approach in analyzing the show/star, referring to some intertextual materials and background of the star, which is quite clear and useful in illustrating his “star persona”.
ReplyDeleteHowever, it seems that not much examples are quoted from the show to support your arguments. For instance, you described him as using “special ways to express a complicated idea to audience”, and one of his characteristics is “using metaphor” to convey his message. Perhaps you could cite some concrete examples used in his performance, which may also help explain the discrepancy between (some) audiences’ expectation and his “alternative” style as a comedian.