Introduction
Echoes of the
rainbow, is an authentic and nostalgic story since it is based on the real life
story of director Alex Law. The film focuses on a working class Hong Kong family
– Law’s family, who live in Sheung Wan Wing Lee Street, a tiny room above
father’s shoe shop in a blind alley, and follows how they face life’s ups and downs
in 60’s. Since in 1960s, Hong Kong was in a disorderly environment, such as
water rationing, corruption everywhere. Thus, working class families living
life are tough, but they still live in a harmony after all the challenges. In
my opinion, the film can create a nostalgic feeling to the audiences;
take us back to Sixties, showing us how the good old days were. It tempers
yesteryear charm and familial bond with a touch of tragedy. (Lim, 2010)
Craze for ‘Old Hong Kong’
The
old feature of Hong Kong’s way of life had already begun to disappear due to
rising living standards. Many things have becomes a collective nostalgia. Nostalgia, describe people
sentimentality for the past, normally for a place or a period of time about
their personal association and it is a new element of pop culture
when post modern is developing too fast. Recently ‘In Hong Kong, the general
tendency has been the craze for so called ‘Old Hong Kong’.’ (Ng, 2012)
Throughout the film, it used to recreate things that
no longer exist, the mood of nostalgia has been
enhanced by the director through historical experience of Hong Kong people.
Examples of arousing nostalgia
feeling
For
example, the first things in the film that grab the audience into a nostalgia
feeling are the settings and venue, which is the local street life and
small-scale enterprise, since all of these becomes the collective memory of
Hong Kong people. Second, the music of Monkees which is the catchy sixties
songs that Desmond loves to listen on the radio. Following is the neighborhood
community, Hong Kong’s old neighborhoods mostly have been demolished as ‘city
dwellers long for the leisurely life of the past and miss the friendly
atmosphere of yesterday when neighbours gathered and chatted in carefree way.’
(Ng, 2012) In the film, everyone live closely in a narrowed lane-Wing Lee
Street, share
resources such as telephones and televisions,
always gathering for dinner and offering timely help. Although many of them are
poor, but they are happy and dignified, especially for the Laws Family, they
will band together to face all the challenges in positive thinking. Which such
kind of specific matters happen in the old ages, but it may not experience in
our modern society
In
conclusion, The Echoes of the rainbow drips with nostalgia, the heartwarming nostalgia scene attracted Hong Kong audiences and it somehow construct a Hong Kong identity since the
elements in the film are the collective memory of Hong Kong people. It cause
audience’s nostalgic feelings for a bygone era
since Hong Kong people may feel frustrate about the present days and hopeless
future make people project their good feeling towards the past.
References:
Lim
, Chang Moh. "ECHOES OF THE RAINBOW - Nostalgia Trip." . Blogspot, 7
Apr 2007. Web. 21
Apr 2013. <http://limchangmoh.blogspot.hk/2010/04/echoes-of-rainbow-nostalgia-trip.html>.
Ng ,
Sheung Yuen. "Nostalgic cuisines and food memories."Journal of oriental studies. 45. (2013): n.
page. Print.
Chan Wing Yan (10384459/21047753)
The review has adopted a critical perspective in uncovering the kind of “nostalgia” depicted in the film. A few representative examples have been cited to identify the ways it tried to construct the cultural myths of “collective memories” .Some relevant theories have been applied to decode the identity issues and to examine the craze for “Old Hong Kong” nowadays.
ReplyDeleteYou might also wish to explore the functions of those easily identified cultural symbols depicted in the film, and to relate them to other connotative signs constructed by the pervasive media representations. Why are we “selling” such kind of experience and emotions to the audience in the present context (not all of them grew up in the 60s)? What are the purposes and targets of all these “unforgettable memories”?