Polarity.

In our history and culture class today, we watched 《玻璃之城》- The City of Glass, and approximately 10 minutes of《圍城》- Besieged City. According to my tutor (and my short-term memory storage capacity), the first movie is symbolic of the growing uncertainties faced by HK (and its citizens) pertaining to the 1997 hand-over from Britain back to China, and it also represented a general picture of the lavish lifestyles of the elites here. I found the pace a little slow and slightly over-romanticized, but though I didn't enjoy it as much as I'd have liked to, it gave me a pretty comprehensive picture of what being rich and successful in HK means in the late 1990s, plus the recurring song that was played, Try To Remember, was nice. The music video above contains some scenes from the movie; you can catch the movie on Youtube if you want, there are 11 parts in all. 

This was the second movie that was shown to us. We only had time to watch 10-15 minutes of the introduction, but it managed to stir up so much more emotions compared to the first. Perhaps the reason for that was because the few opening scenes had to do with education and I felt more strongly towards that, and it depicted not just one, but quite a number of scenes where the young characters reveal a sort of helplessness in escaping the cruel poverty cycle they're stuck in. In contrast to the first movie,《圍城》- Besieged City reflects the under-privileged citizens of HK in an area well-known for its poverty and crime-rates, called 天水圍 [Tin Shui Wai].

I think my tutor selected the right movies to depict the contrasting HK identities that make up their society. Though I cannot say that I have grasped a very good understanding of what makes up the some of the internal identity conflicts of HKers, I have a much clearer picture of the struggles that they have to face within themselves now.

 Looking at other countries' cultures has made me self-reflect on our own culture and national identities; I cannot help but think that it's so similar back home after today's lesson. Prior to that, I've never put in much thought to think about what being a Singaporean means to me; that part's always been taken for granted but I will start thinking soon.