This module focuses on the history and development of Hong Kong cinema from the 1950s to the present day. We will investigate and explore the historical...

Hong Kong Cinema: City and Screen A (CMII0064)

This module focuses on the history and development of Hong Kong cinema from the 1950s to the present day. We will investigate and explore the historical development of Hong Kong cinema from socio-political, cultural, economic, and industrial angles, focusing on various popular genres (including melodrama, wuxia (swordplay film), the crime film, period action drama, romantic comedy), different film movements and modes of production (including the Hong Kong New Wave), aesthetics, and the impact that local, regional and international markets have had. We will analyse films by key directors including Tang Shu-shuen, Allen Fong, Tsui Hark, John Woo, Ann Hui, and Johnnie To, and assess how their films also help us to critically analyse Hong Kong’s history, society, politics and culture. We will pay special attention to how momentous historical events, including the 1967 riots, the signing of the Sino-British Joint Declaration in 1984, and the 1997 handover impacted Hong Kong cinema and how filmmakers negotiated these events in their films. We will also focus on the languages of Hong Kong cinema, how the consistently evolving Hong Kong identity and city is represented in cinema, the political status of Hong Kong cinema, and Hong Kong cinema’s relationship to the concept of “Chinese” cinema. Critical approaches to film studies will also be assessed, including genre theory, formal film language, auteur theory, censorship studies, and reception studies, which students will be able to apply to other film related courses.  

Cold War|US History|US Foreign Relations|Global|Local

The module introduces students to the history of the United States and the Cold War. It starts by highlighting the US role in the “global” Cold War...

The United States and the Cold War (AMER0068)

The module introduces students to the history of the United States and the Cold War. It starts by highlighting the US role in the “global” Cold War that impacted a range of geographical locations around the world. It continues by emphasizing the “local” impacts of the Cold War in the domestic sphere. Throughout, though, the module emphasizes the intertwined nature of the period’s global and local features, demonstrating how the Cold War provided opportunities for the United States to shape the world, but also for the world to shape the United States.