Hong Kong's Contested Modernity: Social Problematics in the Cinematic Works of Mabel Cheung
Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: Mabel Cheung is one of the directors of the Hong Kong New Wave cinema. Compared to other directors of the same period, Mabel Cheung's filmography is not extensive; most of her films focus on the mundane aspects of daily life, depicting the personal destinies of individuals amidst the grand changes of the era. "Wandering" has always been a key theme in her works, with almost all her films carrying a sense of wandering. At the same time, through the films directed by Mabel Cheung, we can glimpse a series of social phenomena that have emerged during Hong Kong's modernization. Therefore, this article attempts to explore the modern social issues presented in Mabel Cheung's films from three aspects: the characters in the films, the urban space in the films, and the structure of modern families.
Author: Huanyu He
Institution: Hong Kong Baptist University
Language: English
Topic: Cinema History and Criticism
Subfield: Visual Arts and Performing Arts
Field: Arts and Humanities
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: bronze
OpenAlex ID: W4410900339