- Title
- Where in the world is Andy Lau? Putting the 'popular' back into studies of Hong Kong popular entertainment
- Creator
- Christensen, Joyleen
- Relation
- University of Newcastle Research Higher Degree Thesis
- Resource Type
- thesis
- Date
- 2013
- Description
- Research Doctorate - Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
- Description
- English-language scholarship on Hong Kong popular culture has traditionally been dominated by discussions about films and filmmakers who have been successful in Western markets. In this thesis, I argue that this practice is problematic for a number of reasons, not the least of which is the promulgation of a core group of individuals and works – typically from action or art-house cinema – who do not adequately represent the culture as it is understood by locals. By engaging in a comprehensive analysis of Andy Lau, a key figure of the Hong Kong entertainment industry who has been routinely overlooked in Western literature, I will demonstrate how conventional approaches to the region’s popular culture need to be more flexible and better contextualised in order to address the challenges presented by globalization and the increasingly dynamic nature of regional cultural flows. My ultimate ambition for this work is that it may shed new light on topical debates surrounding contemporary popular entertainment – specifically in terms of its role as an assumed site for the contestation of ‘national’ identity – whilst firmly establishing Andy Lau as a legitimate subject for further critical attention. The thesis initially provides star- and industry-based readings of Hong Kong popular culture through positioning the local entertainment industry within discourses surrounding culture industries, audience reception, and debates over cultural identity. Subsequent chapters will consider these issues in the context of cultural globalization, Pan-Asian cinematic collaborations, and the disintegration of national borders, which will more readily situate this examination of regional cultural flows in its proper context. Whilst each of these approaches will be applied concurrently throughout this thesis, emphasis will be given to the interdependent nature of the complex relationship between industry, star, and fan by deliberately ordering the chapters so that a distinct pattern emerges in the movement from a mid-level local industry analysis to a more focused scrutiny of the dynamics of Andy Lau’s wider iconic status in Sinophone cultures.
- Subject
- Andy Lau Tak-wah; Hong Kong cinema; Chinese popular culture; celebrity studies; fandom; Cantopop; Asian cultural studies
- Identifier
- http://hdl.handle.net/1959.13/1043920
- Identifier
- uon:14258
- Rights
- Copyright 2013 Joyleen Christensen
- Language
- eng
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| Thumbnail | File | Description | Size | Format | |||
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| View Details Download | ATTACHMENT02 | Thesis | 2 MB | Adobe Acrobat PDF | View Details Download |