Ten years as boundary object: The search for identity and belonging as 'Hongkongers'
Publication Type
Journal Article
Publication Date
12-2023
Abstract
This article examines the complex process of symbolic boundary-making of ‘Hongkonger’ cultural identities through the lens of the controversial 2015 film Ten Years, which is a celebrated omnibus production comprised of five short segments that picture a dystopic end to Hong Kong’s cherished way of life in the year 2025. The article is premised on an interdisciplinary approach engaging with cultural studies and film studies. On one hand, it explores how Ten Years functioned as a boundary object, a vast terrain within which cultural identities of what it means to be a Hongkonger are constructed, banished, imagined, and performed under the rubric of bodily performatives. On the other hand, it offers blurring encounters into unfamiliar and precarious territories where the formation and formulation of Hongkonger identities and sense of belonging are negotiated, evacuated, and inhabited. In the end, the key tropes in Ten Years suggest that boundary work in post-Umbrella Hong Kong affectively negotiates with state-level nationalism advocated by the central government in Beijing through establishing and reformulating notions of ‘localism’ and Hongkonger identities.
Keywords
blurring boundary, boundary object, China, ethnic boundaries, Hong Kong, Hongkonger identity, Ten Years
Discipline
Asian Studies | Sociology of Culture
Research Areas
Sociology
Publication
Asian Studies Review
Volume
48
Issue
3
First Page
561
Last Page
578
ISSN
1035-7823
Identifier
10.1080/10357823.2023.2280226
Publisher
Taylor and Francis Group
Citation
WONG, George; ESPENA, Darlene Machell; and WONG, George.
Ten years as boundary object: The search for identity and belonging as 'Hongkongers'. (2023). Asian Studies Review. 48, (3), 561-578.
Available at: https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/cis_research/268
Copyright Owner and License
Taylor and Francis
Additional URL
https://doi.org/10.1080/10357823.2023.2280226
