The portrayal of a specific ethnic group in film and television dramas largely represents the "stereotype" of this group in the eyes of the public, and the portrayal of mainland characters in Hong Kong films is nothing more than that.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="3" >1970-2003 "Other" and the Motherland</h1>
In the 1970s and 1980s, mainlanders usually appeared in Hong Kong films as "the other" (non-locals), stupid, lazy, and rustic. The Hong Kong film and television industry has also taken advantage of the successful shaping of this image to demarcate the Chu River and Han boundaries of "Hong Kong people" and "mainland people".
Acan Screenshot of the film
At that time, the most classic mainlander character in Hong Kong films was Ah Can in 1979's "Man in the Net". He is a mainland relative of the character in Chow Yun Fat's play, and Ah Can, who has an ignorant and quick-witted personality, has since become a specific title for poor relatives in the mainland by Hong Kong people.
Interestingly, "Hong Kong Can" was also derived from this, and is now specifically used to ridicule Hong Kong people who make a fuss after seeing new things on the mainland.
In 1990, "Gamble Saint" once again deepened the image of the "other" of mainlanders in Hong Kong dramas. The role played by Stephen Chow in the movie from Guangzhou to Hong Kong to the third uncle, although in order to enter the city specially dressed, suits and shoes, but the restrained expression and embarrassing behavior are incompatible with modern Hong Kong, from head to toe reveal a countryman into the city.
Chow Sing Chi played the "A Xing" film screenshot of the mainland who came to Hong Kong to join the third uncle in "Gamble Saint"
During this period, the roles of mainlanders in Hong Kong films were not positive enough, either as a countryman, "Beigu" (a derogatory term for women from the mainland), or thieves, "big circles" (referring to people and groups engaged in triad activities from the mainland to Hong Kong), although it was not consistent with the real situation in the mainland, but to a certain extent reflected the highly developed Hong Kong in the 1980s and 1990s, the unfamiliarity of the mainland cities in the early stage of reform and opening up, and even "contempt".
But hong Kongers, who were immersed in a sense of superiority at the time, wantonly portrayed mainlanders as representatives of poverty, backwardness, and ignorance, but also because of the unprecedented rise in nationalist sentiment under British colonial rule.
Films co-produced with the mainland, such as "Shaolin Temple", "Burning the Yuanmingyuan", and "Hanging Curtains and Listening to the Government", which were released in the 1980s, came into being in the midst of a high sense of home-countryism. After the release of the series, it swept Through Hong Kong, mainland China and Chinese.
Screenshot of the Shaolin Temple film
The Hong Kong film market seems to have realized a kind of "curiosity" and "root-seeking" demand for traditional Chinese culture and the mountains and rivers of the motherland that pervades Hong Kong society, and for a time, movies and TV dramas with action, kung fu and historical themes have become the mainstream of the Hong Kong film industry. For example, "Shaolin Boy", "North and South Shaolin", "Shaolin Temple LayMan's Disciple", "Kapok Robes", "Eight Hundred Arhats", "Ten Thousand Waters and Thousand Mountains Always Love", "JingwuMen", "Huo Yuanjia" and so on.
Some Hong Kong people who are confused about their identity, inspired by similar films, have gradually begun to show their value tendency to be proud of being "Chinese", and at this time, the mainland is the impression of some Hong Kong people as their hometown, their flesh and blood relatives thicker than water.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="101" > 2003-2008 Support and Redemption</h1>
In 2003, when SARS swept Through Hong Kong and the industry was in ruins, then Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa traveled to Beijing to ask the central government to open a free trip.
At that time, the mainland gave economic and spiritual support to Hong Kong people, leaving an indelible impression on Hong Kong people, which was reflected in film and television works, and since 2003, Hong Kong films have begun to appear as some mainland "redeemers".
Screenshot of Mr. Ye (left) played by Hu Jun in "Golden Rooster"
In 2002's "Golden Rooster 1", when the heroine was in a desperate situation, she was surprised to find that There were 980,000 more caries, and it turned out that the mysterious figure surnamed Ye (Hu Jun) in the mainland helped her through the difficulties. "Golden Rooster 2", created after SARS, also continues the myth that mainlanders rescue Hong Kong people.
Shen Cheng, played by Chen Daoming in "Infernal Affairs III Ultimate Infinity", is a screenshot of the film
In 2003's "Infernal Affairs III Ultimate Infinity", a brave, wise and capable mainland undercover police officer Shen Cheng (Chen Daoming) appears, who cooperates seamlessly with the Hong Kong police and finally succeeds in eliminating the criminals.
In 2006's "Baby Project", Melody (Gao Yuanyuan), a nurse from the mainland who came to Hong Kong hospitals for internship, fought against the evil forces with Jackie Chan and Gu Tianle, and finally punished the evil hoe and let the bad guys accept the punishment they deserved.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="102" >2008-2019 Mockery and reflection</h1>
An important milestone in Hong Kong cinema in which the image of mainlanders has fundamentally changed was in 2008. Before and after the outbreak of the financial crisis in 2008, the economic strength of Hong Kong and the mainland reversed, and the mainland economy gradually improved its status in the world economic system, and even played an important role in stabilizing the world economy at a critical moment.
At the same time, the former "Beigu" and "big circle" have gradually disappeared, and mainland characters have become richer and more three-dimensional in Hong Kong dramas.
The 2017 broadcast of "The Woman Who Doesn't Know How to Be Spoiled" may be regarded as a milestone change in the image of mainland women in TVB dramas, in which Tian Mi, played by Gao Haining, is a mainland woman.
Tian Mi played by Gao Haining in "The Woman Who Doesn't Know How to Be Spoiled" Screenshot of the film
Although the mainland female characters in this drama still continue some elements of the concept of "other", they are mainland women who understand "spoiled", have a heart and mind, and will seduce men.
But what is different from the past is that although Tian Mi, as the villain in the play, was able to turn over in the finale, finally reconciled with the heroine (a hard-tempered and capable Hong Kong female representative), and reunited with her ex-husband, it was a happy ending.
In addition, in the play, Tian Mi is a Kochi woman, who has received a strict education since childhood, has knowledge, and graduated from Tsinghua University, which is very different from the image of "Beigu" who has been honest and honest in the past, rustic, engaged in low-end occupations, or has a deep heart, worships gold snobbery, and even engages in improper occupations.
Behind this evolution is a change in the class, wealth and education level of mainland arrivals. At this time in Hong Kong society, the number of highly educated mainland women and mainland women who went to Hong Kong through marriage is disappearing, and the highly educated "Hong Kong drifting women" have become a new impression of mainland women in Hong Kong society.
Another TVB drama exaggerated the stereotype of mainlanders who "have a lot of stupid money" and "spend money like dirt". In 2013, TVB's "Old Watch, Hello" opened with a scene of mainland tourists going to Hong Kong for a shopping match. And there have been many appearances of large-scale consumption of mainland women's images, trying to deepen the "labeling" misunderstanding of the mainland people.
Screenshot of the mainland tour group in "Old Watch, Hello" Movie Screenshot
The same is true of "Storm of Hearts 3 Good Moons", in the play, the Hui Group, which has a century-old foundation in Hong Kong, asks for help everywhere due to poor management, and one of the scenes is the liquor bureau of the Xu family and his wife and the mainland businessmen, the rich merchants in the mainland are not accustomed to drinking red wine, insisting on opening more than a dozen bottles of Moutai to show their financial strength, and then constantly persuading the wine, the image of the rude local tycoon jumps on the paper.
These plots, which deliberately vilify the mainland's first-rich class, although far from the reality of the mainland, depict in a facetious way the overall impression of Mainlanders in Hong Kong after 2008.
In other words, after 2008, the image of the mainlanders, from poor relatives in the countryside to the stupid sons of landlords, has changed the biggest change is that Hong Kong can no longer ignore the rise of the mainland economy, and has to admit the pulling effect of the mainland market on Hong Kong's economy.
However, due to the fact that Hong Kong's self-confidence is being suppressed, the mentality of "asking for help" is becoming more and more obvious, and although Hong Kong films at this time recognize the economic development of the mainland, they inevitably show a sarcastic mentality towards the mainlanders.
However, at this time, the mainlanders who frequently appear in Hong Kong films are obviously no longer the "others" that were flattened before the reversion, and the "contradiction between the enemy and ourselves" between "mainlanders" and "Hong Kongers" has been transformed into a "contradiction among the people."
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="103" >2020-2021 Cooperation and win-win</h1>
In the past two years, under the attack of the new crown epidemic and black riot activities, the Hong Kong film industry has experienced an unprecedented crisis, in 2019, only 47 Hong Kong films were produced, 80% of the employees did not start work for half a year, 2020 is even more severe, the 40th Hong Kong Film Awards ceremony scheduled for April 2021 was postponed to 2022.
At this time, the mainland is already the second largest film market in the world, and co-productions between the mainland and Hong Kong have become the mainstream of Hong Kong films, and the potential of the mainland market and the importance of mainland capital to the survival and development of Hong Kong dramas are self-evident.
Therefore, Hong Kong film and television works are obviously more respectful of the mainland, and the portrayal of mainland women by Hong Kong commercial films has even shown unprecedented tolerance and affirmation.
Screenshot of the Bomb Disposal Expert 2 movie
For example, in "Single Men and Women 2" and "Bomb Disposal Expert 2", mainland women with good academic backgrounds not only no longer attack their hearts, but the screenwriter even simply arranges for top Hong Kong male gods such as Gu Tianle and Andy Lau to painstakingly pursue mainland girls.
At this time, Hong Kong film and television industry practitioners began to emphasize the in-law connection between Hong Kong and Guangdong, in order to avoid misunderstandings, make up for the rift, and close the relationship with the mainland market, Hong Kong film and television works began to deliberately blur the "stereotypes" (such as "Beigu") established for mainlanders in previous Hong Kong films.
THE TVB hit drama "Blind Man 2020" is very representative. The drama is a legal drama, the plot is constantly interspersed with the prosecution and defense of the court defense, one case involves the overseas women in order to obtain the right of residence in Hong Kong work, and the only change in this familiar setting is that the fishing for Hong Kong men is no longer a mainland woman, but a Vietnamese woman. You should know that ten years ago, this type of role was exclusive to mainland women.
Looking at the changes in mainland elements in Hong Kong film and television works, it is not difficult for us to find that mainland characters are gradually showing a positive development trend, which is inseparable from the mainland's economic development and cultural self-confidence, and I believe that in the near future, with the increasingly frequent exchanges between Hong Kong and the mainland, there will be a more diversified and three-dimensional mainland character image in Hong Kong dramas.
(Text/Reporter Shen Yuqing)
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