Getting Older on Screen: The Cultural Politics of Ageing in Hong Kong Cinema 

2021-present  Principal Investigator, “Getting Older on Screen: The Cultural Politics of Ageing in Hong Kong Cinema,” Direct Grant for Research, the Chinese University of Hong Kong, HKD $87,300.

Ageing is taking on unprecedented attentions and spotlights, globally as well as in Asian societies. Though ageing in Asia has been receiving growing scholarly interests, there is a tendency to focus on medical, social welfare and policy perspectives. Meanwhile, while the representation of older people has been heatedly discussed in cinema and cultural studies, most of the published papers focus on the Euro-American context. In the past few years, quite a few Hong Kong films portray older characters as protagonists or engage with age and ageing thematically. Getting Older on Screen asks: what are the narrative and aesthetic characteristics of these films? How do these films reinforce, negotiate or challenge the cultural politics of ageing? This research project explores the representation of older people on the big screen in Hong Kong as a case study of cultural gerontology. Adding to existing social science literature on ageing, this cultural studies project aims to approach the representation of older people in films, which also re-orients ageing studies and film studies to the Asian context. 

Image credit: New Voice Film Productions Ltd