26 planet of the arts / december 1997 CULTURAL DIALECTICS Beyond Jackie Chan ..continued from page 16 eo As an academic scholar, Schaebler’s lack of cultural analysis is alarming. When asked at the VIFF showing of his film why he used the Suzie Wong film clips, he offered the naive explanation “I wanted to show the architecture of old Hong Kong. That the buildings are so dif- ferent in comparison to the present.” Essentially, the stories told by his mish mash of interviewees should have clued Schaebler into something unique, some- thing which could have brought a new dimension to his documentary. Since it’s inception, Hong Kong has been a rest stop, not a home. The resi- dents of the city think of themselves as How he Spend Christa With WOM then Wander home... out mom forgot her key at home. fF get drunk at local tavern with ae Mother... Why?+.. Cause youre bored. only the Characters Pearands hae hanged to ch the innocent $. both ris aespinted migrants no matter how long they have lived there. It’s seen as a transitory city, a way station at which to make money. It’s no coincidence that the people he chose to interview, except perhaps Guo, each have a passport out of Hong Kong. These people have no investment in cre- ating or participating ina vibrant Hong Kong culture. But~ what. is extraordinary, and Schaebler’s biggest oversight, is how this attitude is evidently changing. Some citi- zens do believe in having a hand in shap- ing their own history. At a time of great historical transition, defining a cultural identity has become an important issue to the denizens of Hong Kong who are faced with the imposition of Mainland control. The decolonization, and thus reunifi- cation, of Hong Kong with China.on July 1, 1997 brought with it a desire for dis- tinction from the Mainland Chinese. This past summer, it was clear to me on every level of discourse — from dinner conversations to art exhibits — that Hong Kong citizens are concerned with defining the Hong Kong identity. I see this new awareness and this desire to question “the Hong Kong identi- ty” as a stepping stone towards building a strong and vibrant culture. Hong Kong’s soul is slowly changing, and if its citizens continue on this course, their participa- tion in this evolving cultural. society will | gradually increase and their’ spiritual investments will eventually take root. Instead of documenting these timely and _ intriguing cultural dynamics, Schaebler — through a lack of understand- ing and poor research — offers his audi- ence only a superficial depiction of a city at the edge of a great historical change. I find it hard to believe and highly unfortu- nate that a film with such major flaws was chosen to be screened at the Vancouver International Film Festival. Schaebler’s success’ with his video is perhaps due to the 1997 handover of Hong Kong to China, when curiosity around the world temporarily built up about a city undergoing a change in administrative power. If fame and success was on Schaebler’s mind, it’s not a bad strategy to ride on the coat tails of a his- torical event and cash in on the hype. Yet at some .point, Westerners such as Schaebler’ find the integrity and willing- ness to discover that their stereotypes are woefully inadequate. And that, for exam- ple, Hong Kong’s culture encompasses more than’ Jackie Chan and John Woo. £