The Other Side of Glamour by Vivian Lee

Since its inception more than a century ago, Hong Kong cinema has been a pre-eminent form of local entertainment and a site of ideological contentions propelled by colonial, national and international politics at different historical junctures. The Other Side of Glamour is a study of the historical development of the left-wing film establishment in Hong Kong. The interplay between the macro-politics of the Cold War and the micro-politics of a regionalised/localised ideological warfare lends itself to a critical mapping of the general contours of the 'cultural Cold War' between the KMT and the CCP as it materialised in the so-called 'left-right divide' in the filmmaking world. Using the major studios as the main axis of analysis, this study traces the footprints of the other collaborating cultural agents which made up the left-wing film network in Hong Kong. It argues that the left-wing's institutional character and corporate strategies in the making of a 'popular left-wing cinema' are indispensable to an understanding of their nuanced legacy in Hong Kong cinema today.

About the Author
Vivian Lee is Associate Professor in the Department of Chinese and History at City University of Hong Kong.


Book Information
ISBN 9781474424622
Author Vivian Lee
Format Hardback
Page Count 224
Imprint Edinburgh University Press
Publisher Edinburgh University Press
Series Global Film Studios