Nanbei (south-north) comedies in Hong Kong cinema : transregional film industry and Hong Kong identity

Abstract

In this paper, I attempt to use the concept of “transregional imagination” by Zhang Yingjin to depict the Hong Kong film industry in the early 60s and examine how it has transformed the industry practices in Hong Kong cinema and shaped the Hong Kong identity. For decades, Hong Kong cinema has been of regional and transregional importance. The influx of film artists from the north, especially Shanghai, during the post-war period brought a cosmopolitan outlook to the industry. This was coupled with the investment of overseas Chinese from Singapore which helped to expand the distribution network of Hong Kong films within a short time. By tracing the historical development of the industry, I wish to revisit the major events in the region which have contributed to the uniqueness of Hong Kong culture. I would also like to illustrate the characteristics of the transregionalism through the study of a trilogy of nanbei (literally, south and north) comedies released in the early 60s by the MP&GI company. They are The Greatest Civil War on Earth (Nanbei He, 1961); The Greatest Wedding on Earth (Nanbei Yi Jia Qin, 1962) and The Greatest Love Affair on Earth (Nanbei Xi Xian Feng, 1964) which depict the conflicts between the Mandarin-speaking “Northerners” (mainly from Shanghai and neighbouring cities) and Cantonese-speaking “Southerners”. The transregional imagination is manifested in these films which have the benefit of funding from overseas Chinese, casting from Shanghai and local artists, screenwriters from USA, production team mainly from the north, distribution network across regions and audience from international markets. I would further examine the comedy genre as a common language among diversified cultures and a discussion of modernity through an analysis of the company’s business strategies and the scenes which depict western values and urban images of Hong Kong during the 60s. I hope the analysis will be able to rediscover the transregional advantages that Hong Kong film industry has enjoyed and which, I believe, have also paved the way for its positioning in the era of globalization.