Introduction: The Unveiling of the Disappearance

Abstract

The purpose of this book is to examine Hong Kong’s struggle against the disappearance of its unique identity under the historic challenges of colonialism and the more recent reimposition of Chinese government control, as reflected in three under-researched visual media: comics, advertising and graphic design, thus broadening the parameters of academic study at a critical moment in Hong Kong’s development. Each of its three parts covers one medium in three chapters. The first part examines the history of Hong Kong comics, or manhua (漫畫) which is the Cantonese term, documenting shifts in the definitions of lianhuantu (連環圖) and manhua as well as the history of comics-adapted movies. The second part conducts textual readings on the construction of modern life and identity of Hong Kong as reflected in advertising, using three case studies. The third part articulates the three shifting identities of Hong Kong using graphic design examples. This book articulates the diverse cosmopolitan character of Hong Kong, a possible base for the building of a new subjectivity for the future.