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- Title
HOUSEKEEPER OF HONG KONG CINEMA THE ROLE OF PRODUCER IN THE SYSTEM OF HONG KONG FILM INDUSTRY.
- Authors
CINDY S. C. CHAN
- Abstract
In the 1990s while Hong Kong cinema were better known in the world, the industry operated more like guerilla filmmaking than modern movie business. Interestingly, parallel to the disintegration of the industry, there was the rise of the producers' position and the majority of production executives were women, a sign of progress in contrast to the previous studio era's absence of woman in production and placing the director as center of power. These woman producers were often fondly addressed as "the housekeepers," the matriarch figure in charge of administration. The industry capitalized on women's traditional gender role as caretaker and modern role as executives. Hong Kong producers, men or women, working in an industry going through the double edges of colonialism, capitalism, and globalism, adapted their roles to local socio-cultural context and industry organization structure and played an all-round and supportive role instead of replicating the commander-in-chief role of their Hollywood counterparts. The case of Hong Kong producer shows the inadequacy of existing theories and methodologies to conceptualize industrial models and professional positions situated in different cultural contexts. Studies on Hollywood woman producers often define the gender issue as a woman's issue and overlook the economic reality of American corporate culture and studies on Hollywood studio system often frame the producer-function as an economic issue and overlook the socio-cultural factor in shaping the organization structure and the producer's role in such system. To understand the role of Hong Kong producers, I would propose to theorize from within, contextualizing the system of Hong Kong cinema in the world market and situate the producer within the system of Hong Kong cinema. The case of Hong Kong producers illustrates how the industry draws from traditional cultural practice to adapt to modern global environment in the rapidly growing East Asian region.
- Subjects
HONG Kong (China); CHINA; HOUSEKEEPERS; MOTION picture industry; FILMMAKERS; FILMMAKING
- Publication
Wide Screen, 2010, Vol 2, Issue 2, p1
- ISSN
1757-3920
- Publication type
Article