Arts Studies and Criticism

After 1997, Hong Kong received attention from around the world as a reborn city. The influence and the appeal of Hong Kong films increased, due to the city's multiple cultures. Ghost film is an important genre in Hong Kong's film history. Rouge (1987), one of the most representative ghost films of the 1980s, achieved both commercial and critical success. Hong Kong, as an area of China with a special political situation, has no strict suppression of idealistic culture. As a result, the Hong Kong people have a long history of respect for ghosts and of engaging in several related cultural heritage activities, which has meant that ghost culture has been relatively well preserved in this city. This essay uses the female ghost in Rouge, Fleur, to explore the role of female ghost as a narrative subject, as well as how Hong Kong's culture is reflected by her character. The essay is divided into three parts. The first introduces the history of Hong Kong's ghost films, with the genre reaching its peak in the 1980s, after decades of development. Then, the essay discusses how the image of female ghost influences the narration in the selected film, as it blurs the boundaries between the past and the future, using special visual elements. The Hong Kong consciousness caused by the transformation of the city is also discussed, including historical and current experiences, as well as the anxiety of the citizens. The essay concludes that, through the image of Fleur and the depiction of her fate, Rouge embodies the implicit male-centred traditional gender concept, as well as the anxiety and confusion of Hong Kong's people in the 1980s when faced with questions of self-identity and the future development of Hong Kong.