• Journal of Popular Narrative
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• v.27 no.1
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• pp.301-338
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• 2021

John Woo's A Better Tomorrow arrived at the turning point of Korean society between 1987 and 1988. The Hong Kong movie boom that started here reached its peak around the 1990s. What does this phenomenon mean? Hong Kong action films have functioned as an important resource for Korean young male subculture since the late 1960s. The audience of A Better Tomorrow matches the audience of previous Hong Kong films in a generational and gendered way. The fascination of Hong Kong action films by young Korean men from 1987 to 1991 has nothing to do with Hong Kong's political context. However, a certain affect is shared between Korean and Hong Kong audiences. It could be said to be the brotherhood within the struggling group. The affective economies of this fraternity embodies the broad solidarity of 1987, the solidarity of comrades seeking to resist the violence of the world. It also works on symbolic and practical gender bias. In other words, this loyalty is nothing but loyalty between the (male) brothers who are confronting the injustice of the world. This is the "translational possibility" of A Better Tomorrow.

• The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
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• v.22 no.9
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• pp.147-155
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• 2022

This article analyzed the new changes Hong Kong director Lin Chaoxian has brought to theme films of Mainland China and the factors affecting these changes. The objects of the analysis are Lin Chaoxian's films (2016), (2018), and (2020). Compared with Mainland China directors suffering from heavy political burden, Dante Lam directed theme films based on the model from commercial films and adopted lots of elements from Hong Kong films. There, the ideology expression in these theme films was no longer rigid, but a diversified value embodiment resonating with the audience. At the same time, these theme films achieved higher commercial value, in which the stereotyped and unrealistic hero images were replaced by realistic and compound characters, and the display of cool or violent action scenes contributed to lots of visual feasts. All the changes were influenced by the audience preferences and the development of private enterprises in Mainland China.