Bulletin Autumn‧Winter 2000

CHANGES I N SOCIAL AND CULTURAL IDENTITY AS REPRESENTED BY THE MASS MEDIA Prof. Eric Ma Kit-wai of the School of Journalism and Communication has been studying the role played by the mass medi a in shaping social culture and identity. He said, 'As patriotic and racial feelings are not strong in Hong Kong, the mass media, in particular television, have become the cohering force in shaping social culture and building collective identification.' The classic exampl e is the coining of the term 'Ah Ch a h n ' ( ) . Ah Chahn was a TV character back in the late 70s. He h a d come to reunite with his family in Hong Kong from mainland China and wa s po r t r ayed a s the embod iment o fbackwardness, vulgarity, and laziness. As th e programme struc k a chord with the social temperament a tthe time, Ah C h a h n s o on b e c ame a s y n o n ym f o rma i n l a nd immigrants as distinct from people born and raised in Hong Kong. In th e 90s Ho n g Kong peop le h a d aclearer knowledge o fthe circumstantial changes pertaining to Hong Kong's return t o Chinese sovereignty. They also began t obe aware o f the strengths of mainlanders. The term 'Ah Chahn' wa s soon replaced by 'Cousin Sister' ( ),derived from a series of movies by the same name. Though still alienated f r om mo d e rn life. Cousin Sister, unlike he r predecessor, has power, character, and work ability. Another term — ' Ho n g k o n g e r s ' ( ) — h a s acquired special identity and cultural meanings afte r its adoption by the mass medi a for close to two decades. Its main function is to situate 'Hong Kong Chinese' and 'mainland Chinese' in opposite camps. Unlike terms such as 'Hong Kong citizens' an d 'Hong Kong Chinese people', what it signifies is a fundamental difference attributable not only to geography or politics, but also attitude to life, character, education , and ideology. The birth an d innate meanings o f terms such a s 'AhChahn', 'Cousin Sister', and 'Hongkongers' reflect the influence of the mass media in moulding Hong Kong's social culture and identity under the specific historical contexts of the post war years. The power of the mass media also means tha t Hong Kong people should adopt a more critical attitude towards collective identification. Using case studies, Prof. Ma discovered that the presentation of Hong Kong history by infotainment programmes on TV comes under the influence o fdifferent political and economic forces internal and external to the media. 'Narratives about the past are the result of adjustments by and projections of memory, imagination, and desire,' he said. Prof. Eric Ma Kit-wai CHINES E UNIVERSIT Y BULLETI N Autumn • Winter 2000 22