Abstract: With the spread of market capitalism throughout the world emerged the existence of the “global city,” sites of centralized headquarter operations and financial power. However, the establishment of these large multinational centers has ultimately resulted in the denationalization of these cities and their citizens from their surrounding regions. The resulting loss in identity has had major implications on the culture of these cities, a phenomenon that has permeated into film as well. This paper explores the effect of this growing sense of alienation as it is represented in two iconic Chinese films: Peter Chan’s Comrades, Almost a Love Story and Wong Kar Wai’s Fallen Angels. Through the focus on the relationship of particular economic actors to their city, both films illuminate how citizens ultimately reflect the global city’s loss of identity as well as its growing emphasis on the market economy.

Globalization, a phenomenon fueled by market economics and technological innovations, has influenced the world in such a way where it has permeated culture and thus, has impacted film. While often studied in the context of what Saskia Sassen calls, “the duality national/global,” it is equally important to conceptualize the process in terms of the “global city” (205). In terms of economics, it highlights the decline in influence of the national economy as a unit in lieu of globalization and it allows one to analyze the impact of globalization upon individuals rather than upon masses in a society. The latter is particularly useful in the study of how the growing importance of the market economy has impacted film culture. In Peter Chan’s Comrades, Almost a Love Story, the main plot revolves around a love story between two migrant workers, yet the impact of globalization and the subsequent emphasis on the market economy permeates nearly every aspect of the film. Within the backdrop of the film lies what Sassen describes as “the overvalorization of corporate capital and the further devalorization of disadvantaged economic actors” and the topic of migration within and between nations (206). As a result, the main conflict of the film revolves around two migrants’ attempts to balance their economic aspirations with their personal desires. Wong Kar Wai’s Fallen Angels is another film that explores the market economy’s ability to alienate individuals within the metropolis through the portrayal of two contrasting individuals, Wong Chi-Ming, a contract killer who upholds the careful balance of the market, and He Qiwu, a free-spirit who manages to transcend the confusion and impersonality of the city. Ultimately, these two films serve to illuminate the metropolitan man’s struggle with the market economy and the pursuit of personal identity and satisfaction.

As globalization established itself as the new world order, certain cities became centralized hubs for providing services and sites for headquarter operations and thus became globalized cities. Yet many more factors differentiate the global city from other cities in the region. While cities are typically embedded in the economies and cultures of their regions, global cities “tend … to become disconnected from their region and even nation” (Sassen 212). Inevitably, the other cities “become increasingly peripheral” in terms of culture and economy. A further consequence of globalization is its effect of “denationalize[ing] national territory” which is ultimately disorienting for the metropolitans (Sassen 214). The resulting transformation of the world economy towards “one dominated by financial centers, global markets, and transnational firms” has ultimately placed a great emphasis on the success of individuals participating in the market economy. As global cities become central locales for the global market, immigration and migration to these global cities occur. These cities become “the terrain where people from many different countries are most likely to meet and a multiplicity of cultures come together” (Sassen 217). Eventually, all these forces impact the citizens’ psyche to the point where globalization’s effect on cities is mirrored in the individuals themselves. The stressed importance of the financial market forces a highly impersonal “how much?” mentality that alienates the populace from one another. There is also a greater psychological and cultural distance between those who are considered a part of the new global market order and those who remain outside. Subsequently, the process of denationalizing national territory and the concentration of diversity disorient, alienate, and cause a loss of identity among the citizens. Ultimately, these characteristics are translated from the societies themselves to the medium of film and embody the underlying tension of two particular films, Fallen Angels and Comrades, Almost a Love Story.

At the very beginning of Fallen Angels, Wong Chi-Ming, a contract killer, states that “the best thing about my profession is there’s no need to make any decisions.” He essentially becomes the individual that Simmel argues is “a mere cog in an enormous organization of things and powers which tear from his hands all progress, spirituality, and value” (422). In Ming’s case, his role is firmly established in the money economy of the city. The very basis of his job requires him to reduce men to numerical values, a process that only serves to alienate him further. His side job as a debt collector reinforces his role in upholding the integrity of the market economy, an entity so complex that “without the strictest punctuality in promises and services the whole structure would break down into an inextricable chaos” (Simmel 412). Yet after being shot in the arm, he decides to end his partnership, though he admits it is perfect from a business standpoint. It appears that the act of being shot results in his acceptance of a blasé attitude, one that Simmel argues “results … from the rapidly changing and closely compressed contrasting stimulations of the nerves” (414).  In his case, the act of being shot is one of the most brutal and jarring ways to stimulate one’s nerves. However, before he retracts completely, he meets Blondie, an individual desperately seeking her own individuality. Yet it is not her personal quest for differentiation that convinces Ming, but rather her chance encounter with his former partner that allows them to meet for the first time. In doing so, he decides to forsake his business partnership and chooses to fulfill his former partner’s personal favor. Ultimately, this action carries massive implications as it not only leads to his death but also represents an act of defiance toward the economic model he had previously been responsible to maintain. Unfortunately, he is unable to alter the carefully constructed system of payment for any rendered service and as a result, reduces his own life to a numerical value to maintain the fragile balance.

In direct opposition to Wong Chi-Ming’s stoic support of the market economy, He Qiwu, through his insights into the nature of the city, embodies the level of free-will that everyone in the city desires. The nature of his character is actually in direct defiance with Simmel’s description of the metropolitan citizen. He Qiwu’s decision to be his own boss stems from his inability as a mute to function normally in both market and social aspects of the city. However, he fulfills his business aspirations by breaking into other people’s shops after hours and forcing “customers” to obtain services or goods that they clearly do not want until payment is offered to leave them alone. This act clearly defies the traditional relationship between the customer and the vendor. Yet his success is important as it allows him to maintain a role in the market economy, while simultaneously transcending its highly neutral and impersonal “How much?” nature to develop an unlikely relationship with a repeat customer. The use of force is actually quite necessary to jolt his customers from their protective shell and reengage their senses. Granted, he is only successful on one occasion, but that speaks to the affect that the metropolis has on its inhabitants. He describes his mentality by saying: “We rub shoulders with many people every day. Some may become your friends, or even confidants. That’s why I’ve never given up these chances. Sometimes I’d rub till it hurts. No big deal, as long as I feel good.” While He Qiwu does indeed find the loophole in the global city’s conundrum of personalizing the market economy, he does not alter the system in any way. Such an endeavor would ultimately translate into a effort of one man against the city, which has transformed into a much greater global construct as a result of globalization. As opposed to Wong Chi-Ming, He Qiwu simply tries to carve out a personal niche. His actions are not the acceptable norm and as a result, there are many scenes in which his advances are rejected, sometimes with violent force. Yet he manages to find his own happiness in a city where monetary gain is emphasized over personal desire, which is far greater than what many metropolitans are able to accomplish.

In Chan’s Comrades, Almost a Love Story, the struggle between success in the global market economy and the pursuit of personal happiness provides the context for the love story between XiaoJun Li and Qiao Li. In doing so, the film explores many of the consequences of globalization that Sassen details within her article. However, one of the main points established initially is the difference in knowledge of the money economy displayed by XiaoJun and Qiao. XiaoJun, after he initially arrives in the city, primarily narrates through the many letters he writes to his girlfriend, Xiao-ting, back home. As a result, the separation between Hong Kong, the global city, and Wusih, a peripheral city, is established. This disparity is particularly emphasized throughout the beginning of the film. In one particular letter, he states that his monthly salary of two thousand dollars is more than that of the mayor of his hometown, which illuminates the significant economic gain that a city attains when joining the global economic order. Another example is when XiaoJun says that he will “go to a place where Wusih people have never been” and then the scene slowly cuts to the McDonald’s logo, a universal symbol for all the multinational corporations that initiated and fueled globalization. Particularly, the lack of a McDonald’s in Wusih is a strong indicator that it is a peripheral city. Once the difference between global cities and peripheral cities is clearly established, the focus is shifted to the particular market economy in Hong Kong. One of the first lessons on money that Qiao Li teaches XiaoJun is about the ATM card. She describes it as “a card for cash withdrawal. You put it into the computer. The computer spits out the money.” Her simplistic description does not fully reveal the complexities of the market, nor does it even hint at the most basic truth: the exchange system. The ATM machine is used many times throughout the film to demonstrate Qiao’s economic state, which also indirectly mirrors the economic state of the city. As she is seen with an increasing balance, the economic prosperity of the city is implied. However, when the stock market crashes and XiaoJun comments that the regulars to his restaurant stopped going due to the economy, her balance reflects the rapid decline after dropping from 32,000 dollars to only 89 dollars. Qiao, who is also a mainlander like XiaoJun, is a very goal and money-oriented individual. Along with her many jobs, she receives a commission for introducing people to an English tutoring school. This act represents her forceful attempts to establish herself in the market economy. The jobs that she holds however are considered among Sassen’s lower economic roles in the global city. Yet she desires to escape the roles set aside for the marginalized individuals of the city and gain influence through the acquisition of money. As a result, the very basis of Qiao and XiaoJun’s relationship is formed through business partnerships in her entrepreneurial excursions.  Qiao’s experience and XiaoJun’s ineptitude in dealing with the market economy is most evident during a scene in which he forgets his pin number and has his card retained by the machine while Qiao debates investing her wealth in the stock market. By forgetting his pin, XiaoJun essentially forgets one of the most important sequences of digits in a numerically based society. On the other hand, Qiao begins to think about the stock exchange, which is the market economy in its purest form. She states that “if you want to be rich in Hong Kong, you must buy stock[s] and shares.” The acquisition of stocks is thus seen as an investment into the global economy and a requirement for any attempt to gain status in Hong Kong. While XiaoJun does eventually gain a greater knowledge of money management, he never achieves the level of success that Qiao ultimately attains.

Globalization has also led to the mass migration of people from rural areas to global cities as well as migration between global centers. Yet as one transitions from a peripheral city to a global metropolis, these individuals must decide between either retaining their old identity or alienating themselves from their past to successfully assimilate into the new global society. The film begins with a train packed full of migrant workers traveling to Hong Kong. XiaoJun is seen wide-eyed and attempts to take everything in by looking everywhere as he makes awkward steps to the escalator. As he ascends up into the white light, it is akin to a journey to heaven or paradise with Hong Kong representing such an ideal. Still early into his arrival, there is an extended scene with him skipping and jumping around with a massive grin on his face. He even plays video games vicariously by watching someone else play and joins with dancers in the streets. The wide-eyed behavior is one that Simmel calls “the intensification of nervous stimulation” and is one that the metropolitan man is unable to maintain without eventually being uprooted by an overstimulation of the senses (410). Hong Kong citizens also disdain the attitude of mainlanders. As a result, upon meeting with Qiao, XiaoJun lies about not being from the mainland. She displays a strong desire to separate herself from any non-Hong Kong association. Yet in an attempt to take advantage of the large migrant population, she tries to sell Teresa Tang cassettes, which allegedly only mainlanders enjoy. Inevitably, she is unable to sell any as she did not account for the migrant’s desire separate from the mainlander image. However, the greatest irony lies in the revelation by Qiao that “actually all Hong Kong people came from the mainland.” As a result, the true desire is to attain the global ideal and renounce the regional culture, a phenomenon that mirrors the desires of the city. For the most part, the global ideal is one that is heavily influenced by western culture. Qiao stresses the importance of learning English in the city to XiaoJun by stating that he “can work anywhere if [he] know[s] English.” The usefulness of knowing English, the global language, in Hong Kong is essentially due to globalization. Western culture also presents itself when Qiao’s aunt tells him to call her only by her Western name, Rosie. Subsequently, in a conversation about the difficulties of moving to Hong Kong, Qiao states that “if you work at it, anything is possible here.” The quote is essentially the American Dream that has spread through globalization and has now become an achievable goal in any global city.

Economic forces and an attempt to distance themselves from their mainland roots ultimately influences the basis of XiaoJun and Qiao’s relationship throughout the film. XiaoJun’s bicycle proves to be a recurring symbol for one’s attachment to one’s roots. The scenes in which XiaoJun delivers food on his bike show his ability to sense the surrounding stimulation, and it is at these moments he appears happiest. When he offers a ride to Qiao, he states that when he is riding, it is as if he is “back in Wusih.” The ride prompts them to both sing happily as they pass through the busy metropolitan street. As the city noises are silenced and replaced with music, their sheer happiness becomes a critique on the busy lifestyle of the inhabitants influenced by the necessities of the market economy.  However, eventually XiaoJun finds himself becoming increasingly embedded within the goals of economic globalization and his ties with his hometown gradually splinter. Simultaneously, the emphasis on money in XiaoJun and Qiao’s relationship steadily increases. The tension amplifies dramatically when Qiao loses most of her money in the stock market crash, while XiaoJun retains most of his wealth because he did not invest. The scene in the jewelry store exemplifies the collision of tension and economic forces that had been slowly fulminating. When XiaoJun and Qiao shop for his girlfriend’s birthday present, Qiao comments that the shop workers will look down on them because of the way they are dressed. Yet he states, “But I have money. I’m really buying. … Money in my pocket gives me confidence.” Possessing money immediately brings legitimacy and assurance. However, when XiaoJun reveals that Qiao is working as a masseuse, she immediately becomes embarrassed in front of the shop worker. Though both work in the service sector, there still exists a hierarchy of respectability in the global economy. XiaoJun shows that despite having time to acclimate to the city, he still retains certain ineptitudes about the social and economic system. He asks if the complimentary chocolates were for sale and tries to get a discount on the bracelets for buying more than one. The entire interaction reveals that XiaoJun will never be able to fully immerse himself in the global society. However, Qiao, distraught over her lack of money, is one who has come to require the security of money to remain within the global economic order. When Qiao confronts XiaoJun about their intentions to come to Hong Kong, they remind themselves that they initially migrated to achieve economic success. The decision to separate to pursue their economic goals only emphasizes the demands the money market requires upon its global citizens. As time passes and XiaoJun’s bicycle gradually falls into disrepair, thereby symbolizing his withdrawal from his roots, Qiao and XiaJun eventually succeed in achieving their goals: XiaoJun is able to bring his girlfriend to Hong Kong and Qiao becomes a successful business entrepreneur. Yet, when they talk about their success, there remains an undertone of sadness in their voices. Qiao reveals that though she finally builds a house in her hometown, her mother passes away before its completion. XiaoJun, due to the stresses of his job, falls out of touch with his wife. She discusses about how he was very talkative in Wusih and how they would go on bike rides. Ultimately globalization’s stress on an economic ideal forces them to forgo their personal desires and slowly lose their relationship to those around them. However, when XiaoJun sees Teresa Tang, he runs over for an autograph while Qiao remains in the car. His excitement reveals that he still has vestiges of feelings for the world outside of the global city, whereas Qiao, who is much further engrained in the globalized economy, does not easily act atypical to the metropolitan citizen. Yet since she remains conflicted, she eventually reunites with XiaoJun due to Teresa Tang, whom develops into a recurring symbol for ties to one’s roots.

The process of globalization of cities is ultimately reflects on the individuals within the city as well. As the city becomes increasingly isolated culturally and economically from the surrounding region, its inhabitants follow in the same vein and cease their relationships with their roots. As the city gains diversity but loses its own national identity, its individuals lose their own sense of identity. As the market economy influences the city to adopt the impersonal exchange model, the individuals become increasingly alienated from their fellow citizens. As the international money economy reinforces the importance of personal wealth, the metropolitans focus on the pursuit of gain over personal desires. As all of these factors influence societies, their authority permeates the media of film, and ultimately forms important themes in the quest for love and identity.

References

Duo Luo Tian Shi. Dir. Wong Kar Wai. Perfs. Leon Lai, Michelle Reis, Takeshi Kaneshiro, Charli Yeung, Karen Mok. 1998. DVD. Kino, 2004.

Sassen, Saskia. “Whose City Is It? Globalization and the Formation of New Claims.” Public Culture 8 (1996): 205-223.

Simmel, Georg. The Sociology of Georg Simmel. Trans. Kurt H. Wolff. London: Free Press, 1964.

Tian Mi Mi. Dir. Peter Chan. Perfs. Leon Lai, Maggie Cheung, Eric Tsang. 2001. DVD. Tai Seng, 2001.

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