In this episode, we’ve got a guest that brings an amazing level of expertise: West Chester University professor of history Dr. Cecilia Chien joins us to talk about Fruit Chan’s noir-infused ’97 handover melodrama Made in Hong Kong. Dr. Chien has worked as a professor in Hong Kong during that handover period, making her the first guest to literally be in the time and place depicted in our film. This episode is packed full of her personal and scholarly insights.

All the nonsense about Marvin Steele is in here too.

0:00 – Cold open

1:48 – My week & Marvin Steele

5:28 – Dr. Cecilia Chien joins; Initial thoughts & ratings

12:13 – Great moments

15:41 – Directionlessness, ghosts, 1997 zeitgeist

20:19 – Headstones and colonial history

27:57 – What’s in a name?

31:06 – Broken TVs & letters

35:41 – Comparables and outro

39:57 – Preview for next show (WatchOut for the Automobile)

Abbas, A. (1997). Hong Kong: Culture and the Politics ofDisappearance. University of Minnesota Press.

Bingham, A. (2016). Doubled Indemnity: Fruit Chan and theMeta-Fictions of Hong Kong Neo-Noir. In E. C. M. Yau & T. Williams (Eds.), HongKong Neo-Noir (1st ed., pp. 77-94). Edinburgh University Press.

Buckey, R. (1997) Hong Kong: the road to 1997.Cambridge University Press.

Cheung, E. M. K. (2009). Fruit Chan’s Made in Hong Kong.Hong Kong University Press.