Great Britain brought Hong Kong under its wing in 1841. It declared the island as part of its empire until giving it to China during the next century. Yet, even as the British dismissed them, pieces of post-colonialism still linger. The instance this post will focus on is on the unstated, indirect effect on Canto-pop, or HK-pop.
Oftentimes to find what a society finds hip, looking at the trendsetters themselves is a good start. In researching various artists, I was interested to find many popular, familiar English names. Some of the band names were also words from our language; this includes Purple Nine, Twins, and Shine. The attached picture is a list of the top album sellers in 2009 for Canto-pop in Hong Kong. I was surprised to know all of the bands listed had English names and English song titles. Here, the only Chinese words were the last names of certain individuals.
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| 2009 IFPS Sales Chart, Hong Kong |
Additionally, in searching the individual artists, some also supported appearances of Caucasian people.
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| Shine |
To conclude, post-colonization happens worldwide despite the number of generations passed. Sometimes, it is as unnoticeable and subtle as the people who fill our music players. It isn't a clear insult of one party versus another, but the fundamentals of post-colonization are still present.
Wow this is a real eye opener! I had no idea that many popular Asian bands or groups had both English names and song titles. I had always thought that they would be written in their native lanuage. Very good observation Kaitlin! :)
ReplyDeleteYou know... for me, all that comes to my mind when I see these things is:
ReplyDeleteAre these people not proud of being Asian?
I don't see why such actions like hair bleaching to look more European is so popular. Sure, it may now be the trend but ultimately, I think they just have confidence issues with themselves. Establish your OWN individuality...how unoriginal...
Regardless, this is a very perceptive post. Beautifully done Kaitlin xD
Hey!
ReplyDeleteI like how you pointed out that post colonialism is not only limited to people in Europe and people in Africa. I never actually thought about it until you mentioned it.
While reading this post, I thought of fusion cuisine. Here in Richmond, it is easy to find fusion restaurants that sell Asian food with a western twist or vice versa. For example, japadogs are hot dogs with Japanese condiments on top. These condiments include Japanese seaweed, and wasabi flavoured mayonnaise. Additionally, the Starbucks restaurants in Hong Kong sell Asian desserts such as green tea cakes in addition to drinks.
But as you mentioned, this is not the result of one type of cuisine being more favourable than the other. It is just an interesting twist on food, based on the principles of post colonialism.
Hey Kaitlin!
ReplyDeleteWow, I really like how you thought outside of the box for this post; how you brought to my attention that post-colonialism isn't just directed towards people in Africa, but also to people in Asia and ultimately, any other place which Caucasians have assimilated.
I thought your example about Asian music artists was excellent. I never knew that many Asian artists dye their hair to adopt the appearance of Caucasians; I thought your observations on that was very well done.
Hannah, Danielle, Lauren, Kitty
ReplyDeletethank you for your kind comments.
it's interesting, isn't it, Hannah? In a way it's a bit sad, because as children we're taught to accept who we are and be proud of it. But then, people want to fit in and be 'cool.' It's just that celebrities are trendsetters and create the molds.
I agree with your main statement, Danielle. And not to be rude to them, but sometimes their natural hair colour beats a bleached blonde.
And Lauren, I forgot about food combinations! And in that aspect it isn't always a bad thing. I mean, so long as we don't lose our traditional flavour, change is nice.
Thanks, Kitty! I suppose i chose this topic because I strongly disapprove of how my favourite artists strive so desperately to be American.
Hello Kaitlin!
ReplyDeleteYour post was something I have noticed many times because most of the time, I will hear a song that is in a language I do not understand, there is a part in it that the singer will sing in English. Whether it be "Oh baby" or their English name for their band, I often hear English in songs of different languages.
And also, is it not curiously enough that without the language of English, you will never succeed high on the power scale of the World?
Either way, your awareness of this popped the idea of the post I wrote which is too long, in my opinion but I thank you :)
See you tomorrow at school :D