From Colonial History to Nostalgia in
He Ain't Heavy, He is My Brother

Being one of the most significant political issue in Hong Kong history - the signing of Sino-British Joint Declaration in 1984, was one of the reason that brought along with a various social phenomena after the mid 1980s. These phenomena included the redefining of Hong Kong cultural identity and the arisen of different representations of nostalgia in different cultural texts. To large extent, both the two social phenomena mentioned are the reflections of the time of Hong Kong colonial history. In these reflections, the emotional and allegorical messages can be noted in different texts, especially films as a cultural industry product. In this sense, it will be appealing to find out reasons or discourses to try to figure out the corresponding issue in the time line of colonial history. Looking back to the colonial history of Hong Kong, there were different events and ideological changes in affecting Hong Kong peoples' attitudes and feelings. By breaking down the motifs in the film texts during 1980s and 1990s, as the period of post-colonial, I hope to figure out a clearer concept of why and how HK nostalgia films are related to the colonial history. And further, how nostalgic sentiment is being presented in Hong Kong nostalgia films. To answer these questions, He Ain't Heavy, He is My Brother from Peter Chan and Lee Chi-Ngai, will be used to show the signifier for the relationship of colonial history and nostalgia films.

Colonial history and the building up of Hong Kong identity

People in Hong Kong are more likely to process anti-colonial sentiment in the early time of colonization. Before 1842, Hong Kong was still a fish village in the territory of Guangdong. In this sense, there may be collective conscious of realizing the identity and native history of Hong Kong or China in geographical mean. This make Hong Kong become one different example out of the colonies with pre-colonized history in the period of colonization. Then, under the British governing, certain extent of the development of culture and identity will be under control and hegemony. In which, this kind of hegemony appeared in education, social, civil service and economic aspects. In these two confronting native identity and the imposed identity, it will undoubtedly produce an anti-colonial sentiment for this cultural suppression.
Even so, by looking at the later time in the 60s, the observable consequence of 1967 riot was the further strengthening of the ground of British colonial governing. Based on the findings from Robert Mitchell in the summer in 1967[1], reasons included the pessimistic sentiment with the working place, working condition and the previous mentioned cultural hegemonic rule, were some of the undermined factors for the riot in 1967. Together with the leftist ideological influence, the atmosphere indicated the colonial governing was still unpopular in the subjective idea of Hong Kong people. But the riot leaded to a critical decision in choosing between the communism demonstrated during the Cultural Revolution from China, and the capitalism under colonialism. The colonial governing was really a better choice. This kind of contradiction will give the contrast with the previous anti-colonial sentiment. However, the development of local and native sense and identity was not under the high pressure colonial ruling.
The initiation point of the local sense of Hong Kong was come from the rebelling students' activities and the blooming of economy in 60s to 70s. With the constraints of the colonial government, those activities gave the self identification people and public in the struggling against colonial government. While this identification continued in the struggle of the large number of Chinese refugee and immigrants in 50s. The period of 70s was the time of mobilizing and struggling of the whole family at work especially at the time in the rapid growing of manufacture industries. This hard working group of Chinese immigrants gave rise to the 'sense of Hong Kong' in the place - Hong Kong, with number of opportunities. In additions, many immigrants brought along with capital, talents, labor forces and technologies to Hong Kong and successfully transformed Hong Kong in the process of modernization. Overall, the local sense should be based on larger portions of economic factors, instead with centered in political or anti-colonial sense. This gave the reason to explain the weakness to have a clear request in the signing of Sino-British Joint Declaration.
80s to 90s was being the most subtle period of the relation between the colonizer and the colonized because of the 1997 issue. This situation was mainly because of the signing of Sino-British Joint Declaration which was not under the consensus between Hong Kong people and the colonial government. And together with the pessimistic and doubtful future after the handing over of Hong Kong to China. The unstable future leaded to the emigration trend in 90s to some place like Canada and Australia, even though the economic situation of these places were worse than Hong Kong at the same time. In order words, people in Hong Kong were being marginalized in-between the 'betrayal' of colonial government and the ideology of mainland China. This gave the ambivalent perception for Hong Kong people in the periodic of 80s to 90s.
Out of all, the declaration signified the upcoming political system changes and most importantly, the unpredictable social-cultural changes which brought along with the decolonization of Hong Kong.

Style and presentation of He Ain't Heavy, He is My Brother

As mentioned previously about the subtle or ambivalent relationship between colonizer and colonized, this form of sense has been presented in 80s to 90s Hong Kong cinema. Out of the different groups of nostalgia films classified by previous scholars, I would like to point out one particular group: the recycling of the 1950s and 1960s film titles or story events, for instance, He Ain't Heavy, He is My Brother (later express as 'He Ain't Heavy' in short). Then I try to point out the significant through showing the presentation and style of the film.

     Time setting of He Ain't Heavy, He is My Brother

Hong Kong nostalgia cinema were commonly considered as postmodern pieces and historical depthless. He Ain't Heavy used the style of 'back to the past' in a fantasy way and came to the period of 60s. Just as stated prior, the period of 60s was the time that Hong Kong was under industrial economy and the readily transformation to financial economy. This period as the golden age under colonial times is the most time for what we are talking about as 'Hong Kong Power'. And that's why people said Hong Kong is full of opportunities at that period of time. In the Policy Address 1996[2], Chris Patten commented on the successful stories of Hong Kong people was because of the precise British governing, the talent and hardworking character of Chinese people which made those successful stories possible. However, this was only the ideology imposed on Hong Kong people if those stories were put to test. Normally in a city of capitalism, the distribution of economic capital, education and social relation will not be balanced. This means the story of opening a new business may not be as successful as promoted. But this situation still happened in the 70s as rapid economic bloom. The ideology of chance plus effort for success was only an illusion, a mirage. Coming back to He Ain't Heavy as showing the 60s, the form of representation as illustrated in the future successful story of Li Jia Cheng was in this form of ideology. Through the showing of one famous case for success, He Ain't Heavy demonstrated and represented the collective conscious of the people in that period. Also, the present of Martin Lee Chu-ming and Szeto Wah were anachronistic situated in Memory Lane. In this sense, I think this fit Jameson's idea on this pastiche style in showing only the glossy qualities with the loss of historic depth, and show the character of nostalgia films as non-rediscovery of history.

        Changing values as a metaphor for the reconstructing of identity

Together with the transformation of economy, the moral values have been changed drastically. The past story of He Ain't Heavy was constructed in a crowd apartment. This was a remake of style for The House of 72 Tenants in 70s. But this setting of the past value was in the absent of genuine reference to history as suggested by Natalia Chan.[3] In this construction, He Ain't Heavy showed a corresponding value and people relations in the period of 60s. These values focused on public and the scarification of individual, significantly contrasted with the contemporary value focused on individual instead of public. And this contrast was commonly used to signify the social setting of the 60s. On the other hand, the new contemporary value setting had been used to reconstruct a new Hong Kong identity based on the money economy. This signifier for the new Hong Kong identity fit the discourse as suggested by Blanche Chu as not the rediscovery of a native past in the sentiment of nostalgia flourishing in Hong Kong popular culture."[4] In this, I think the reconstruction of the new identity was used to condemn the hierarchy built up under the money-centered ideology and as a response for the nostalgic sentiment on the 60s economic bloom. To be more technical, this is the construction of a hyperspace by the imaginary and cinematic sign.

        Romanticization of memory

In He Ain't Heavy, the memory of the past has been illustrated as romantic and similar to the values being represented and stated prior. In this sense, I try to use the idea of moving away from traumatic experience which comes from Freud's term of screen memories[5]. Take the corruption situation of Hong Kong before the setting up of the ICAC (Independent Commission Against Corruption) in 1974 as an example: civilians in Memory Lane have to pay for the regular tips as the 'fee for tea'. In this way, I see this romanticize of naming give the sense of escaping. This form of tips was the open secrete for corruption at that period of time. Since then, it may be even better to 'legitimate' the tips as li shi (the red pockets in Lunar New Year) for the good seek for all. Undoubtedly, this allegory has demonstrated the sense of ambivalence or ambiguity at the time of 60s in He Ain't Heavy. Further, this allegory is also the signifier of the ambivalent sense of Hong Kong people during the 80s to 90s as the signing of the Sino-British Joint Declaration.        Even though the past was romantic, but rational conscious tell Hong Kong people the colonial past was not the thing they aimed at.
In the last part of the He Ain't Heavy, Chu Yuen's voiced as a voiceover on thinking about the time of regret for everyone and willing to go back to the past. Yet, the director, Peter Chan, reassures those previous memories were the treasure of past people. With the same style of the romanticization of the past memories, this form of artistic presentation is surely the particular of nostalgia films.

Concluding nostalgia with colonial history

By looking back the colonial history of Hong Kong, we see lots of clues in locating the reasons for the nostalgic sentiments in He Ain't Heavy, He is My Brother. Tracing the setting and origin of nostalgic sentiments, those sentiments are out of the boundary of genuine history, but in an imaginary form and construction. In the analysis of He Ain't Heavy, He is My Brother, nostalgia was noted as being a lucid dreaming for the imaginary past. The presentation of artistic imaginary will only be the memoir of present people for the past. In addition, the corresponding period of the colonial history provide the ground for the nostalgic sentiments to build up, and as a tight grasp for the present.

Reference
Blanche Wing-ki Chu, "The Ambivalence of History: Nostalgia Films as Meta-Narratives in the Post-Colonial Context" in Esther M. K. Cheung and Chu Yiu-wei eds., Between Home and World: a Reader in Hong Kong Cinema, 331-351.
Daisy Sheung-yuen Ng, "Screen Memories: Re-configurations of the Past in Hong Kong Nostalgia Cinema", Lee Cheuk-Yin and Hsiung Ping-chen eds., Evolving Cultural Memory in China and her Neighbours, pp.290-305.
Natalia Chan Sui Hung, "Rewriting History: Hong Kong Nostalgia Cinema and Its Social Practice" in Poshek Fu and David Desser eds., The Cinema of Hong Kong: History, Arts, Identity, 252-272.
呂大樂：<香港故事不易講／非歷史的殖民地成功故事>，《唔該，埋單!-一側社會學家的香港筆記》(香港：閒人行，1997)，頁20-31, 40-46

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[1]呂大樂：<香港故事不易講／非歷史的殖民地成功故事>，《唔該，埋單!-一側社會學家的香港筆記》(香港：閒人行，1997)，頁24
[2]彭定康(一九九六)，＜過渡中的香港--總督彭定康先生施政報告＞，香港：政府印務局。
[3]Natalia Chan Sui Hung, "Rewriting History: Hong Kong Nostalgia Cinema and Its Social Practice" in Poshek Fu and David Desser eds., The Cinema of Hong Kong: History, Arts, Identity, pp.261.
[4]Blanche Wing-ki Chu, "The Ambivalence of History: Nostalgia Films as Meta-Narratives in the Post-Colonial Context" in Esther M. K. Cheung and Chu Yiu-wei eds., Between Home and World: a Reader in Hong Kong Cinema, pp.334.
[5]Daisy Sheung-yuen Ng, "Screen Memories: Re-configurations of the Past in Hong Kong Nostalgia Cinema", Lee Cheuk-Yin and Hsiung Ping-chen eds., Evolving Cultural Memory in China and her Neighbours, pp.290