The Gesture I
Filmed in 1985 in Hong Kong and Taiwan, Mr. Vampire is a classic Chinese-language zombie film. Mr. Vampire subtly combines the genres of Kungfu, Thriller, and Comedy, spawning an almost overnight box office sensation in the Hong Kong and Taiwan film industries. Wearing court robes from the Qing Dynasty with their ghostly visages, the zombies in the film have also been understood as metaphors for “the other” and “fear.” In the 1980s, when Hong Kong and Taiwan’s economies were taking off, the film projected the public’s fear and anxiety about the other and uncertainty about the future. Even now, with the changing times, the root causes of anxiety about the transformation of political identities, immigration, and epidemic invasion have not been eliminated.
The lecture performance The Gesture I appropriates nine gestures in Taoist exorcism rituals used by the master (played by Lam Ching Ying) in the film, to fight demonic powers: Power, Energy, Harmony, Healing, Intuition, Awareness, Dimension, Creation, and Absolute, exploring the cultural representation in Chinese zombie films and how they can be used as a possible way to respond to contemporary anxieties.
Sketch of The Gesture I © Chen Liang-Hsuan & Musquiqui Chihying
