Cultural Activism during the Hong Kong Umbrella Movement

Abstract

Situated in Hong Kong’s post-colonial context of political crisis, this article attempts to investigate the unfolding of cultural activism during the Umbrella Movement occurred in 2014. This 79-day occupy protest, triggered by the government’s restriction on universal suffrage, has released protesters’ creative potentials in performing their struggles through a variety of aesthetic forms and practices. Questioning the traditional way of conceiving protest movement in terms of violent confrontations with government or instrumentalism, this article addresses the performative role of cultural activism which has been largely ignored in the study of Hong Kong protest movement. Rather, we argue that the creative practices enacted during the Umbrella Movement constitute in themselves the message that contains its own politics and grammars. These practices have constructed the meaning of the movement through naming, and have created the collective joy and identity among participants in the formation of movement solidarity. This article suggests that cultural activism is the spirit and soul of the Umbrella Movement, which has opened up a temporary yet crucial political space for democratic struggle.

Subjetividad política y expresión pública digital entre actores de la sociedad civil en Guanajuato

“…En estos, se da cuenta de reconfiguraciones en el espacio público, con la incorporación de lo digital y las posibilidades de interacción (Ferrari, 2018;Flores-Márquez, 2017;Jackson, Bailey & Foucault, 2017;Martini, 2017;Matheson, 2018;Neumayer & Rossi, 2018;Roslyng & Blaagard, 2018;Siapera, Boudourides, Lenis y Suiter, 2018;Wang & Chu, 2017). Esto da lugar a transformaciones en los imaginarios y las prácticas que las y los activistas despliegan en internet (Barnard, 2018;Patsiaouras, Veneti, Green, 2018;Treré, Candón-Mena, Sola-Morales, 2021;Weij & Berkers, 2017;Wong & Liu, 2018). Sin embargo, emergen también los riesgos, como el de la vigilancia corporativa y gubernamental (Uldam, 2018).…”

In sight, in mind: Spatial proximity to protest sites and changes in peoples' political attitudes

“…Meanwhile, the protestors continually diffused the information on the movement meaning and their actions also demonstrated a feeling of solidarity, consequently gaining public recognition and resonance (Wong & Liu, 2018).…”

“…On the night of 28 September, the police fired 87 rounds of tear gas to try to drive unarmed protestors away, which was considered to be excessive force, shocking citizens and mobilising additional protestors who had not intended to participate in the movement (Cai, 2016 ; E. W. Cheng & Chan, 2017 ). Meanwhile, the protestors continually diffused the information on the movement meaning and their actions also demonstrated a feeling of solidarity, consequently gaining public recognition and resonance (Wong & Liu, 2018 ). Particularly, the iconic slogans and symbols, such as umbrellas used to protect protestors from the tear gas and yellow ribbons, became widely recognised by general public.…”

The symbol of social media in contemporary protest: Twitter and the Gezi Park movement

“…Contemporary protest movements and advocacy groups appreciate the value of visual communication that is instant, recognisable and impactful in an increasingly fast-moving and saturated mass media. Recent examples of how protest communication approximates and borrows strategies from the world of commercial marketing and branding include the umbrellas of the Hong Kong student protests (Wong and Liu, 2018) and the ubiquitous Guy Fawkes masks that are popular with the Occupy movement (Riisgaard and Thomassen, 2016). Later in this article, we will explore the visual repertoire of a social movement, which also includes visualisations of the movement itself, both metaphorically and symbolically.…”