Although HK pop culture is a collective illness and a chronic disease, it is saving Hong Kong as well as killing it. As HK's political, economic and social condition has been pretty depressing in the last few years, without this easily digestible gossip, ordinary life would have been quite empty. If we didn't have Canto-pop, karaoke, pirated CDs and VCDs, gossip magazines and tabloids, what would we have? Synthetic pop culture is everything to us and perhaps, after-all pop stars are saviours of the currently beleaguered city.

THE CONTENT OF POP
Is there any difference between Canto-pop stars and computer generated virtual idols, or product characters such as Hello Kitty? How much are they manipulated, packaged and designed? What is the meaning of the Canto-pop songs we listen to again and again? Why do we sing the meaningless lyrics in karaoke clubs time after time? When we buy a CD, are we buying the songs? The idol? The packaging? Or the souvenir mouse pad, perfume, restaurant coupon, 60 pages photo album, promotional CD-ROM, calendar, stickers or key holder?
Pop stars are a multi-functioning medium in society, providing all manner of services. At the same time they offer no comment or standpoint. This no comment, no standpoint philosophy of survival, is applied to everything in our culture. It leads to a culture in which we consume and absorb,
too naive and has no real content. Our pop stars (role models) are unreliable and Karaoke-pop deadens our minds and sensibilities. Our collective memories are full of junk.

FROM POP TO ETERNITY
After years of affection by sickening pop and politics, HK people have become humble and speechless - essentially they have given up. Without a sense of self-consciousness, we are mentally numb, passively accepting nothingness, making no effort to seek potential alternatives. The hopelessness of HK people has led to a lack of progress in the city. Moreover, the media are customer driven, re-selling and re-cycling successful products with all-encompassing promotions which manipulate trends. The result is that only the most popular items are available and there are no alternatives.

Sales figures lead the cultural direction. Any inspiration is very limited. That's why we have identical songs, identical magazines and identical citizens. Everywhere there are posters, flyers and billboards persuading us to sing but no one encouraging us to think. It's one-way gossip but no two-way debate. Beguiling promotion but no inspiring criticism. We have a lack of intellectual dialogue. Our consciousness, feelings, ideas and opinions are too used to being guided and decided by a media which has no sense of responsibility, no professionalism nor dignity. We are not individuals and we cannot live our lives in our own way. We have no personal future. Ultimately, we have all become by-products, manufactured and manipulated by the pop culture industry.

Canto pop star Gigi Leung on the cover of our 2nd issue
photo: Ann Woo