Puckish protesting in the Umbrella Movement

Abstract

The civility of Hong Kong protesters during the 2014 Umbrella Movement was often remarked on. Rather less known were the more playful and witty dimensions to the protests. Humour has always been a familiar and febrile strand in Hong Kong protest culture: puns are immensely popular, as are parodies and moments of surreal comic juxtapositions and appropriations that then take a life of its own. This article will examine two examples of madcap levity in the Umbrella Movement, including the use of the ‘Happy Birthday’ song to counter vocal on-site critics and a later and more significant shift to the Shopping Revolution, with its play on the Mandarin phrase, 購物 gòu wù (to go shopping). Humour’s specific potency here comes from an irreverent revoicing that wrests control away from dominant discourses. By redirecting attention and power away from establishment voices, marginalized and local points of view are empowered. Given recent political developments, however, humour has receded more into the shadows; the structure of feeling has altered considerably.