Star of as Phenomenon of Production: Economics and Manipulation

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May 4, 2018 by Gian Goda

Dayo Wong is going to hold a stand-up comedy for 28 consecutive nights in July 2018. He has announced that it would be his last show of his life. People crazed for the tickets that it seemed nothing could stop them from buying. It is not exaggerated to say the purchase of the tickets is just like a competition. And it has become a hit topic among the Hong Kong society.

Resources has pointed out the situation of ticket selling. The original price of the ticket ranges from HKD280 to HKD880, which has increased for more than 50% compared to the prices in 2014. However, the price inflation did not stop the craze of his fans. Some of them even queued overnight outside the 34 Urbtix outlets selling tickets in order to get the tickets. Of course, most of them are really fans of Dayo. However, there are also some people who buy the tickets merely for money since they can resell the tickets and earn from the price difference. The most exaggerated case is reselling a HKD880 ticket to HKD15555 which is more than 17 times of the original price. So why are the tickets so demanding? Why are people willing to spend both their time cost and money cost on the tickets?

Regarding the phenomenon of the craze for tickets, some critics pointed out several reasons. First, it is the impact of him announcing this show would be the last show which implicated audiences can no longer watch his live comedian talk show after July 2018. It is already 28 years since Dayo’s first show. And he has held 17 shows in total which is like growing up together with the people growing in Hong Kong. Therefore, many of them would like to catch the last opportunity to watch the show. But still, why do so many people want to grab this last chance? It is found that from the perspective of the audiences, the talk show is not simply a stand-up comedy. It is beyond a comedian talk show as it arouses collective memory and evokes resonance among Hong Kong residents. The topics in the show are usually of politics, social norms, workplace issues, life pressure, anxieties and phobias towards Hong Kongers, etc. Dayo always would use a casual atmosphere to express some irony and meaningful messages. He would like to enhance the authenticity by merely focusing on Hong Kong stories. Thus, he actually acts as the spokesperson of Hong Kong people which he would reflect some details in life that almost every Hong Konger would encounter. And some of his lines has became the mottos of certain fans. So, his show is unique for people growing in Hong Kong and it is authentic in the sense that stories happened in Hong Kong has become the topics rather than simply telling funny jokes.

It seems to be simply a comedian talk show, but the ideology underlined the show is actually the value and collective memories among Hong Kongers.

 

 

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