One of my biggest, yet perhaps unwarranted, fears in life is dealing with administrative friction, like losing a passport, filing the wrong tax documents, or getting stuck at the security checkpoint, etc. One with a cool head may think it is so silly to freak out over making a mistake in the paperwork, because ifContinue reading “Uncertified Fear”
Author Archives: Natalie Ngai, Ph.D.
A multiple academic writing award winner, now writing a book on cuteness. I sow seeds in my semi-private notebook (www.writedangerously.com) to grow evergreen ideas.
Against Artificial Time
“You are too young to be a professor!” I could almost always surprise new acquaintances when I told them I was a university professor, especially a tenure-track one. I was genuinely thankful for their compliments; however, the almost universal response I got from different people when they first learned about my profession prompted me to muse on a fundamental human condition: our battle with time. People were often amazed by how much I had achieved at such a young age, as if accomplishing more in less time were always better. True, who wouldn’t want to be a genius? Nevertheless, if we think more deeply, the timeline we are accustomed to measuring ourselves against is indeed artificial. And that artificial timeline, which substituted standardized time for more natural, organic time, serves the interests of those who already have more resources.
Girls with Guns: The Kickass Asian Cowgirl
“Where is the Asian cowgirl?” I grew up watching a lot of Hong Kong cinema and TV shows featuring badass, kickass female characters. These characters might not always be visible in big mainstream films, but they are there. Michelle Yeoh, who was only recently honored with a star on Hollywood’s Walk of Fame in 2026,Continue reading “Girls with Guns: The Kickass Asian Cowgirl”
Sexiness and Intelligence
As a child, I always dreamed of becoming a beautiful, intelligent woman, much like Maggie Cheung in The Heroic Trio (1993)—spicy, bold, witty, and physically hot. I said “beautiful AND intelligent” because it is my opinion that being intelligent alone, especially being a woman, is not so attractive, and being just physically appealing is way too boring.
《尋秦記》 (Back to the Past): A Speculative Future of Hong Kong & Hong Kong Cinema
In a media world that is always chasing novelty and newness, 尋秦記 (Back to the Past) (2026) boldly orchestrates a media event for fans to indulge in the rawest Hong Kong nostalgia. The film serves as a sequel to the very popular TV show of the same name (English: A Step into the Past) (2001), broadcast onContinue reading “《尋秦記》 (Back to the Past): A Speculative Future of Hong Kong & Hong Kong Cinema”
A Sweet Tooth for Care
This might sound pathetic. One of the things I look forward to outside of work is going to the dentist. Not that I am a masochist; I hate pain, and I always ask for extra doses of anesthesia for the simplest filling. I am even very much bothered by just the drilling sounds during cleaning.Continue reading “A Sweet Tooth for Care”
Being Big Isn’t the Same as Being Free
“Go big or go home!” Expats like me traveled across continents and endured a lot of bullshit along the way to build a career in a foreign land. It is only natural that we aspire to be big—recognition, popularity, money, and power—things our home can hardly offer. Yet, so much evidence in my recent everydayContinue reading “Being Big Isn’t the Same as Being Free”
Beyond Interpretation
There is one “occupational hazard” of being an academic: I have developed a propensity to interpret things, sometimes even before I have the chance to experience them. By interpretation, I mean finding an explanation or making a point when I come across something interesting. This habit of interpreting, which is an acquired taste after all,Continue reading “Beyond Interpretation”
Making Things from Scratch
To start off, I sincerely want to say THANK YOU to all my subscribers. You chose to make the effort to enter your email here and committed to receiving notifications when I deliver my half-baked ideas to the world. This is NOT something most people would want to do in the social media era, whereContinue reading “Making Things from Scratch”