For a Westerner to comprehend just how singular a political and cultural figure Cantopop singer/activist/ LGBT icon Denise Ho really is, one would have to try and envision a fantasy scenario in which Lady Gaga or Beyonce were playing sellout arena concerts while also taking to the streets in frontline political demos dodging tear gas and rubber bullets. (It just wouldn’t happen, would it?)
But for Ho, who shot to pan-Asian stardom in the 2000s, buoyed by her role model, 80s Cantopop superstar Anita Mui, her militant political side was galvanized by Chinese authoritarianism creeping its way back into Hong Kong’s affairs, culminating in her leadership role in Hong Kong’s 2014 so-called Umbrella Movement. This massive public action was in response to China’s proposed extradition bill that would have effectively put Hong Kongers under a looming legal Sword of Damocles: perceived lawbreakers would face trial by the Chinese government, not domestic HK authorities.
While being an engrossing, inspirational personal story, Denise Ho: Becoming the Song is also a documentary that may well have something to teach the West about what a true “cancel” culture really looks like when its oppressive years grind into motion. As soon as Ho’s involvement with the Umbrella revolution became global news, not only was she shut out of the incredibly lucrative Chinese market—banned from playing any venue in China and her music pulled from Chinese cyberspace—but her corporate sponsors, like the French Lancome perfume company, for instance, followed suit, siding with Chinese totalitarianism in cutting ties with Ho for nothing more than advocating for Hong Kong and Tibetan independence.
But as we learn in the film, Ho’s reaction to being squeezed out of the Asian market is to take up an independently funded world tour, playing major world cities like London and NYC while, on the side, making appearances at the United Nations roundtable, raising awareness of the Chinese government’s appalling human rights record and even requesting they be excluded from the Human Rights Council.
Becoming the Song is an eye-opening look at the kind of real transformative power celebrity political activism could have if wielded with as much conviction and tact as Ho has shown over the years. Highly Recommended. Aud: C. P.