Analysis of the Chinese Film: Raise the Red Lantern - Essay Example

A Review of the Chinese Film RAISE THE RED LANTERN INTRODUCTION The Chinese film Raise the Red Lantern is a highly acclaimed film released in 1991 that merited Best Foreign Language film awards from six international film festivals and award giving bodies between the years 1991 to 1993. It also got a nomination for best foreign language film in the 1992 Academy Awards. (Source: Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raise_the_Red_Lantern) Political Background in the Creation of the Film Raise the Red Lantern started filming in year 1989 that coincides with the repression or the controlling measures done by the government of the People’s Republic of China on the demonstrations of Chinese students, intellectuals and labour activists in Tiananmen Square which highly criticized the governance of the Chinese Communist Party (Source: Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia., http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiananmen_Square_protests_of_1989). The said protests ended into violent suppressions of protesters and their supporters that merited international criticisms on the government of the People’s Republic of China. The film was filmed amidst the Warlord Era in China which covers the period 1916 to 1930. This era in the Republic of China’s history is characterized by division within the country with conflicts among different military groups. (Source: Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warlord_era). It was also during the Warlord Era, particularly in the late 1930s, that the concubine system continues to flourish in China where wealthy men got many mistresses living in the same household where they rule. Modern times interpret concubine system from “concepts which place man’s position higher than woman’s” (Source: Shanghai Star, 2004.When Women Held the Whip. http://app1.chinadaily.com.cn/star/2004/0115/cu18-1.html). Cinematic Overview The following is the cinematic overview of the film pertaining to its production. Type of Literary Work: Film Adaptation of the Novel Wives and Concubines Title of Film: Chinese Title: Dà Hóng Dēnglóng Gāogāo Guà English Title: Raise the Red Lantern Writer(s): Ni Zhen for the Screenplay Su Tong for the Novel Wives and Concubines Director: Zhang Yimou Main Characters: Songlian – a young gal who become the fourth mistress of a wealthy man Meishan - third mistress Zhuoyun – second mistress Yuru – first wife Master Chen – Husband, Wealthy Man Doctor Gao – Family Doctor Yaner – Songlian’s servant Date Shown: September 1991 SYNOPSIS Beginning The main character, Songlian decided to be one of the concubines, the fourth mistress exactly, of a wealthy landlord. She is forced to take this decision after the death of her father which left the family financially problematic which prompted her to stop her college schooling and find easy and immediate way to solve the family’s financial problem. Her stepmother influenced her to decide on becoming the warlord’s fourth mistress. Songlian then live within the house of the wealthy landlord. She was treated pompously at first by the wealthy landlord and his servants. Mr Chen, the wealthy landlord, regularly visits her every night at her room. A red lantern is usually lit to show that he is visiting a particular mistress for a certain night, hence, the title of the movie. Start of Conflict The conflict in the film started when Songlian realizes that she needs to compete heavily against the other concubines to get attention from Mr. Chen and his servants. Thus, she has to play the games of politics and competition with the other concubines to get the favour of Mr. Chen. She even has to fight with a servant, Yaner, who tries to betray her confidence to Mr. Chen by conniving with Zhuoyun, the second mistress, to uncover the plot of Songlian into fooling Mr. Chen that she is pregnant just to ensure continuous favour from him. In retaliation, Songlian unfolded Yaner’s plot of becoming a mistress of Mr. Chen which led to her punishment that eventually killed her. Songlian eventually grew tired of competing with the concubines and spent more time by herself in solitude and depression. She got drunk during her birthday which led her to reveal that Meishan (the third mistress) and Doctor Gao (the family doctor) are having an illicit affair. Zhuoyun then reported this information to Mr. Chen who ordered Meishan to be hanged to death as what old tradition dictates. Songlian witnessed Meishan’s death which prompted Mr. Chen to tell her that she saw nothing on what the servants did to Meishan. This incident terribly affected her emotionally. Ending The end of the film showed a new concubine arriving at the Chen’s household while showing Songlian as an insane woman walking uselessly within the compound. CRITICAL REVIEW Question for Discussion: To what extent did the film addressed the following statement of Lu Xun in his own preface to “Outcry” (Nahan zixu) for “Raise the Red Lantern”: “In his own preface to "Outcry" (Nahan zixu) Lu Xun once described China as a hermitically sealed iron house which contained a host of sleeping victims, about to suffocate, albeit unknowingly. If one were to create a commotion by yelling and screaming, this might only serve to cause the lighter sleepers to suffer the agony of realizing their impending death.” (Source: Lu Xun, Nahan Zixu (Preface to call to arms) in selected works of Lu Xun, trans. YANG Xianyi and Gladys YANG, Beijing: Foreign Language Press, 1980, vol.1, p33-38) Analysis of the Quote in Relation to the Film The following is the analysis of the film in relation to the quote provided by Lu Xun using representations or symbolism in the film’s characters and scenes. The Character of Mr. Chen The character of Mr. Chen if taken in the political context and representation of the film represents the government of The Republic of China who rules over his household with an iron hand dictating what the members of his household must act and believe. This is clearly represented by the scene where Mr. Chen talks to Songlian after she witnessed Meisha’s hanging to tell her that she did not see anything insinuating of dictating her to think and be silent on any injustice that she had witnessed else she will suffer the same fate of Meisha. The characterization of Mr. Chen also symbolizes the power that he holds just like the people sitting in power in the government of The Republic of China that makes them in the position to take command of people’s lives making them victims of their power without even realizing it since most of them are just concerned of getting a piece of their attention to make their lives better. Thus, they become unrealized victims who eventually will grow tired of the system of favouritism and discrimination they are into. The Characters of the Concubines The concubines’ characters symbolically represent the citizens of The Republic of China who have to endure their situation of being under the command of a domineering being that influences their ability to relate with each other and their ability to enjoy their lives. Each of the three concubines represents different types of citizenry of the country which serves as a microcosm of Chinese Society. Songlian represents the economically challenged citizens that have to endure going through decisions that they do not want just to help make their families financially stable. Thus, they just accept what is happening to them as long as they earn and able to keep their families put meal into their tables. Sometimes they even resort to uncompromising tactics just to maintain their status of continuously earning for themselves and their families. However, later on they grew tired of what they are being subjected to and like Songlian realizes the insignificance of what they are doing and grew depressed and become a loner that eventually makes them immune to their political surroundings since they believed they cannot do anything as they are tied to the strong sense of tradition and influence of power hovering around them. Meisha represents the schooled citizenry trained professionally on their abilities such as being an opera singer, an office worker, among others. Like the citizens represented by the character of Songlian, these types of citizens still have no freedom given their professional affluence in the face of the iron hand governance of The Republic of China. However, given their ability to seek independence they try to go against what the iron hand government commands as represented by the affair Meisha had with Dr. Gao in the film. This defiance to the tradition of sobriety to power resulted to their untimely deaths where no witnesses will ever dare to stand up to prove these victims fate in fear of retaliation. Thus, justice for their deaths or uncalled punishments is buried with them. Zhuoyun represents the sector of the citizenry who are always strategizing to make their lives safer and their interests protected. Thus, they do not bother with the macro impact of their situation as well as the general repressive condition of their environment as long as their interests are protected. These are the types of people who can go to the length of betraying others just to protect their good dealings with the government and its entities thereby protecting their lives. These are actually people who are afraid or insecure of what will happen to them given the repressing situation they are in within the government’s rule. Thus, they try to show the government that they are trustworthy by blowing the whistle of other people’s plans to betray the government by becoming its eyes and ears in the community they live as what Zhuoyun did that revealed Meisha’s unfaithfulness to Mr. Chen leading to her death. These concubines, though they are different from each other, are all victims of the repressing rule of the government without their knowing. They react differently to this rule leading to different sets of reactions to an imperial power. The Characters of the Servants The characters of the servants represent people working under the government who serve as its executioners for the injustices it commits. They can be represented by the army, the political bureaucrats and government employees who are bound to serve and implement what the government wants to do. This group of people are actually unknowing victims of the iron hand rule of the government who is using their loyalty to impose injustice in society consequently tainting their own characters and impressing doubts on their abilities to provide justice to the direct victims of injustice of the iron hand government. The character of Yaner, for example, represents a servant not loyal to her master but to her own agenda which is advance her own interest within the government. Relating it to the macro situation in a political setting, her character represents government employees who have their own agenda to move into the ladder to the point of ruling over certain people if not the country itself. However, some of them get busted for their true intentions due to the culture of distrust and connivance they are in which leads to their own punishment or deaths. Conclusion Raise the Red Lantern looks like a simple film about concubines’ situation in a household. However, given the strict media monitoring in The Republic of China intellectuals like film makers have to be improvise or become ingenious in their expression of showing the political climate in their countries. Thus, audience have to be critical of the message within the movie to arrive at its allegoric interpretation and relationship to the country’s political climate. The movie answers the quote provided by Lu Xun regarding the iron hand rule of The Republic of China. However, one has to be highly critical of the film to find such correlation of political expression and its relevance to current situation of the society. Read More