Women in Old and Modern Chinese Cinemas - Essay Example

WOMEN IN CHINESE CINEMAS By Student’s name Code + course name Professor’s name University name City, state Date Introduction In Chinese cinemas and movie industry, we must recognise the fact that women often feature in these cinemas as engineers of tension between traditional modernity and post-modernity forces, and this tension has not been constant because it has undergone a series of change within different periods in Chinese history. In this essay, in relation to two main female characters in The Goddess and, the notion of how these female characters are subjects of tension between modernity or post-modernity and traditional forces is discussed in detail, and how this tension has changed within different periods of the history of Chinese. The Goddess The Goddess is mainly about Stanley Kim in more than one way. She features as the main character, acting as an underprivileged lady from boondocks, bent and working hard to become a glamorous star of Hollywood. Since Kim Stanley went through the same ordeals in her life as her character trait, she is the template, in retrospect, for this particular character. Paddy Chayefsky being the writer, this story is in three acts, whereby each act bears its own title: “Portrait of a Young Girl,” “Portrait of a Young Woman,” “Portrait of a Goddess.” The heroine of “The Goddess” is Ann Faulkner Emily, performed by Patty Duke in first part or act of the story, who is nine years of age. Emily’s mom, Holland Lou Betty, is single and comes from the South and is very determined and eager to enjoy the fact that she’s single that she neglects and abandons her daughter. One among the film’s painful scenes is when Emily overhears her mom referring to her as nothing but a burden which is unwelcome. It is evident that this statement made by Emily’s mother will scar her forever (Swift, 2013) . The second act, Emily is now a flibbertigibbet of a teenager as her mother used to be, earning people’s opinion for engaging in sex with boys, the reason being that if she doesn’t do this, she may be unpopular. She then ends up getting married to a young man called Hill Steven, who is as stable as Emily is. Emily and Steven split up after she has had a baby. One among many of the movie’s moments that are less convincing is when Emily undergoes frustration concerning motherhood in exactly similar words her mom used some years ago. Because of this, she neglects her little girl, divorces her husband and goes to West Coast to follow her stardom dream (Mozuna, 2013). The third act, Emily achieves her dreams. She changes her name from Emily to Shawn Rita and learns to follow the rules of Hollywood regardless of them being cynical and sleazy. She then comes to discover that fortune and fame are not all they seem to be, neither is marrying a celebrity (Bridges Lloyd) who showers love to her but does not understand her(Hoberman, 1989). Miserable and alcoholic, she undergoes mental breakdown on some set of movie, and while Emily, at the moment Rita, recuperates with her mom’s help, now a staunch Christian, we learn that she has totally no friends or comforts, only for pills and booze. Her story attains the end on a tone full of ambiguity, suggesting that Rita will continue with the movies but will never again regain her health and the innocence she has lost (Mozuna, 2013). How Emily and her mother, Betty are subjects of tension between traditional, modernity and post-modernity forces. Betty, Emily’s mother, is a subject of tension between China tradition and modernity because of the fact that she neglected her little girl, Emily and went away to enjoy her single life. As seen in the above paragraph, Chinese marriage tradition fully appreciates marriage, child-bearing and a family. Therefore, neglecting her child and running away from her home is more of following modernity than tradition, and this brings about an element of tension (Mozuna, 2013).Emily, Betty’s daughter, creates tension between Chinese traditional and modern forces. This is evident when she carelessly engages in pre-marital sex just because of gaining popularity. The Chinese tradition values the virginity of females, denouncing pre-marital sex (Mozuna, 2013). The traditional persistence of the virginity of the female is a social norm that is important in China since it controls the behaviour of females. Emily, by engaging in pre-marital sex, creates and becomes a subject of tension between the traditional forces of the Chinese and the modern forces on the other hand(Swift, 2013). Emily divorces her husband and also neglects her baby girl. This act creates an element of tension between the Chinese tradition and modernity in that, as seen in the above paragraph, the Chinese people appreciate marriage, viewing it as a platform for fame of one’s family. Therefore, by Emily neglecting her child, she creates this particular tension since she doesn’t appreciate marriage as the Chinese tradition does (Swift, 2013). Two Stage Sisters In this film, Xie Fang who plays the character of Chunhua, some young widow whom her in-laws almost sell her away, manages to escape and afterwards ends up to be an apprentice in some travelling opera troupe, a Shoaling folk one. Cao Yindi, acting as Yuehong, who plays roles of male in all the female opera company, becomes a friend to Chunhua. After Yuehong’s father died, Yuehong and Chunhua were sold to some opera theatre of Shanghai to replace one star that was fading, Shuihua Shang, the real names being Yunzhu Shangguan. Afterwards, Yuehong fell in love with her stage manager called Tang, who was manipulative in character, resulting to the sisters quarrelling and separating (Hoberman, 1989). Chunhua afterwards continues with her career, with Bo Jiang, the woman journalist who was radical being her centre of inspiration. She did this giving a flavour of politics to every of her performances. Following an attempt to ruin and blind Chunhua by the use of the testimony of Yuehong to get her tricked in court, Tang escapes the revolution by flying to Taiwan. Being not able to hurt her sister (of stage), in court, Yuehong disappears and flies to the countryside because of shame and being neglected by Tang. After the liberation of Shanghai by Communists, chunhua succeeds in tracking down Yuehong impacting to their reconciliation (Marchetti, 1989). How Chunhua and other actresses are subjects of tension between traditional forces and modern or post-modern forces. In this film, the traditional force that creates tension is of a political type. Chunhua, performing “The White-Haired Girl” showcases resemblance to The Sacrifice of the New Year as to the Shaoxing opera which is traditional. Within this film, it purports as synthesis of new and old, The West and China, opera and spoken forms, and like the culmination of the others, mostly contradictory, currents of aesthetics referred here in the film. Although it depends on traditional opera’s stylization for its impact, it all the same tackles life in contemporary state, with current social and political concerns and current change too (Swift, 2013). Chunhua, engaging her performance in a square which is public (of Hangzhou), has made it full circle while melding a critical Realism which is Urban and of May Fourth, with the nature which belongs to folk opera that is fantastic (Marchetti, 1989). When Chunhua and Yuehong travelled to Shanghai, they bring traditional-political tension in that at this moment, this film strongly becomes a warning for capitalism and less of communism as had been its previous case. The film falls into unadulterated propaganda which bears a realm of purity, as Chunhua and other actresses struggle to support a communist play in ideal, which is supressed by the government (Hoberman, 1989). How the nature and depiction of this tension in Chinese Cinema has changed in different periods of Chinese history. In the year 1958, Zedong Mao launched the Chinese on an ambitious reform project called The Leap Forward of the Great. Designed to fasten Chinese transformation into a socialist society which is of a model type by making the power and size of urban and rural communes several in number, the program quickly collapsed and declined the e following year. In the year 1959, Zedong stepped down in favour of Shaqi Liu as the People’s Republic chairman, though Zedong remained the head of the Party of Communists (Marchetti, 1989). Paul G. Pickowicz proposes that Zedong’s loss of power temporarily and the end of the Leap Forward that was great had some noted impacts on film industry of China. Even though increase in production existed, more emphasis and stress was put on stories that were crafted carefully and quality filmmaking. As Pickowicz illustrates, an essay published in the year 1961 bearing the title “Raise our Country’s Film Art to a New Level” introduced the new period to cinema in China. Among the popular of left-wing makers of films during the Shanghai Golden Age Studios in the 1930 period, Yan Xia, had received a rise in the party ranks following the year 1949 to become the Cultural Vice Minister. Therefore, in this essay written in 1961, Yan proposes an autonomy that is great for artists, also for cinemas to be more diverse (Hoberman, 1989). Certainly, Yan’s proposals had an effect from the period between The Leap o f the Great and the Revolution of culture. This period was featured by a diversity o f tremendous type in the subject matter and form of the Chinese cinema. Productions now ranged from comedies of domestic type to dramas concerning life in the pre-revolutionary China. This period lastly came to an end following the reassertion of the power of Mao during mid-1960s (Marchetti, 1989). Work cited Cinema, C. N. (n.d.). Hoberman, J. (1989). "Two Stage Sisters. " The Village Voice", 78-98. Marchetti, G. (1989). Two Stage Sisters: The Blossoming of a Revolutionary Aesthetic”. Celluloid China: cinematic encounters with culture and society ed, 33-78. Marchetti, G. (1989). Two Stage Sisters: The Blossoming of a Revolutionary Aesthetics. Jump Cut, no. 34,, 95-106. Mozuna, K. (2013). "Goddess". The Film Company journal, 56-102. Stallings, P., & Howard, M. (1978). Flesh and Fantasy. New York: St. Martin's Press. Swift, B. (2013). "Goddess posts $512,445 opening weekend. IF.com.au. journal, 78-578. Wise, M. W. (1958). The Goddess. Ellicott City: Maryland publishers. Yingjin, Z. (2004). Chinese National Cinema. London: Routledge publishers. Read More