Analysis Of Farewell My Concubine

Issues concerning masculinity and sexuality had been a prominent topic across China’s cultural and political agendas, especially given the rise of featuring homosexuality in films during the late 20th century. Arguably, male homosexuality acted as a catalyst in the creation of new representations of “celluloid comrades” or tongzhi previously left unexplored by Chinese filmmakers. On the other hand, it has enticed a society that has deeply engrained cultural norms resulting in cultural violence in relation to homophobia. In turn directly challenged the rules of normality and the pre-dominant force of heterosexuality, yet many argued that it was never a sexual problem. Farewell My Concubine exemplifies that homophobia is the product of an institutional

Zhang (1999) compares this scene to a eunuch’s castration as neither of them consented and were forced to live a life that was not of their intent. Chen further emphasized Douzi’s tenacious and persistent resistance against this change by deliberately singing “I am by nature a boy, not a girl”, instead of “I am by nature a girl, not a boy” (Zhang, 1999). The brutal ravage of his mouth with a brass pipe illustrates a powerful sexual awakening albeit one that is painful and humiliating. Douzi’s transformation into Dieyi is an ultimate representation of feminine qualities such as loyalty, submissiveness and above all a sacrifice that he was willing to take (Chen, 1993). One could argue that Douzi had no other choice considering his inability to refuse the master’s order further highlighting Chinese cultural norms. All the above scenes attempted to placate audiences into understanding a relationship between two men while underling traditional Chinese’s ideological norms. Hence, the audience can justify that Dieyi’s sexuality is a direct result of the environment that he was brought up in as it also attests to people’s rejection and fear of homosexuality (Chen,

As Douzi is often seen in female costume and makeup, many have regarded him as a woman trapped in a man’s body, regardless of whether he is on stage or not (Chow, 1995). Reality has refused to recognize him for what he actually is, a gay man merely smitten for a close friend and fellow actor. Bound by the heterosexual patriarchy Douzi is at odds as he is unmoved by a woman’s assets nor subjected to other men’s sexual desires, but instead became a force that threatens to collapse the pillars of heterosexuality (Zhang, 1999). However, the two main characters represent a traditional balance that was able to address Chinese dominant theology as Xiang Yu was the dominant masculinity whereas Douzi is subjected to subservient femininity (Chow, 1995). Douzi’s journey can be summarized through his transformation to a woman at the demand of the state and then ostracized for the sake of normality. Chow (1995) argues that a system that punishes homosexuality and feminity but normalizes polygamy and concubine customs is rather archaic and holds no value within a contemporary