Produced during the communist era in China in 1991, Raise the Red Lantern is an intriguing film that keeps you guessing till the end. It is clear that the director of the film; Zhang Yimou, used the plot of the movie which is about a master and his four concubines, to represent something deeper beyond its showing. The director used this plot as a metaphor to criticize the Chinese government at the time, and that is why the screening was banned during that time. The movie itself has a way deeper meaning than just the life of a wealthy man and his four concubines. For example, the wealthy man represents the Chinese government, and his concubines represent the Chinese people. In addition, it is clear why this movie was banned in China. Because to a certain extent it promotes disobedience and disloyalty to the government, and because of this, the government did not want to allow the screening of a movie that promoted such values. The movie starts with a young 19-year-old girl becoming the fourth concubine of this wealthy man. From the very beginning, she dislikes the situation she is …show more content…
Punishment comes when the concubines, who represent the people, disobey the master, who represents the government. On the other hand, when the concubines obeyed the system the master rewarded them by feeding them the meal of their choosing and spending the night with them. The general teaching of this movie is: “obey and you shall be rewarded. Disobey and you shall be punished.” During the 20th century, the Chinese government wanted to promote blind obedience to them from the people, and when Zhang screened a film that showed defiance towards the system, the government did not want to risk it in allowing its screening, which could’ve caused turmoil around the people because it would’ve pointed out the dark truths behind the government’s
In the epilogue to The Death of Woman Wang, we see several ways in which Chinese culture determined the sentence meted out to the Jens by Huang. False accusation of innocent persons was a capital crime in 17th century China, punishable by death. The Jens, however, were not executed. The largest factor in sparing the younger Jen, was based around the cultural importance placed on continuation of family lines and the strict ways in which this could acceptably happen. China was not only patriarchal, but also patrilineal.
In the text “Seeing Red: American Indian Women Speaking about their Religious and Cultural Perspectives” by Inés Talamantez, the author discusses the role of ceremonies and ancestral spirituality in various Native American cultures, and elaborates on the injustices native women face because of their oppressors.
In today’s world, many societies would treat the children indifferently, caring for them and respecting them as an individual. However, in the Qing Dynasty, the gender of the child made a huge difference. This is viewed in The Story of the Stone by the children of the several concubines and how they are able to progress through society. Boys born through concubines are able to reach a place of power in the instance that a male child that is going to be the heir of a royalty or family dies. Therefore, the next male child would fill in to place, including concubine’s children. This is another example throughout The Story of the Stone of the differences in gender relations. Men are able, despite being the child of a mistress, to prevail in society during the Qing Dynasty due to their gender. Males are able to assume positions of power in their life despite who their mother is. Women who are born from a concubine, however, do not have such opportunities, and are viewed as just another girl in the family, and will never have the chance to excel from just being the daughter of a mistress. This shows the Dynasty’s lack of respect for women as a gender in a powerful position as the head of a family or ruling. Girls in the Qing Dynasty did not get the same opportunities as men, as seen above when it comes to positions of
The film is at first glance a story about a woman, Marion, on the run
A young socialist group was created by the name “Red Guards” are hunting down “capitalist-roaders” who are guilty of the “Four Olds” which is old customs, old habits, old thoughts, or old culture. This is shown when the village chef comes for Fugui to get rid of the puppets because everyone knows that they are part of the old culture and though the puppets remind Jiazhen of her son Yongqing, the family burns the puppets. The audience is shown that the Communist party has infiltrated people’s houses and propaganda is even in the marriage song between Fengxia and Erxi. It is known that by this time the Revolution is at it’s strongest. Education is depicted to not matter and that proves to cause a disaster as later in the film during Fengxia’s childbirth the doctors are all gone and only the students are left. It is noticed that these students are all young woman and the Communist party is trying to make gender roles equal for these young woman, however it is clear that since the doctors were the only ones educated to help this puts the death of Fengxia who dies of blood loss after giving birth to her son Mantou. Fengxia who is mute and considered back in China as a disability in Chinese culture as a “dishonor” since disabilities was considered that no doctor or nurse would that treat them, manly because they did not know how. This part in the film is symbolic to this part of China during that time as it shows both children, Youqing and Fengxia victims of the Communist Party polices. At the end, when Erxi buys a box full of young chicks for his son, which they decide to keep in the chest formerly used for the shadow puppet props. Implies the history of Puppetry in Chinese culture such as it was made for an emperor who had lost a loved one and so an Official made a shadow puppet of her and when presenting it to the emperor he was overjoyed that he could see his loved one again.
We make important choices everyday that can affect our futures. Whether it is deciding what to eat for lunch or deciding what college to go to, these decisions can affect our lives in many ways. Choice is the act of selecting or making a decision when faced with two or more possibilities. By making a smart choice, your health and welfare can be much better but if you make a bad choice, you future can be different than what you intended it to be. Whether it is a mild choice or a major one, choices can affect the way your life unfolds in the future. In the book, The Red Kayak by Priscilla Cummings, the main character Brady Parks is faced with a major dilemma. He has to make a decision to either turn in is friends for murder or to live
“The Red Badge of Courage” was written by Stephen Crane in 1985 as a fictional tale of a soldier of the Civil War. With its accurate depictions, readers were led to believe that Crane had at one time been a soldier. This was however not the case. Crane has a unique way of using themes and symbols in “The Red badge of Courage” to relay a very realistic portrayal of war.
There is not many a time when men like Stephen Crane come by and take the whole world by surprise. His ideas are not popular for thinkers at the time but very realistic and down to earth. In his time, his short stories were not very prevalent but were read by many people. Stephen Crane found it very difficult to make money off of them and in that way, was inspired to write vigorously even to the point of his death. Stephen Crane craved the attention and support of the people and so gave birth to Naturalism literature. Interestingly, Stephen Crane found his own voice when he wrote The Red Badge of Courage at just twenty years old, and became very famous for the novel. This war novel was followed by a tremendous amount of short stories that had nature as a main theme. Stephen Crane felt nature all around him and felt that, even as a child Methodist, nature is an overwhelming force that should not be meddled with. Stephen Crane’s religious upbringing and life-changing experience led him to incorporate recurring themes of nature in his short stories as seen in The Open Boat.
There are obvious differences within our two cultures and the way we depict gender roles. These differences show themselves in the work force, the distinct tasks performed in the home, and the privileges one receives in society. In the work force, the women of America hold many positions of importance, relatively speaking (I know that's a whole other essay). They are usually treated as equals with men and there are few jobs from which they are excluded, again for the sake of argument. In China, women are expected to stay at home and are not permitted to be in a work force that is held exclusively for men. They are assigned the role of housewives and must stay at home to clean the house and raise the children. Women in America receive education that will prepare them for the high paying jobs of a professional, all while the women in China are obeying the orders from their husbands and culture. The films portrayal of these particular gender roles are very evident. We can't forget however, that this was a western made film and in my opinion I feel that it tends to exaggerate the gender roles. I'm not saying that they are not present, because there is a definite inequality. I just keep in mind that it is a film and has to have an audience appealing theme.
Zhu Ying was a member of the military’s theatre troupe, and about to be a member of the party, until she refused to sleep with party members. After that, they transferred and then imprisoned her. While her role in the military could have made Zhu Ying an androgynous figure, an emblem of communist gender equality, the party’s expectation that she have sex with party members makes her a sexual object, which is its own form of feminization. Zhu Ying is allowed to retain her femininity only if she consents to being a sexual object; when she does not, she is sent to be a laborer, and later imprisoned. Moreover, by being separated from her boyfriend, her chance at domestic happiness is taken away. After imprisonment, she has no opportunity to fill the traditional female role of marriage and children (which she may or may not have desired). Thus, the party halts the “natural” order of marriage and
A newly enlisted rookie by the name of Henry Fleming battles his own wits as well as the attacking Confederate army in the fictional novel, The Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane. Tormented by doubts of his own bravery, his fears come true, and he flees from battle. He runs from the scene only to be taken away to a day of weariness and struggles whilst making it back to camp. As the story progresses, he learns from his mistakes, grows out of his fears, and later turns out to be one of the bravest soldiers of all. In The Red Badge of Courage, by Stephen Crane, Henry Fleming is determined, curious, and brave although first fearful.
Reading the story “Sunzi and the Emperor’s Concubines” was about Ch’i state native, Sun Tzu who trying to prove to Ho Lu, the king of Wu, that his theory of managing soldiers was affective. When Sun Tzu was demonstrating to Ho Lu his techniques, the two concubines he was using at the time did not pay attention. They did not do anything they were supposed to do which made Sun Tzu look bad. After this, Sun Tzu wanted to have them beheaded because of their behavior, but the king was resistant. These were his favorite concubines, and to have them beheaded would be tragic. Sun Tzu did not listen to the king and the concubines were beheaded. This resulted in two others having to fill in. In this story there is an overall concept that can be
The bride is described as a lost girl. She is getting married to a man who comes from a family with fortunes just the same as her. Although she is marrying him, she is also in love with another man, which is Leonardo. The bride tries to deny her love for him after he got
The feature of Chinese corporal punishment was torture which causes physical injury or amputation in criminals, and the characteristics of the penalty presented gradually through time. Corporal punishment has been China since BC 2000 ago, but the maturation period were in the Zhou dynasty (BC1046-BC249). There were four kinds of corporal punishment: “Mo” which is lettering on offenders’ body, “Yi” which is cut off the criminal’s nose, “Fei” which is to cut off the foot of lawbreakers, and finally, “Gong” which is castrate the criminals. Those penalties were aiming to create an amputation, humiliation and suffering on the wrongdoers (Fu,1993,p.109). Nevertheless, those penalties were abrogated after the Nan-bei dynasty (AD420-AD589), and the main corporal punishment became physical injury, such as flogging. Even though the punishment still intend to humiliate and torture the convict, it is less bloody and unrecoverable.
The movie starts off where one the characters is held at gun point. Of course we all wonder how he got there, so the narrator takes us back to where it all starts. We meet an unnamed character who has insomnia. We learn about his life and that he lives a pretty decent life. Of course, we would not have a movie if our main character was content with his life. There needs to be more conflict. Due to his insomnia, he takes up going to support groups that help people in need (i.e. men with testicular cancer, alcoholics, and dying people). He soon notices a lady named Marla Singer who is showing up at the same support groups he goes to even the one for testicular cancer. He catches onto her game simply because she shows up there. Later on he is on a business flight and meets another character named Tyler Durden who is very interesting. Our noname character gets home to find that someone has blown-up his condo, so he decides to call his “single serving friend” from the plane ride.