In the film, Beijing Bicycle, director Wang Xiaoshuai depicts several themes that are presented in matters of the youth and social issues, including class. Plus, the image that people portray themselves as. Character Guei and Jian are the faces of Beijing 's youth and alludes to the disillusion of migrants from the country. The juxtaposition of Guei and Jian is particularly their contrasting relation to the bicycle, highlights their differences in social standing and status. Social standing in China is shown in the film as Guei is a new migrant who has come to the city with hopes for better income. On the other hand, Jian comes from an upwardly motivating city family concerned with providing the children with good education. The bicycle grants …show more content…
It shows how people 's perception of others is preserved and base judgments one another. These are ideas that are displayed in every society as it is a part of the human consciousness. Guei 's first day in the job is told that he is the "companies image" and most portray that professional attitude throughout his job. In today 's society, reputation is a high standard for many social classes yet this can be different to persons cultural beliefs. For example, the "American Dream" has often been defined in terms of the ability of the average person to pursue success, and over the years that success has been symbolized by various status symbols such as a house with a white picket or in this film the bicycle. In the new booming economy of contemporary China, the "Chinese Dream" has been described in much the same way such that, "national rejuvenation, improvement of people 's livelihoods, prosperity, construction of a better society and a strengthened military." It is seen that bicycles are considered to be "cool" and "hip"—a new type of technology that has swept throughout Beijing as a new type of transportation. This is seen when all of Jians friends and the girl he likes watching a Biking competition, it is their own form of entertainment. Bearing in mind that the bicycle is a Western invention and that the recent resurgence of cycling came from beyond China 's borders however, the culture of cycling …show more content…
The divide between the country and city people in the film is indeed quite rigid as Guei discovers. City people seem to operate and exist solely to pursue wealth and money, and, in fact, equate their very happiness to the amount of money they have and possessions they own. In his transformation, Guei has to forfeit his countryside identity in order to fully assimilate into the city. An identity crisis ensues from which one may extrapolate the whole of China is suffering—an alleged communist society practicing capitalism and plastering advertisements on any available space eyes may glance at as a mere boy navigates its streets absolutely full of people who care more about money than morality. During this period, modernization is quite a weird process in Beijing. A large amount of emphasis is placed upon smoking cigarettes in order to look cool and fit in. Even the poorest of poor people have access to toothpaste and insist on brushing their teeth incessantly—almost as if doing so elevates their social status and makes them appear urbaner and "civilized." Guei assimilates into city life, undergoes a transformation process learning how to deal with revolving doors and smoking cigarettes, and a rather apt distinction is embodied by the characteristics of the city poor versus the city rich. The movie
The purpose of The Last Train Home may seem identical to a typical documentary film, where the director sets out to raise awareness on a certain issue of importance. However, as the film progresses, the political subtext is revealed. The sincere intention of this film is to convey a message regarding the harmful effects that western consumerism has on the Chinese society. By doing so the director Lixin Fan, tries to make American viewers to sympathize with the problems of China’s industrial revolution, and feel partially responsible for supporting it through the products we
This is evident in the persistence of elderly characters, such as Grandmother Poh-Poh, who instigate the old Chinese culture to avoid the younger children from following different traditions. As well, the Chinese Canadians look to the Vancouver heritage community known as Chinatown to maintain their identity using on their historical past, beliefs, and traditions. The novel uniquely “encodes stories about their origins, its inhabitants, and the broader society in which they are set,” (S. Source 1) to teach for future generations. In conclusion, this influential novel discusses the ability for many characters to sustain one sole
Imagine feeling and looking different from all those around you. Imagine if you weren’t understood the same way as the majority. In the book “American Born Chinese”, two characters, Jin and Monkey King who went through the same situations, but in different societies. The Monkey King insight into the impact of society on Jin as they both face social exclusion through experiencing internalized racism. Further as Monkey King transforms into another character, Chin-Kee, which Jin sees as an embarrassing Chinese culture.
“It was not easy to live in Shanghai” (Anyi 137). This line, echoed throughout Wang Anyi 's short piece “The Destination” is the glowing heartbeat of the story. A refrain filled with both longing and sadness, it hints at the many struggles faced by thousands upon thousands trying to get by in the city of Shanghai. One of these lost souls, the protagonist, Chen Xin, was one of the many youths taken from his family and sent to live the in the countryside during the Cultural Revolution. Ten years after the fact, Chen Xin views the repercussions of the Cultural Revolution internally and externally as he processes the changes that both he, and his hometown have over-gone in the past ten years. Devastatingly, he comes to the conclusion that there is no going back to the time of his childhood, and his fond memories of Shanghai exist solely in memory. This is in large part is due to the changes brought on by the Cultural Revolution. These effects of the Cultural Revolution are a central theme to the story; with repercussions seen on a cultural level, as well as a personal one.
In analyzing these two stories, it is first notable to mention how differing their experiences truly are. Sammy is a late adolescent store clerk who, in his first job, is discontent with the normal workings of society and the bureaucratic nature of the store at which he works. He feels oppressed by the very fabric and nature of aging, out-of date rules, and, at the end of this story, climaxes with exposing his true feelings and quits his jobs in a display of nonconformity and rebellion. Jing-Mei, on the other hand, is a younger Asian American whose life and every waking moment is guided by the pressures of her mother, whose idealistic word-view aids in trying to mold her into something decent by both the double standards Asian society and their newly acquired American culture. In contrasting these two perspectives, we see that while ...
economy and way of life. Young Chinese aren’t sure which way to go. Pick the
In many lives, change is constantly happening. The economics, cultural values, and social ideals are different today from many years ago. For example, men many years ago rely on literature, libraries, and endless hours of searching for sources in order to make speeches and write stories, and they also had different modes of transportations such as trains. On the other hand, in today’s society, it is easier to find sources and to do research because of the advanced technology, and it is also unchallenging to travel due to the innovations of cars and airplanes. With this being said, it is idealistic that change has a positive impact on society due to the advancement of technology and new methods of transportations, and those changes attribute
A Pair of Tickets”, by Amy Tan, is a brief narrative about the conscience and reminiscence of a young Chinese American woman, Jing-Mei, who is on a trip to China to meet her two half-sisters for the first time in her life. Amy Tan is an author who uses the theme of Chinese-American life, converging primarily on mother-daughter relationships, where the mother is an emigrant from China and the daughter is fully Americanized --yellow on the surface and white underneath. In this story, the mother tries to communicate rich Chinese history and legacy to her daughter, but she is completely ignorant of their heritage. At the opening of the story "A Pair of Tickets" Jandale Woo and her father are on a train, the are destined for China. Their first stop will be Guangzhou, China where father will reunite with his long lost aunt. After visiting with her for a day they plan to take a plane to Shanghai, China where Jandale meets her two half-sisters for the first time. It is both a joyful time and yet a time of contrition, Jandale has come to China to find her Chinese roots that her mother told ...
With her courage and tenacity, Min has always been striving for success growing up. She started working at seventeen years old to support her family. In her situation, the necessity of supporting her family is very significant in her life. In Chinese tradition, parents do not expect anything from their sons and daughters, but the sense of respect towards the hard work that Chinese parents do for their kids---it is a must that successful men and women support their parents with their free-will. These people are grateful that their parents gave them existence---creating opportunities for searching ethical
When she arrives, she feels somehow proud to be Chinese. But her main reason why she went back home is to reflect her mother past life on her present life. Through the setting and her relatives, Jing Mei learns the nature of Chinese American culture. The main setting takes place in China, effects of the main character’s point of view through changing her sense of culture and identity. The time period plays a large role on the story, there is disconnect between the mother and daughter who came from different culture. In “A Pair of Tickets”, we learn it’s a first person narrator, we also learn detail of what the narrator is thinking about, detail of her past and how life compared to China and the US are very different. The theme is associated with the motherland and also has to deal with her mother’s death and half sisters. Her imagination of her sister transforming into adult, she also expected them to dresses and talk different. She also saw herself transforming, the DNA of Chinese running through her blood. In her own mind, from a distance she thinks Shanghai, the city of China looks like a major American city. Amy Tan used positive imagery of consumerism to drive home her themes of culture and identity, discovering her ancestral
In “Two Kinds” by Amy Tan and “The Lesson” by Toni Cade Bambara both protagonists have to make choices on how to live their lives in society. In “Two Kinds”, the subject matter are mothers who were born in China want their daughters born in America to follow their Chinese heritage and use American predictions to become successful. The story line is Jing Mei’s mother wants her to become a piano prodigy. Jing-Mei wants to live her own life and not let her mother have control over it. The historical background is when Chinese immigration began toward the end of the 19th century. The majority of Chinese immigrants came to San Francisco. In “The Lesson” the subject matter is wealth is not equally distributed in society. The story line is when Sylvia realizes the inequality that is happening in the world. Sylvia accepts it and isn’t sure where she stands in society. The historical background is during the 1950’ s-1960 the Civil Rights Movement was created to stop discrimination in the United States. In “Two Kinds” the mother and daughter relationship is unbalanced. The mother, Suyuan, believes Jing Mei can accomplish the American dream and become successful. In “The Lesson”, the story focuses on poverty and wealth in the world. Miss Moore wants Sylvia to fight against the inequalities and improve her status in life. An observation of the way Jing-Mei, the protagonist in “Two Kinds” by Amy Tan, and Sylvia, the protagonist of “The Lesson” are both struggling to fit in society and wanting acceptance.
In my first 19 years, I grew up in a small town in Northern China. My small hometown was lagging behind than some coastal city, such as Guangzhou and Shanghai, especially in social economy and education. Most of people live in my hometown have strongly stereotypes, for example girl should stay at home
June-May fulfills her mother’s name and life goal, her long-cherished wish. She finally meets her twin sisters and in an essence fulfills and reunites her mother with her daughter through her. For when they are all together they are one; they are their mother. It is here that June-May fulfills the family portion of her Chinese culture of family. In addition, she fully embraces herself as Chinese. She realizes that family is made out of love and that family is the key to being Chinese. “And now I also see what part of me is Chinese. It is so obvious. It is my family. It is in our blood.” (Tan 159). Finally, her mother’s life burden is lifted and June-May’s doubts of being Chinese are set aside or as she says “After all these years, it can finally be let go,” (Tan 159).
...values, practices, ideals, expectations and self image joining together in order to achieve a common goal. In Yu-i’s case, the traditional Chinese community wanted to maintain ancient practices, while western oriented Chinese adults wanted to modernize the country and make it similar to the United States and Britain. In Kaysen’s case, abnormal behavior in communities resulted in admittance into the community of the mentally ill. The psychologically disturbed community wanted only to fit in, while the sane community decided that they were threats to society. Both Yu-i and Kaysen physically leave their group only to find that the community ideals have only made them better people.
The myth that all bikers are outlaws is a very broad and bold statement. While it is true that the beginnings of the biker culture is rooted in rebellion, the culture as a whole has grown and changed with the times. Bikers of the modern age are not what most people think of when they hear the word biker. Many motorcycle clubs, started by bikers, go out of their way to help their respective communities. To say that all bikers are outlaws or criminals is very closed minded thinking.