Women Position In Chinese Film Since 1950S Essays - Chinese Films

Women Position In Chinese Film Since 1950S Since 1950s, after the Chairman Mao Zedong's Yan?n conference, art and literature had strictly become tools of promoting the ideology of Communist Party, that is, the product of art and literature in China can be classified as highly popanganda. Chairman Mao Zedong and his Communist Party strongly suggested the equality of both genders - male and female. To promote Mao's theory, certain kind of strong female character's image had been created in films since 1950s, and furthermore, the images of these female characters were changing during the time period. The common features of the female characters in Chinese film are usually being victimize, they always suffered under certain convention feudal rules, the effect of capitalism, the landlord, or fall victim to certain politics. And the films always targeted on how these female characters fight against those reasons of suffering, and creating tensions to the narrative because these confrontations. During the Cultural Revolution, a very popular female image had created, it is the White Hair Girl (Baimao N?) (1972) This female character image is a tough, strong and full of hatred to the feudal landlord who insulted her and her family. Her desire is very obvious -- to revenge. And finally, she ended up with a heroic image in the film with the help from Chairman Mao Zedong and his Communist Party. However, this film rarely announced the realistic of a female character, that is, despite the obsession hatred of White Hair Girl toward the landlord, and the joy of starting a new life with the Communist Party, audience can rarely feel the other kind of emotion from this female character, for example, the desire of to be loved, is absent in this film. Therefore, in the other hand, another question had been raisen: Do the White Hair Girl necessary to be a female character when she hasn't shown any of the desire of female? In this film, White Hair Girl is not necessary to be a female, only the reason for it is , a victimized female is more easy to grip audience's sympathy. And this also suggested the position of women as women itself is not important during that period. But obviously, this film is just purely a popanganda from the Communist Party during the Cultural Revolution - a model performance (geming yangbanxi) Comparing the narrative of The White Hair Girl and the other two film after Cultural Revolution - The Yellow Earth (Huangtodi) (1984) directed by Chen Kaige and The Red Sorghum (Honggaoliang) (1987) directed by Zhang Yimou, the image of women is very different. In The Yellow Earth and The Red Sorghum, both of the female character are being suffered under the convention feudalism and the politics. But their attitude towards those great forces are different from the White Hair Girl. And more description of the female features in these two films. In The Yellow Earth, the female character Cuiqiao only wants to escape from the arranged marriage, escape from her father and escape from the rule of convention feudalism. She begged Brother Gu from the 8th Army in the Communist Party to take her with him, but Brother Gu just refused, he said ?There are also rules for officers.? Therefore Cuiqiao just realized there are rules everywhere in her world. After marriage, Cuiqiao was suffered much, she decided to go across the river to Yan?n to look for the 8th Army, but eventually disappear in the Yellow River. The attitude towards the women whom willing to free from the traditional lock of feudalism is different between The Yellow Earth and the White Hair Girl. The White Hair Girl is a passive attitude, she rather hide inside the cave to avoid being suffer again from the landlord, her saviour is Communist Party. But in The Yellow Earth, the represent of Communist Party - Brother Gu haven't saved Cuiqiao (although he willing to) He only gave her the dream of the equality of gender is existed in China. And the one who actually taking the action to find her dream is Cuiqiao herself. Therefore, Cuiqiao is more a ?pathfinder of her own happiness? then the White Hair Girl. We can say that Cuiqiao has more controlling power of