Crouching Tiger and Hidden Dragon a Movie Directed by Ang Lee

The films Stage Sisters and Yellow Earth were made twenty years apart in different political climates in China. The films have similarities drawn from policies and ways of thinking that were set in place during the Cultural Revolution and have differences that show the progression filming style and acting post Cultural Revolution thinking.

culturally inaccurate. At the time, Asians were still very much underrepresented in film and many

Perhaps, the powerful storyline of the Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon was what encouraged one of the greatest cinematic martial arts directors Ang Lee, to make a film out of the Chinese novel. In this film, Lee’s primary function is not only to portray skillfully choreographed fighting scenes, but also to connect powerful sequences of events that touches upon the emotional complex human condition that is associated with both the Taoist and Buddhist belief systems. By not allowing action to be the sole guiding force of the narrative of Crouching

Despite the fact that Asian Americans have been in Hollywood for decades, there are very few positive representations of them in film. More often than not, they’ve been depicted as stereotypical caricatures, and more specifically, as foreigners who can’t speak grammatically correct English. Moreover, the negative representations of Asian Americans in film has perpetuated certain misconceptions about their culture. Chan is Missing (1982) calls for more genuine representations of Asian American identities through its cast of complex characters and defiance of Asian stereotypes. The film also urges its viewers to critically think about their own notions of identity through the use of several recurring themes and filmmaking techniques.

The 1997 comedy film, ‘The Castle’, directed by Rob Sitch, is a classic Australian film which pits the underdog individual against a large corporation. The low-budget film follows the fight of tight-knit working class family, the Kerrigans, who face the forced acquisition of their modest home by a government organisation. It can be clearly seen that the director has positioned audiences to see the Kerrigans as praiseworthy characters. This is shown through the narrative elements, stylistic features, and constructedness of the plot.

Movies produced in the later half of the twentieth century still suffered from stereotypes set by films from years ago. In Year of the Dragon (1985), Tracy Tzu, despite being a professional newscaster, was also portrayed as seductive and mysterious, “manhandled and dominated by the Caucasian hero, Stanley White, as he overpowers her and carries her off to bed like a trophy” (Rajgopal, 2010, p. 149). These stereotypes of Asian women in film feed into the stereotypes of Asian women offscreen, and being perceived as exotic and submissive contributes to a higher risk of sexual assault, as if they are somehow “asking for it” (Rajgopal, 2010). The portrayal of Asians matched with the progression of history showed America was projecting its fear and othering Asians through media. If Asians are not portrayed in a stereotypical role, then they are given no role at all, rendered invisible by Hollywood and the masses. Because the West was not hugely exposed to the East, “the easiest way to generalize Eastern people was to build fictional characters of an extreme” (Wang, 2010, p. 86). Asians were not talked about, and when they were, it was through caricatures and

Dirty Dancing (Emile Ardlino, 1987) and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (Ang Lee, 2000) are two beautifully choreographed movies whose plot shares little similarity but has in common the concept of a duet between two clashing personalities. Both movies are about inherently different things but at closer inspection they appear to do the same as two characters flow and move around the other becoming a complicated duet of motion and fluidity. In one movie Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Shu Lien and Jen Yu, both experienced warriors battle it out in the courtyard of Beijing fighting over the over the ownership of the Green Destiny. In Dirty Dancing it is not until the final scene that we finally see the full potential and dynamic between Baby

As the magnum opus of the martial arts novel master Wang Dulu, “Crouching Tiger, Lying Dragon” have been drawing readers’ discussion for its intricate plots and the figures with full personalities for years. Ever since the film adaption which directed by Ang Lee was released in 2000, the comparing of two works has never stopped. What kind of adjustment did film experienced? Why did the director, Ang Lee, made such adaptation? What the difference of the themes which these two works expressed? From a tragic love to a grand Jianghu, I’ll analysis the adaptation “Crouching Tiger, Lying Dragon” from four aspects: the choices Yu Jiaolong made in love relationships, the relationships between the roles and the endings of the two works.

Mulan is an animated film that was released in 1998 from Disney during third wave feminism, which features an Asian woman protagonist. She is a Disney princess, but at first glance you wouldn’t think so. Mulan is introduced as a clumsy tomboy who did not think she would ever bring honor to her family. In order to accomplish said honor, she would have to by being the perfect bride, in accordance with the matchmaker. The film has a great amount of feminist ideals, however, it doesn’t leave out stereotypical gender roles and several examples of overdetermined ideologies. Patriarchy is very prevalent in this film, from the woman characters positions, down to the songs they sing throughout the film, patriarchy is a theme that cannot be missed. This paper will discuss how feminine and masculine stereotypes are conveyed in the film, how gender stereotypes are portrayed, and of the patriarchal themes included in the film.

In this move, the Chinese community expects women to get married for procreation purposes. For instance, Wai Tung is being by his mother to get so that he can give her a granddaughter against his will. At the long last he gets married to satisfy his nagging parents to a female tenant. The movie creates a notion that a woman needs a man to achieve something in life because Wei Wei gets married to a gay landlord because she needs a green card. In this case, the marriage between Tung and Wei becomes a marriage of convenience. This scene portrays an aspect of China traditions that women are tools of sex in that part where Mr. Gao insists on throwing a wedding banquet for the couple. After the party and all the drinking, Wai Tung and Wei Wei are put to bed, and things get out of hand. Also, the movie reveals another purpose of female in traditional Chinese culture, which is human production. Tung’s father doesn’t care if his son is homosexual or not as long as he gets a grandchild. Tung’s parents only want Wei to give their family the next generation.

Development and adaptation of the western genre has occurred throughout the twentieth century in relation to the shift in context, this is still relevant. Stereotypes of a western genre and the context are determined by the time in which the film is being produced. The time in which they were produced determine how social construction, gender ideas, values and attitudes, the setting and SWAT codes are demonstrated. I have chosen to present this speech by looking at the film studied in class, and a film of my choice and how the difference in context has changed in the tie of these two films.

In subsequent years following the establishment of the People’s Republic of China came a revolutionary new approach to not only producing films, but also film’s very role in communist society. During this period the state gained complete control of the filmmaking industry, decreeing that the utilitarian functions of art and literature were to become a powerful weapon in serving the revolutionary struggle. In an otherwise artistically stifling period in which socialist realism pervaded all creative outlets, Xie Jin managed to retain some autonomy and emerged as one of the cleverest Chinese directors in the early 1960s. In his 1961 film Red Detachment of Women, Jin provides a classic revolutionary melodrama, yet also displays elements of formalism so that the viewer becomes conscious of the manipulations of his film technique. To analyze this film, I will use Mao Zedong’s 1942 “Talks at the Yan 'an Forum on Literature and Art,” clip #10 “Landmark 2,” and clip #6 “We are joining the red army” to elaborate on the major themes and cinematic style that distinguish Xie Jin’s work from his contemporaries.

Ang Lee’s Crouching tiger Hidden Dragon is probably one of the most successful foreign films to ever be screened in America. Being the number one film of the year in 2000. On the other hand it was reportedly considered a flop in China. While it was influenced by American film styles, it still kept true to many aspects of its Chinese film heritage. With very apparent love story, it lacked the Extreme amount of Kung Fu fight scenes eastern audiences have come to enjoy. This is a stunning love story between a monk and widow. While it does have its share of over the top fight scenes, when you start to dig deeper the films many social implications become apparent. With ties to subjects such as religion, martial arts, philosophy, love, and even gender issues. This film is a representation of the modern era and how long practiced traditions are being challenged. Each character and plot line allows a glimpse into the Social and Traditional understanding of a culture.

Hess and Zimmermann mention that conventional categories have blurred and there’s demands for new political and aesthetic responses in transnational cinema (John Hess 2006). These transnational films I believe would be growing significantly in the film industry as a part of film history.

culture. This movie clearly brings out the cultural clashes and conflicts between the high context Chinese culture and the low context American culture.