Chen Kaige

The 1993 movie directed by Kaige Chen, Farewell My Concubine, addresses the Chinese political issues during the war against Japan via interpersonal issues of an opera troupe of young male actors. The movie is as long as it is engaging. With two orphan boys who are raised to act in an Opera for their entire lives, dedication obtains a whole new meaning. Dieyi's training to act as a woman and to reflect femininity in his whole life increases the dissension that is observed within the film as well

Does the film Huang tudi (Yellow Earth) offer a critique of the Communist revolution? If so where and how? Chen Kaige and Zhang Yimou’s Yellow Earth is a meaningful and controversial film that highlights the young and old, realist and idealist, as well as the ideal utopia and bounded bureaucracies – touching on the notion of fate. Set in early 1939 in China, Yellow Earth follows the story of Gu Qing, a Chinese Communist Party (CCP) soldier sent out among the peasants in Northern Shaanxi to collect

One of the most significant changes occurred in the wake of the Cultural Revolution. During the revolution itself, China was virtually cut off from the rest of the world in a form of extreme “cultural protectionism” (Hong, 1998, p.2). There was a severe lack of cultural imports during the Cultural Revolution, regardless of whether they were industrial or cultural imports. However, under Deng Xiaoping’s leadership, an era of reform began in China. The nation began to open itself up politically and

In 1964, director Xie Jin made a film called Two Stage Sisters and in 1984, director Chen Kaige made a film called Yellow Earth. Both movies are set in China in a time when communism was just beginning or has already begun. In both films, we can immediately recognize the protagonist. In Two Stage Sisters, the protagonist Zhu Chunhua is a runaway child bride who doesn’t want to live with her in-laws anymore because of their harsh treatment. Just like the protagonist in Yellow Earth, Cuiqiao is also

Third Cinema in China: Yellow Earth What is identified as 'excess' in Western cinematic experience is, therefore, precisely where we locate Third World cinema. -Teshome Gabriel The possibility of a Third Cinema in China is encouraged with Chen Kaige's 1984 film Yellow Earth. Drawing upon Teshome Gabriel's framework, a working definition of Third Cinema is possible in the case of Chinese cinema. The "fifth generation" of China's film-makers is credited in making films such as Yellow Earth

asked Yu Ji to flee for the sake of her own safety. While Yu Ji refused to leave the king alone, she performed the very last time for the king and cut her throat with his sword, being faithful to him until death. Although entitled with the same name, Chen Kaige’s film directed in 1993 was well beyond a love story. The film frequently referred to the play Farewell My Concubine; however, it advanced the play in depicting China’s mid-20th history, conveying values to audiences, and hinting characters’

In the film “Departures” we follow the story of Daigo, a cellist who after losing his job working in an orchestra moves back to his old home to find a new job. By mistake he winds up getting a new job as an “encoffiner”, which is someone who prepares dead bodies to be placed in their coffins. At first this seems like it would be a horrible job to have, and Daigo seems to take shame in his job, even going as far as hiding it from his wife. However, as time goes on he learns to take pride in his new

Throughout many countries around the world, homosexuality has always been subjected as a controversial matter. The societal attitudes towards the behavior of homosexuality vary substantially across Asia. Surprisingly, there are two conflicting attitudes toward homosexuality. Some Asian countries strongly condemn against homosexuality, whereas some Asian countries visibly accept homosexuality. Judith Butler explained that gender is represented as a stylized repetition of acts or imitation. She described

Andy Andrew Mrs. K It was a beautiful spring morning in Mound City Missouri. The population was only around 1,000 people. Andrew and I were up bright and early before the peak of dawn. The forecast looked sunny with a touch of fog. We were busy at the hotel preparing for our first morning of the hunt. “Andrew don’t forget the snacks and Mountain Dew like you did last year,” I hinted. With a chuckle, Andrew said, “I won’t this time, and you make sure we got the shotguns, and shells packed

Mao Zedong, the prominent leader of the Cultural Revolution and one of the innovators of the People’s Republic of China, once declared, “Classes struggle, some classes triumph, others are eliminated. Such is history; such is the history of civilization for thousands of years.” By the time the Qing Dynasty met its inevitable downfall in 1919, a new set of radicals started protesting of a new form of government on May Fourth. This movement, known as the May Fourth Movement, facilitated the Marxist