City of Dreams Summary - Essay Example

“China Rises – of Dreams” This video reveals benefits and feedbacks of Shanghai modern economic development by picturing fortunes of several Shanghai citizens and their families which today are members of different social classes. Since 1921 Communist Party has governed China and working class was numerous. Nowadays to improve economic situation a new policy is established and a middle class is forming (“China Rises – City of Dreams”). There some citizens who take benefits from policy changes.

They are mostly young and educated people who are involved in advertising and different artistic types of activity, also in building business and other modern professions. Within the new policy they see new opportunities for people like themselves to develop personal ambitions and later, an entire China. They are happy to feel less control from Communists Party. Though they are aware of strained social situation, they believe it’s necessary for country to live out the period and form a middle class with a view of future prosperity, and the best they can do is to help middle class formation by personal example.

At the same time a huge part of citizens appeared to be not fitted for the new economic policy. Within four years period a lot of fabric in Shanghai was closed, and about 24 million of fabric workers appeared to be unemployed (“China Rises – City of Dreams”). Most of them have poor education and cannot manage to find a new job. To get an education is not an option too, because education system is commercial. Therefore nowadays they are trying their best to survive and provide their families and children even with basic living standards, but gaps between poor and middle class and the richest ones are huge.

This causes a lot of social problems.Another thing that causes Shanghai social problems is its fast built-up development. In order to build a new houses and offices an old dwelling houses are ruined. Yet dwellers of those houses (often they are the same unemployed workers) are treated unfairly by new building investors, and government stand for the building investors, because new projects increase Shanghai economic development. To resist the suppression without jobs and homes, and also without appropriate governmental support for these people is almost impossible.

Lawyers say such cases are doomed to fail. There’s too huge corruption in Shanghai governmental institutions. To my mind, country’s government cannot negotiate rights of its citizens under any circumstances. To suppress one class in order to form another (despite that strong middle class is needed for society to prosper) is totalitarian method. What is good, that Shanghai growing middle class (at least according to this video) consists of perspective and quite patriotic citizens. Though many of them want to receive an education and experience in Western countries, they also want to develop China by building there a new economy system and more stable and healthy new society.

I’ve noted that this new middle class (especially an artistic people among them) want not only bring Western experience in China, but practice it according to native Chinese cultural traditions. That’s why in their artistic works they use Western technics, but Chinese motives and ideas. It’s a positive tendency for China.This video also made my think about importance of education. Despite all governmental credits and maybe, sometimes also despite your family and friends advises, everyone should receive as best education as he/she can, because professionals are welcome in any political regimes and countries.

Work CitedFree Documentary. “China Rises – City of Dreams”. YouTube. New York Times Television. 23 September 2013. Retrieved 23 November 2014 from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0pBK34t8XTI