Film Review: The Joy Luck Club - Essay Example

?Introduction In The Joy Luck Club, there are a multitude of themes which are brought out in the film. While the book has certain ways of conveying the themes – generation gaps, suffering of mothers, the Americanization of the daughters, the old Chinese ways of the mothers, the obedience of the mothers, the lack of obedience of the daughters, and the fact that many of the Chinese mothers desire that their daughters have a spine – the movie has to find ways to bring out these themes. The Joy Luck Club accomplishes this task by emphasizing the American ways of the daughters, as well as using costuming and the use of lighting and music to bring out these themes as well as the novel did. In this way, this movie is very successful and powerful. Discussion The Joy Luck Club concerns two generations – mothers who immigrated from China, and their daughters who were born and raised in America. The mothers are Suyuan, Ying Ying, Lindo and An Mei. The daughters are June, Rose, Waverly and Lena. The movie goes back and forth from the present, to the long past, to the recent past, and back again to tell the stories of these women. The mothers are, without exception, shown to have suffered severe hardships, and most of the mothers are also shown to be obedient to the extent that they become virtual doormats for their husbands or elders. This is especially the case with Ying Ying, who has an abusive husband. However, she avenges her husband by killing her own child. An Mei, while not shown to be a doormat, nevertheless relates the story of her mother, who was. The message to the children is that they are not to grow up in this way, and that they must have a voice. The director shows these basic themes, as well as many others, in a variety of techniques. One of the ways that the film can show the characterizations of the individuals in the film is by costuming. The mother’s characters and the daughter’s characters are set apart by how they dress. For instance, Ying Ying, the mother who is buttoned-up emotionally because the devastation that she felt over killing her own son is literally buttoned up, in that she tends to wear high collars. She also wears much jewelry, and appears to be well-to-do. June, who is the daughter of Soo Yaun, also shows her character in the way that she dresses. June is the daughter who is never quite good enough, and does not seem to have any outstanding accomplishments. Her dress reflects this, as she tends to dress very down-to-earth, in neutral tones. Her dress does not reflect a woman who is well-to-do, and it also does not reflect a character that is severe in nature, unlike some of the other women. June is not buttoned-up emotionally, and her naturalness reflects this. Waverly, on the other hand, is more like Ying Ying in the way that she dresses. Like Ying Ying, Waverly is repressed because her mother disapproved of her so much. Her dress and hairstyle, like Ying Ying, reflect this repression – perfectly styled hair at all times, formal dress at all times. She always appears to be on her way to a business meeting, even when she is hanging out with her family and friends, and this is symbolic of her character - perfect, cold, bitter. These are three examples of how the director uses costume, dress and hair to show the viewer the character of the women on the screen. Another technique that the director uses in this film is using music to separate the mothers and the daughters. Specifically, the daughters are portrayed either listening to modern music or having modern music playing in the background. An example of this is June, who is watching the Monkees when her mother demanded that she practice the piano. This is emphasizing the enormous gap between mother and daughter, in that the daughter is obviously Americanized, as shown by the fact that she is listening to this American television show. The words in this particular song is also symbolic of what the director is trying to say, in that the words talks about the “young generation, and we’ve got something to say.” These words obviously point to June and the other daughters, in that they have something to say, and this something is different from what their mothers might say, in that the daughters are American and the mothers are Chinese. Another example of the use of modern music to convey the theme of the Americanization of the daughters, in contrast with the old Chinese ways of the mothers is the usage of the song “One Fine Day” when Waverly’s mother is bragging about her on the street when Waverly is on the cover of Life. Once again, the symbolism is layered here, just as it was when June was watching the Monkees. The Life magazine is obviously symbolic of the Americanization of Waverly, and the fact that both mother and daughter are living in America, for Life is one of those foundational magazines about America. The song playing in the background is also symbolic of this. Everything about this scene shows the Americanization of these characters, yet the excessive bragging done by the mother somehow still make one remember that the women are Chinese. Therefore, this scene, while American, also has the remnants of Chinese, blending the two themes of Americanization verses the old ways seamlessly. One interesting note about this film, at least with regards to the music, is how little traditional Chinese music plays throughout the film. Most of the music that plays is either Western-style classical music or it is popular music, as in the examples above. This is true even when the characters are shown in China. One exception that is remembered is when June finally meets her twin sisters – the music that plays when she approaches the sisters is traditional Chinese, then it reverts again to Westernized classical music. This is an interesting choice for the director, but it does not take away from the power of the Chinese scenes. Perhaps this is a nod to the Western audiences, for the music that plays is what Westerners associate with epic movies such as this one. The director also uses lighting to convey the plight of the characters. The shots in China are often bleak and dark, especially the scenes where the characters are forced to leave their homeland. This is obviously symbolic of the desperation of the characters as they leave, for their lives are as bleak and dark as the landscape. The rain is also used to show Rose’s plight with her husband, as she finds out that her husband had an affair and that he was leaving her. Interestingly, the rain bookends the encounters with her husband, as she finally grows a backbone and tells her husband that she is worth something. She learns the lesson of her grandmother, as told by her mother, for the grandmother was a concubine and felt worthless. Through this story, she learns to stand up for herself, yet this scene is also in the rain. This is another interesting touch from the director, for one would think that this scene would be in the sun, as she has come to realizations about herself and her life with her husband. Perhaps the director did not want to be too heavy-handed with the symbolism. The director also made an interesting choice towards the end of the film, when June meets her sister. The viewer was privy to the suffering of June’s mother as she fled from her homeland and was forced to give up her daughters because she could not carry them and the stroller broke down as she walked. This scene was utter chaos, with the refugees fleeing in the darkness. The scene where June meets her sisters has the same feeling as the fleeing scenes, as it, too, was chaotic. Only this time, the chaos was happy, as people are laughing and greeting one another. So, the two scenes are really bookends for one another, the light and the dark of the same feeling of chaos. This is appropriate, for the twins were left in the dark chaotic scene, and found in the light chaotic scene. This is the symbolic message. Conclusion While the novel of The Joy Luck Club is excellent, and fleshes out the characters and plot extremely well, while handling the layers, the movie is just as affecting for different reasons. The director found excellent ways to convey to the audience what the film is trying to say, through the use of costumes, lighting, music and other touches. For these reasons, the film is effective and powerful and makes the statement that the novel did. Read More