In the Heat of the Sun vs Shanghai Baby - Essay Example

In The Heat of the Sun vs. Shanghai Baby Comparing two works of art that is one a film, “In the Heat of Sun” is directed by Jiang Wen and a novel, “Shanghai Baby” which is written by Wei Hui. The latter of the two has been filmed in 1994 and this novel was published in 1993. Soon after the novel was published, it was banned by the Chinese Government as it was charged with obscenity. Both of this work of arts is written by native Chinese and the main setting about whom the plot revolves is Shanghai, the capital of China, yet the subject matter is very different and the response of the audience to both of them is different as well. This paper aims to explore the differences amongst them and proves that this film is about the Cultural Revolution and its effects and the novel is post revolution. The differences of these effects are marked out in terms of title, context, metaphors implied and other literary references. Beginning from the title of “In the Heat of Sun”, the title itself symbolizes hardships suffered probably by the protagonist. Since, the protagonist’s father is out there fighting the Cultural Revolution, he is left to live his life according to his own desires, not forgetting the fact that his mother and teachers try to put restriction on him but he does not pay heed to them. The protagonist is called Monkey by his friends who, beyond the superficial level can be taken to be as cunning like a monkey. In the beginning it’s just petty crimes that he loves to consider as games but later these games turns to find violence on the street and the film in the middle begins to explore the attraction of the opposite sex and there we find Mi Laan. She is the girl whom Monkey wants but somehow he’s not able to impress her enough and neither is he able to describe his relationship with her to his parents. “Shanghai Baby” on the other hand, from its title makes it clear that the romanticism in Shanghai which is bordering on a coquettish behavior. Notice that the term ‘baby’ not only implies a very close relationship with the person to whom it is addressed to but also shows a very contemporary term which can be addressed both casually and flirtatiously. The title holds true for the novel as the concerns of the protagonist, Coco, is to get the most attention from Shanghai, as a writer. The theme of self-deception is redundant in both the film and the novel though it is expressed in different ways as the protagonist themselves don’t really perceive the idea to be deceiving but this is something that the audience can easily know by observing these characters closely. “In the Heat of the Sun”, Monkey starts with petty crimes which leads to major violence later, is actually dreaming of becoming a war hero, which his father is and not him. Meanwhile, Coca thinks of herself as a highly gifted author who is surrounded by people who fall in love with her instantly as they saw her. The difference between the two is, where Money is trying to learn his identity from his actions, Coca is looking for fame and acknowledgements. Another similarity between these two works of art are, they deal with the subject matter in their own individualistic ways and do not follow the rules of the society that are superimposed on them. The film is narrated in the voice of an older Monkey as he’s flipping through his memory and sometimes he does admonishes himself from what was he doing at that certain period of time. There are hints of guilty conscience too when he starts justifying his ways, for example saying that if my father would have been present while I was growing up, maybe I wouldn’t have been so messed up. On the other hand, the novel “Shanghai Baby” is like reading a diary as it narrates her daily life and the people she met and everyone that she met was impressed by her. In the art of dealing with Post Modern Techniques, “In the Heat of The Sun” endorses Historicism, a literary technique which can be applied to analyzing the film too. This is obvious as Monkey relays all the time period of his adolescence which are filmed in the summer season. Since, Shanghai has a hot weather in the summers so the significance of the title and the setting of the plot in major glimpses in the life of Monkey have a parallel meaning: hardships. As Monkey unleashes his memory, we see some pride and some admonishing by the older Monkey and the glitter of hope that what if there was no Cultural Revolution in the background? The question keeps on springing that whether life would have been different then. As the prologue of this movie says: “Change has wiped out my memories. I can't tell what's imagined from what's real” (Monkey) In “Shanghai Baby”, each chapter begins with a poetical quote or a song which sets the tone, theme and agenda of that particular chapter. Though, some readers argue that the relationship between the content of the quote and the rest of the chapter does not quite fit in. It must be kept in mind that these two works of art were produced way after China was done with Cultural Revolution, however, The Legend of The Red Lantern and other opera’s were produced during those times, that is in the sixties which invoked liberation from communism and several scene where the labors stood up to feudal was put up in the theatre in those days. This model opera was introduced by Mao’s wife who was a former actress and she classified the traditional opera to be bourgeois is nature. As it says: “The political power of opera became evident during the 1960s and set the stage for the Cultural Revolution after 1966. Historian and Deputy Mayor of Beijing Wu Han wrote a subtle critique of Mao’s Great Leap Forward in 1961 entitled Hai Rui Dismissed from Office. In the play, an upright official is dismissed by the Ming emperor for protesting the confiscation of peasants’ land. The opera was set in imperial China, but drew attacks for its thinly veiled allusion to Mao himself and the communists’ policy of rural collectivization.” (Roberts) Another movie perhaps which includes a protagonist who has the same wish as that of Coca is “New Women” which was filmed in 1934 and it’s remarkably famous because the heroine commits suicide in the end of the movie and later she actually takes her life after the film had made a record history in the Chinese Film Industry. Coca and the protagonist of this movie, Wei are similar because both of them wanted to be writers but due to financial crisis the latter became a waitress and the former became a school teacher. However, things changed for Coca as a wealthy young man falls in love with her and thus Coca finds time to complete her novel and flirt with other men side by side. The movie, “New Women” focuses on the tragedy of a single parent who was desperately trying to change the fate of her life and to save the life of her daughter is not able to find a wealthy boyfriend, but she does has 2 men who continually try to make immoral advances on her. She later becomes a prostitute as she loses her job. It is important to notice the difference between the two women in both this movie and the novel, “Shanghai Baby”. Coca is the least restrained person in her novel and her novel is actually her sexual exploration rather than finding the genius that she thinks she has. Wei on the other hand, was forced to give in to other men due to her poor economic reasons. All the above movies talk about struggle, either a political one or concerned with a domestic struggle of a woman. And here we have another piece of art: a novel, “Shanghai Baby” whose (a) writer is a woman, (b) protagonist is a woman, (c) narrator is a woman and (d) the most discussed person is a woman too. Though, there is a woman dominating many spheres of her life as well as the lives of others around her, but still there is little of Feminism that is seen in this particular novel. Feminism is not just a woman being able to seek jobs and living on their own. It’s also manifesting the idea that being a woman is very different from being a toy for others to play with. Coming to another point that which of these pieces of art would describe the era in which it is produced. “In The Heat of The Sun”, this movie does not show the Cultural Revolution but rather it focuses felt by the society and in general the families whose fathers or brothers or husbands were gone while life was empty behind them. Though the Cultural Revolution forms the background to it, yet no actual fighting has been included from war but the movie shows that how younglings need the presence of their fathers and does justice to the subject, that what happens to a child when their parents are not around. The latest of these pieces of art is, “Shanghai Baby”. This is not only a slightly biographical novel but it also suggests the new role of women they have adopted. There is a stark contrast between the characters of Wei and Coca as Coca is merged in her dream of becoming a writer and there is a feeling that she is the one who is in charge of the surroundings and that there is no looming threat to her life. As a review says, “Coco is too self-obsessed to make more than a passing mention to the other people in her life. Every character exists only to support and inspire Coco’s writing.” (Admin) Through the above arguments, it is established that somehow the movie and the novel do represent the Chinese society through some lens. Another important theme that emerges and changes with the passage of the time is the role of gender that plays an important part in devising the laws of any country. Starting chronologically from “New Women” women are shown to have a subaltern position as they are subject to what the man says. Wei could not get a divorce and the reasons are unclear which definitely point towards the rigidity of the system in which women don’t get to choose their life partners as well. This binary has been somewhat reduced in the movie, “In The Heat of The Sun” where both Monkey and Mi Laan are struggling to get on with their lives. Though Monkey’s father is absent in the major chunks of the movie yet his absence has a looming effect, which therefore does point towards the presence of a patriarchal system. In the novel, “Shanghai Baby” the woman seems to be in charge finally, though she’s in charge because of her sexuality, nevertheless, and she is the person. Lastly, the youth culture in China has been explored by both the primary concerns of this paper: “In The Heat of the Sun” and “Shanghai Baby”. In the former one the youth and their untarnished energy are portrayed which points towards the importance of some sort of a system that ensures check and balance on them. The youth culture is what that actually shapes the tomorrow of the future and hence, measures had to be taken as to control and channelize the energy of the youth. As a review says: “The fact that In the Heat of the Sun’s romanticized and universal portrayal of youth takes place during such a significant historical time frame seems to act as an ironic commentary on authoritarian history. The film disregards and mocks the effort of the Maoist party to provide objective testimony when it is utterly impossible to do so.” (Laurayu) Work Cited Admin. March 2010. Review: Shanghai Baby. Retrieved from: http://www.pankmagazine.com/pankblog/reviews/review-shanghai-baby/ J.A.G. Roberts, A History of China, 3rd Edition (NY: Palgrave-Macmillan, 2011), 278ff. Retrieved from: http://life.lfny.org/2013/01/22/opera-in-chinese-and-western-cultural-history/#_ftn9 Monkey. Prologue. In the Heat of The Sun. 1994. Directed by: Wen Jiang. Retrieved from: http://www.chinesecinemas.org/intheheat.html Laurayu. June 2012. In The Heat of The Sun Analysis. Retrieved from: http://laurayu.hubpages.com/hub/In-the-Heat-of-the-Sun-Film-Analysis Read More