Analysis of The Joy Luck Club Movie - Essay Example

Character Profile Profile of Jing-Mei (June) Woo: Gender: Female Age: 36 years Disability: None Race: Woo clan Religion: Chinese Ethni : Chinese-American Social class: Middle class Jing-Mei Woo or June is one of the main characters in the movie The Joy Luck Club. Her character plays a significant role in bridging the generational gap between Chinese and Chinese-American women as portrayed in the movie. The aspect of ethnicity is important in understanding the subject of the film as it involves ‘Chinese’ trying to rediscover their ‘origin’ (Luke 1996, p. 206). June is the daughter of Suyuan and Canning Woo. The mother-daughter relationship strongly signifies the striking gap between the two generations. June never understood her mother when she was alive. Now after her death, the daughter has to deal with her grief, frustration, and other questions. The difference between the mother and her daughter can be accounted in terms of age, culture and identity related with it. These features are familiarized by most Chinese-Americans who are going through a confused status of identity crisis. Jing’s mother Suyuan established the Joy Luck Club along with other three Chinese ladies settled in America with an aim to remind them of their origin and cultural background. In other words, the club plays the pivotal role of bridging the gap between China and America, particularly between old and young Chinese-Americans. While Suyuan is excited about her story of “In China, everybody dreamed about Kweilin”, Jing-Mei feels strongly that her “mother’s Kweilin story was anything but a Chinese fairy tale” (Tan 1989, p. 22-25). The young Chinese-Americans often seem to have deliberately rejected their Chinese identity whereas their older counterparts are still trying to retain their identity even in the cosmopolitan foreign environment. However, the film portrays a positive outlook for the Chinese-Americans who finally come to realize their original identity. After the demise of Suyuan, Jing-Mei begins to realize the truth of her mother’s miserable history of which she is a part too. When Jing finally meets her estranged twin-sisters in China, she feels like she has her mother back. Jing’s visit to China guides her through her culture and origin. At the end of her journey, Jing-Mei realizes “what part of me is Chinese. It is so obvious. It is my family. It is in our blood.” (Tan 1989, p. 288) The cultural clash and generation shock come to both young and old Chinese-Americans as it tends to create the generational gap between the two age groups. While the older generation is desperately seeking to retain their cultural values, young Chinese-Americans find their traditional customs strange and are mostly ignorant of the meanings of their rituals. While the Chinese culture places higher values to group cooperation and individual modesty (the club is the best example of it), the concept of ‘freedom’ is more valued in the American society. This apparently shows the generation gap between young and old Chinese-Americans. The character of Jing-Mei Woo is important in terms of understanding the psyche of the young generation of Chinese-Americans. After visiting the country of her roots, Jing realizes the deep connection between her and her mother that she had always ignored. Further, Jing’s reunion with her half-sisters provides her with more profound understanding of who her mother was. Jing-Mei’s characterization also represents the identity issues faced by most of young Chinese-Americans. For instance, Jing’s fears echo those of her peers, the other daughters of the members of the Joy Luck Club. Chinese youngsters born in America usually identify themselves with Americans. Jing-Mei even goes by her English name ‘June’. But they also demonstrate the strong feeling of regret having neglected their Chinese heritage. In other words, more acceptance of American culture has been resulted in increased ignorance of their own culture. If provided the opportunity to work with a person like Jing-Mei Woo, it would be great to focus on certain aspects regarding cultural values and norms, identity, and origin. In the context of Chinese-American people, the primary concern is the striking difference of constructing the notion of Self. While the Chinese culture is more focused on a collectivist concept of the Self, the Americans are more drawn to the individualist view where self-promotion is more accepted. In such cases, it is inevitable to witness some noticeable culture differences and pressure is definitely higher on the youngsters. Clashes usually occur in the context of which culture to be adopted and which one to dump. In most cases, it is typical that young Chinese-Americans tend to avoid their own origin in order to be accepted in the mainstream America. Certain recommendations would be appreciable in terms of resolving the identity issues with Jing. First of all, relationships play a crucial role in forming the society in Chinese culture. Therefore, it is the responsibility of Jing to contribute to this relationship by maintaining close family ties and a special relationship with her mother, which she never did when she was alive. Social relationships are also the result of the strong bond between members of the same community in China. This is the reason for the establishment of the Joy Luck Club where Chinese-Americans could come under one roof to share their grieves, hopes, fears, and other matters. And this is what makes Jing to visit the club and be an active member of it while replacing her mother. The best solution for the identity crisis issues of Chinese-Americans is to look for a common ground where there can be an amalgamation of both Chinese and American culture. This is specifically appropriate for the youngsters who often get confused over accepting American lifestyle and shadowing their Chinese traditional values. Jing at first did not want her mother to dominate her as she wanted a free life. But freedom does not indicate distancing from one’s own roots. The cultural values and traditions will remain same as these constitute one’s identity. Therefore, it is important for Jing to realize her identity and cultural origin in order to recognize who she is and where she belongs to. Cultural differences are often familiar for people who migrate to another place leaving their birth place. In case of Suyuan, she always wanted to give her daughter Jing a free life as an American, but at the same time, wanted her daughter to retain the ‘Chinese’ personality traits. Whereas Jing feels that her mother wants to push her to be more ‘Chinese’ which she is not. In other words, the mother-daughter relationship is divided between American and Chinese culture. Rather than focusing on this cultural rift, Jing should be more concerned with maintaining her own American self while imbibing the Chinese values. Jing should be more open to embrace both the Western and Eastern cultures. If the character of Jing is comfortable with the recommendations mentioned above, it will be really a great experience to work with her. Knowing the character portrayal of Jing from the film, it is notable that a positive response can be expected from her. Jing at first used to familiarize herself with more American ways while distancing herself from her Chinese roots. The cultural clashes were more prominent during the conversations and argumentation between Jing and her mother. But after the death of Suyuan, Jing realizes that the Chinese personality traits of her mother are also imbibed within herself. She begins to understand Chinese tradition and customs while visiting the Joy Luck Club founded by her deceased mother. Jing comes more close to her Chinese roots when she visits her mother’s other daughters and relatives in China. The more she explores the history of her mother’s storytelling, the nearer Jing gets to her Chinese origi. Therefore, Jing’s character is a good example of someone efficient to mould his or her traditions and values into a more individualistic approach. In other words, Jing can be considered as a perfect portrayal of the young Chinese-Americans who are confused over their identity issues, but are confident enough to retain it while assimilating their identity to the mainstream American society. References: Berardinelli, J. (1993). The Joy Luck Club. Retrieved October 9, 2009, from http://www.reelviews.net/movies/j/joy_luck.html. Lu, S. H. (ed.). (1997). Transnational Chinese Cinemas. Hawaii: University of Hawaii Press. Luke, C. (ed.). (1996). Feminisms and Pedagogies of Everyday Life. New York: State University of New York Press. Tan, A. (1989). The Joy Luck Club. New York: Penguin Group. Read More