Gender Roles in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon - Movie Review Example

Gender Roles in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon s 4th December Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon Introduction Crouching Tiger,Hidden Dragon is a 2000 movie that is heavily based on the popular wuxia novels and is considered as one of the biggest movies ever made (Martin). Directed by Ang Lee, the movie grossed one hundred and twenty million dollars in its first four months after opening. According to Martin (2005), Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon is the highest grossing foreign language film in the United States. The film won four awards at the academy awards namely; best art direction, best original score, best foreign film and best cinematography. Film reviewers termed Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon as one of the most exhilarating martial arts film ever made. It is clear that when director, Ang Lee was making this movie; he wanted it to be appealing to all audiences. He accomplished this by making use of his miscellaneous background and familiarity of different film markets. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon is full of kung-fu styles from some of the original kung-fu movies and is also incorporated into famous Hollywood visuals and themes (Stewart, 2002). By blending all these factors together with Chinese actors and beautiful landscapes as perceived across mainland China allowed this movie to appeal to everyone across the globe. On the other hand, its artful blend of Chinese culture and Hollywood themes are not the only reasons for attracting a largely diverse audience. Kung-fu movies are mostly associated with a stereotypical male who is a dominant hero and always saves the much weaker female figure. However, in this film, the fighters or heroes are women; thus, this movie challenges the norms of the society and, therefore, draws a larger audience (Stewart, 2002). Gender Roles According to traditional and social gender norms, women have always been perceived as being gentle, incapable and emotional. Traditionally, women have always been dependant on an agile and stronger man for protection. Specifically, Chinese women of the late 1700s which are the settings of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon did not have much control over their lives. There suffered from; arranged marriages that occurred without the consent of the young woman who was to be married off. Women were also taught by society to accept their fate silently without defiance or complaints. They were perceived as the weaker sex who could not defend their lives especially when facing stronger and bigger males. Males, on the other hand, were expected to be tough and strong. They were not supposed to display any emotion since it was seen as a disgrace and a sign of weakness by their peers and the elders. Traditional male heroes are perceived as independent, never vulnerable and self-sacrificing individuals. Masculinity is directly connected to domination and ultimate power; this is evident in the majority of martial arts movies. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon challenges these traditional perceptions in all fronts. Role of Female Characters Female characters in this film are Yu Shu Lien (Michelle Yeoh) and Jen Yu (Zhang Ziyi) and Jade Fox (Cheng Pei-Pei). Jen Yu displays the characteristics of a female breaking free from traditional gender norms. Jen is a fierce fighter and is the youngest of all the female characters. She is the governor’s daughter and for this reason, she is prohibited from displaying her talents. She is motivated to learn and understand the ways of the wudang fighting skills as she sees this as her only way to becoming free. Like most women of the late 1700s, arrangements had been made for Jen to be married to a man who had the means of improving her father’s political position and ambitions (Cai, 2005). We also notice that Jen had an illicit affair with Lo; this signifies her rebellious nature and makes her quite different from the 1700s women of China. Another area where we get to see her rebelliousness is at the end of the film when she jumps from a cliff, she does this as a way to be free, and to be reunited with Lo. According to Martin (2005), “Jen had gone against the code of the Jianghu underworld leading to the demise of Li Mu Bai”, and instead of coming to terms with her actions and express repentance; she jumps off a cliff (p. 159). She challenges the conventional gender norms that were palpable in her day to day routine and views marriage as a vehicle of suppression. We get to understand her frustrations when she talks to Shu Lien pretending to be ignorant of martial arts. She says, “It must be really exciting being a fighter, to be free.” Later in this conversation, she says that she is getting married off and that she has not lived her life to the fullest. She also points out that women are not allowed to roam freely while married. Jen is defiant and rebellious, two characteristics that are not found in traditional women (Martin, 2005). According to Cai (2005), all of her characteristics as portrayed in the film prove that she does not fit with conventional female ideals. Jen is seen as one who craves a sisterhood with Shu Lien, they freely discuss gender, marriage and how these two are perceived by other members of the society. Jen identifies her key to ultimate freedom is by remaining unwed to follow the warriors path. But Shu Lien opens up to her pain of prevented love. By following the warrior’s path, she is forbidden to pursue her love for Mu Bai because it would seem as if she was dishonoring her murdered lover. Jen is the smallest and youngest character in the film, yet she fights and defeats almost every male character that comes her way. One of the most outstanding and most excellent scenes in this film occurs at a restaurant when she single-handedly defeats over twenty male individuals. She does this armed with the mythical sword, known as the green destiny that she had stolen from the Wudang School (Martin, 2005). At this point, her skills and strength are evident that she is not a traditional woman. Yu Shu Lien is another female character who is a famous warrior in the Giang Hu World. She runs a martial arts school after the death of her father. Shu Lien’s traits are not the stereotypical dependant and weak woman; she is a sword fighter and a renowned master of martial arts who matches her every opponent. At one scene in the movie, after the male guard’s efforts to stop the masked man who had stolen the Green Destiny sword fail, she is the only one who goes after the thief. It is the first scene in the film where the female character portrays dominance over the male characters. Shu Lien is a representation of the wiser and older female fighter who displays characteristics that are common to men, such as; being strong, capable and independent (Cai, 2005). Shu Lien also shows respect for the Giang Hu ways. She effortlessly fits in a role that is commonly reserved for the male hero. Her wisdom and knowledge are also quite evident through her wise words “Warriors have rules too, trust, friendship, and integrity.” She says that without such rules, no one would survive for long. Shu Lien also shows another trait that is reserved for men; she is not overly emotional. Throughout the whole film, Shu Lien does not express her feelings towards Li Mu Bai, the lead male character. It is only after his death that her emotions poured out to show her attachment towards Li Mu Bai. Jade Fox, who is the antagonist in this film, is also a female character, she is a criminal, a lifestyle that was taken up by men, and this surprises the people around her. She also bemoans the constraints that have been placed on women, for example; she was not allowed to follow her dream career. So, she decided to take control over her life, and this leads her to steal the valued Wudang secrets. During her confrontation with Li Mu Bei after he learned that she murdered his master, she laments “Your master played down women. Sure he would have slept with me but would never teach me. He, therefore, deserved to die by a female’s hand (Cai, 2005). Society expects women to enter into a marriage and strive to become proper wives and mothers. Traditional norms expect women to be gentle, nurturing, support their husbands or the men in their lives and be reserved in actions and words. If they transgress these traditional norms, they are punished but in this movie, the female characters push back against the various strains of sexism. Role of Male Characters Female characters in this film are not the only ones breaking free from the traditional gender roles. There are two male characters; Lo and Li Mu Bai, their traits are a reversal of male hero expectations. Traditionally, men are required to be emotionless and tough but these two portray the emotions in this movie. Both Jen and Shu Lien are faced with difficulties when they try to express their feelings, Lo and Mu Bai fill this gap with tender actions and words. Lo, a former love interest of Jen is portrayed as a genuine and sweet man from the beginning. Even though he is in a gang that steals from people, he instructs his accomplices not to touch the women. He fails to control his love for Jen and even follows her to Beijing (Martin, 2005). Another scene that shows a reversal of gender roles is when Jen attacks Lo continuously and vigorously to retrieve her comb, Lo only defends himself and also ensures that Jen rests. He is a sympathetic and caring human being who is willing to do anything for his woman. Li Mu Bai is also charming and caring. He is afraid of expressing himself to Shu Lien. His death is the most emotional part of the whole film as he whispers to Shu Lien, “I have always been in love with you, and I would rather be a lonely spirit by your side as a damned ghost that go to heaven without you.” He intensely displays his feelings in a manner that is expected of a female. These two male characters; Li Mu Bai and Lo are full of affections and emotions; they make the film more compelling to watch and especially for the female audience (Cai, 2005). Conclusion In Crouching Tiger, the three women are the film’s main stars. They are of different ages and hail from different social-economic backgrounds. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon has men and romance but the women in the film are not reduced to their sexuality nor do what is anticipated of them by the social order of the 1700s. They are strong-willed and do not sacrifice their identities like so many other women in their time to be in a romantic relationship and love. Martin (2005) also notes that the film refuses to imply the death of its heroines; this trait is seen in most wuxia genre films. “Wuxia films portray fantasies rather than realism”. At the end of the film, Jen jumps from a cliff but we do not see her falling to her death (p. 159). Role reversal that is so prominent in this film has greatly helped the director to bring a bigger crowd of interested viewers to this film. Instead of the conventional male dominated audience of a Kung-fu style movie, the director has pulled a large female group to view the movie as well. Female characters like Shu Lien and Jen Yu are fierce, brilliant and agile fighters while the male characters like Lo and Li Mu Bai bring with them the emotions while still showing their warrior ways. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon is a movie with a stroke of genius and will continue to dominate to all genders across the world. References Cai, R. (2005). Gender Imaginations in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and the Wuxia World. Positions: East Asia Cultures Critique, 13(2), 441-471. doi:10.1215/10679847-13-2-441 Martin, F. (2005). The China Simulacrum: Genre, Feminism, and Pan-Chinese Cultural Politics in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. Hong Kong University Press, 12(12), 149-159. Stewart, J. (2002). Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. The San Francisco Jung Institute Library Journal,21(1), 57-66. doi:10.1525/jung.1.2002.21.1.57 Read More