Social Injustice in Zhang Yimous Films and Hibiscus Town - Essay Example

Running Head: SOCIAL INJUSTICE IN ZHANG YIMOU’S FILMS AND HIBISCUS TOWN Social Injustice in Zhang Yimou’s Films and Hibiscus Town Course Tutor Date Discuss and compare the filmic treatment of social injustice between Zhang Yimou’s films in this unit of study with either Street Angel or Hibiscus Town or The World. Introduction Hibiscus Town is a film about Hu Yuyin who is a young lady in a small Chinese town just before Cultural Revolution. She is married and operates a successful roadside food shop where she sells spicy beancurd. Hu Yuyin is supported by Party Members who include Li Mangeng who at a time wanted to marry her as well as Director Gu who is a war veteran and is responsible for granary. However, in 1964, a clean up movement sends a party work team to get the Rightists and the capitalist by the roadside. The leader of the team is Li Guoxiang who is not married and is assisted by Wang Quishi who was once a poor peasant but consequently lost his land because of his drinking habits. During a public struggle gathering, Yuyin is acknowledged as the “new rich peasant”. As a result, Yuyin’s home as well as her business are taken away. After this, her husband commits suicide out of desperation and she is left all alone with so many problems. After the first period of revolution ends, Yuyin goes back to the town, now referred to as a poor town sweeper. Yuyin falls in love with Qin Shutian who went in the town in 1950s to gather folksongs but was asserted to be among the Five Black Categories. Yuyin becomes pregnant with Shutian but their seemingly loving relationship offends both Li Guoxiang and Wang Qiushe, who are having a secret relationship. Shutian is driven to reform by labor. However, when Deng Xiaoping's reforms comes to effect in 1978, Shutian’s case is evaluated and consequently he is permitted to go back to Yuyin and assist her in reestablishing her street business (Lorber, 2004). Zhang Yimou’s work in Hibiscus Town film can be referred to as exemplary since it brings out the narrative of both longing and emotion to a cinematic extreme. Alongside preconceived moral as well as ideological pattern, Zhang Yimou was successful in bringing liveliness of emotion in regard to the social injustices in the film into historical narrative. Melodrama is the hallmark of Zhang Yimou’s films. This is portrayed mostly within the political victimization which is a social injustice which took place in the past (British Film Institute, 2005). Various aspects contribute to the social injustice within the society which occurred in a rugged and muddy historical terrain. Personalization of both historical and social forces, the clean up movement as the microcosm of historical crisis, the portrayal of Yuyin who is a hardworking, piteous woman as the victim of social injustice, the clear-cut moral polarization of both evil and good, the dramatically blown up scene and sound: all these works in bringing out clearly the social injustices that are present in the film (Lorber, 2004). Apparently, social injustice in portrayed where there is victimization of Yuyin and her husband. Consistently, it is the party rehabilitation policy which leads to the turn-around within the victim’s fate, who is Yuyin. The main female character, Yuyin and her husband who has been asserted to be among the Five Black Categories has been separated and as a result Yuyin is left all alone when her lover is sent to work in the labor for him to reform. Yuyin goes through a lot of problems since she was left when she was pregnant and almost dies during labor. The film traces Song’s recalling of her unsuccessful relationships and her anguished attempt to atone the injustices she faces. However, Yuyin does not succeed until when Deng Xiaoping's reforms come to effect in 1978, Shutian’s case is evaluated and consequently he is permitted to go back to Yuyin and assist her in reestablishing her street business (Furong, 2001). The social injustice victim is obviously Yuyin. She goes through a lot of suffering and misery when her lover is taken away from her. The victim’s only request is to get back her husband. Finally, the party grants her of her request and the broken family is rejoined again. The cause of this family breaking was Li Guoxiang and Wang Qiushe who did not have any ideal reason to punish Yuyin’s husband, Shutian or her since both were also having an affair secretly. This indicates how these two were unfair in punishing them while they were doing the same thing. Obviously, if they had been just, they would also have punished themselves (British Film Institute, 2005). Another social injustice in this film is in the manner in which the movement party is finally judged. In the end, the painful and irrational history is done away with through balancing the right and wrong. Injustice is blamed on not only the momentary faults of the party but also on varying levels within the executive hierarchy: the higher the officer is in the rank the wiser the party is deemed to be. The mistakes and the messing of the society are only blamed on the impenitent, benighted local in addition to lower-ranking officers (Greg, 2006). The blame being put on the lower ranking officials while the higher ranking officials are exempted from the blame clearly demonstrates the social injustice that was there in Hibiscus Town. Seemingly, the people with low status within the society were mistreated and judged unfairly. All the mistakes were blamed on them. This shows that the blame was being put on them because they had no voice or when they aired their views they were enormously disregarded. This illustrates injustice for the poor while the rich were favored. On the other hand, the officials who had the higher ranks were exempted from any wrong doing yet they are the ones who were involved in key decision making in regard to matters pertaining the society (Greg, 2006). Moreover, they are the ones who made a decision on whether someone would be punished and also they are the ones who decided the kind of punishment one would get. For instance, in the case of Yuyin and her husband Shutian, it was Li Guoxiang and Wang Qiushe who made the decision to send Shutian for reform through labor. Both of them had high ranks within the party. Still, they were the key people who decided to carry out clean up movement where Yuyin lost her home and business she had worked hard to build together with her husband (Calvin, 2005). Social injustice in hibiscus is also illustrated within the cruelest times of the Cultural Revolution. Misfortunes fall thick and quick on the main female character Hu Yuyin and these calamities occur as a result of injustices that are done to her by the party leaders, Li Guoxiang and Wang Qiushe. Her husband’s death is as a result of public security. Hu Yuyin’s husband committed suicide because he was very agonized and was in desperation following the unjust act of cleaning up which took away all what they had. This was a huge injustice committed against them and after that Yuyin suffers a lot. In one scene in the film, she roams to the graveyard looking for her dead husband. The monstrous and ghoulish images looming around, the sound track that that plays an bizarre, jarring music, the grief-stricken condition of the character, Yuyin and the quasi-fantastic rejoinder between and shadowy image and Yuyin regarding if he is a man or ghost: this provides the scene with a surrealistic and nightmarish aura depicting the suffering Yuyin had to go through as a result of social injustices that took place (Furong, 2001). Scenes of this force in regard to injustices taking place within the society are the ones that make the film to be heart wrenching and also bring the compelling effect within the film. Even if the film describes the Cultural Revolution as the background, the film recasts the historical forces within unjust society, displacing the hurts of history into a more manageable narrative of social injustice. Even though Li Guoxiang, the party secretary in addition to Wang Qiushe who is the local cadre, were the agents of the erroneous policy, they have been portrayed as the key culprits who break in the violent political rage against the serene life of the town. These are the people who contributed much to the social injustice within the town and their personae symbolize evil and their evil characters are sufficiently portrayed. Li Guoxiang is involved in political and sexual prostitution while Wang Qiushe is merely a good for nothing woman who is ready to jump at any chance for selfish benefits. These characters go unpunished yet they punish the innocent and this implies the social injustice that is taking place (Calvin, 2005). Through identification of these “evil” traits as the ones who are responsible for the calamity and yet they are not punished, the film brings out the social injustice in the system. The films brings out a story of how these “evil” characters discriminate against and torture the innocent victims like Yuyin. However, the victims are finally vindicated through a retributive history when reforms take place and they eventually experience justice. For instance, when Deng Xiaoping's reforms comes by, Shutian’s case is evaluated and he is permitted to go back to Yuyin and assist her in reestablishing her street business. Here, the social injustice has been addressed and hence the cases are being judged fairly following the reforms (Leo, 2008). Through casting the disastrous history in the unjust and evil person in the film, in invokes humanistic values in the good characters. Yuyin has admirable human nature and finally she is able to come out from the social injustices committed against her. This notion is regularly coupled with famous Chinese belief in the family unity, social justice, economic success, efficient connection to the community and stability through generation. These are actually the mental support that sustains the victims of social injustice within the film (Bancroft Way, 2003). While love and marriage are humanistic values, the rightist Shutian and Yuyin are the condemned “bourgeois aspect” and they are punished for that. They are wretched and miserable since they are condemned to sweeping the street as a form of punishment. Obviously, they are being punished for nothing and this brings out the aspect of social injustice within the film. Gu Yanshan who is perceived as a good leader proclaims that it is the broom and the street that join both Yuyin and Shutian. The wedding is performed secretly instead and this implies the level of social injustice within the town: people even had to hide when they were performing a genuine and a legitimate wedding. A contrast is set in the film where Yuyin and Shutian are victims of genuine and free love because of the social injustice whereas those on the wrong are free. There is political prostitution between Li Guoxiang and Wang Qiushe: Li utilizes her rank to acquire sexual favor from Wang while Wang benefits politically (Bancroft Way, 2003). Still, the clean up movement illustrates the social injustice within the film. Li Guoxiang and Wang Qiushe lead the team which carries out the action and leaves Yuyin, homeless, poor and also a widow. During a public gathering, Yuyin is referred to as the “new rich peasant”, which is also unfair to her. After that, all her investments are taken away including their newly built home and she afterwards condemned to poverty and she ends up sweeping in the streets. Those who do this to her and her husband are free and go unpunished and instead enjoy what Yuyin and her husband had worked so hard to get. After this, she is proclaimed as the “poor peasant sweeper” a position she was put following the clean up that was led by both Li Guoxiang and Wang Qiushe. Wang Quishi is irresponsible as depicted by his drinking which even made him lose his land but uses his rank to acquire wealth incorrectly. Those who have low ranks in the society are oppressed by those in higher ranks. Moreover, these leaders get material, political as well as sexual benefits in the wrong ways at the expense of the lowly in the society. This again demonstrates the social injustice present within the society. Finally, Shutian is sentenced to ten year imprisonment unfairly and for no apparent reason and this also demonstrates social injustice (Leo, 2008). References Bancroft Way. (2003). Pacific Film Archives (PFA). Berkeley, CA: University of California. British Film Institute. (2005). Chinese Cinema. London: Stephen Street Publishers. Calvin, D. (2005). Cultural Revolution. Pierre Menaham: International Sales. Furong, Z. (2001). Hibiscus Town. VHS: NH. Greg, L. (2006). Chinese Cultural revolution in Hibiscus Town Film. Ogden: Weber State University. Leo, G. (2008). The old new China of Xie Jin (1923-2008). Chicago: Facets Video. Lorber, F. (2004). Socialist Cinema: Politics and Art, 1950s-1970s. New York: Park Avenue South. Read More

The social injustice victim is obviously Yuyin. She goes through a lot of suffering and misery when her lover is taken away from her. The victim’s only request is to get back her husband. Finally, the party grants her of her request and the broken family is rejoined again. The cause of this family breaking was Li Guoxiang and Wang Qiushe who did not have any ideal reason to punish Yuyin’s husband, Shutian or her since both were also having an affair secretly. This indicates how these two were unfair in punishing them while they were doing the same thing.

Obviously, if they had been just, they would also have punished themselves (British Film Institute, 2005). Another social injustice in this film is in the manner in which the movement party is finally judged. In the end, the painful and irrational history is done away with through balancing the right and wrong. Injustice is blamed on not only the momentary faults of the party but also on varying levels within the executive hierarchy: the higher the officer is in the rank the wiser the party is deemed to be.

The mistakes and the messing of the society are only blamed on the impenitent, benighted local in addition to lower-ranking officers (Greg, 2006). The blame being put on the lower ranking officials while the higher ranking officials are exempted from the blame clearly demonstrates the social injustice that was there in Hibiscus Town. Seemingly, the people with low status within the society were mistreated and judged unfairly. All the mistakes were blamed on them. This shows that the blame was being put on them because they had no voice or when they aired their views they were enormously disregarded.

This illustrates injustice for the poor while the rich were favored. On the other hand, the officials who had the higher ranks were exempted from any wrong doing yet they are the ones who were involved in key decision making in regard to matters pertaining the society (Greg, 2006). Moreover, they are the ones who made a decision on whether someone would be punished and also they are the ones who decided the kind of punishment one would get. For instance, in the case of Yuyin and her husband Shutian, it was Li Guoxiang and Wang Qiushe who made the decision to send Shutian for reform through labor.

Both of them had high ranks within the party. Still, they were the key people who decided to carry out clean up movement where Yuyin lost her home and business she had worked hard to build together with her husband (Calvin, 2005). Social injustice in hibiscus is also illustrated within the cruelest times of the Cultural Revolution. Misfortunes fall thick and quick on the main female character Hu Yuyin and these calamities occur as a result of injustices that are done to her by the party leaders, Li Guoxiang and Wang Qiushe.

Her husband’s death is as a result of public security. Hu Yuyin’s husband committed suicide because he was very agonized and was in desperation following the unjust act of cleaning up which took away all what they had. This was a huge injustice committed against them and after that Yuyin suffers a lot. In one scene in the film, she roams to the graveyard looking for her dead husband. The monstrous and ghoulish images looming around, the sound track that that plays an bizarre, jarring music, the grief-stricken condition of the character, Yuyin and the quasi-fantastic rejoinder between and shadowy image and Yuyin regarding if he is a man or ghost: this provides the scene with a surrealistic and nightmarish aura depicting the suffering Yuyin had to go through as a result of social injustices that took place (Furong, 2001).

Scenes of this force in regard to injustices taking place within the society are the ones that make the film to be heart wrenching and also bring the compelling effect within the film. Even if the film describes the Cultural Revolution as the background, the film recasts the historical forces within unjust society, displacing the hurts of history into a more manageable narrative of social injustice.

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