Comparing Two Asian Films - Essay Example

Question to be answered: One function of several Asian national cinemas is to deal with traumatic memories of political and/or military terror, and by depicting a “post-traumatic” identity to help viewers remember what is too painful to recuperate. Examine the significance of trauma in two films. Introduction Psychological trauma has been linked to personalization in art in diverse ways. Reyes, et al (p.615) defines psychological trauma as emotional sensitivity arising from exposure to a traumatic event. A number of artists have included personalization in their work in a way that psychological trauma as it affects the characters is apparent. In these films or artistic works, the characters struggle in order to deal with the sufferings that they are experiencing. In other instance; the characters deal with pains that result from either their loved ones or from their respective communities; whereby, they witness the events that in turn affect their emotions and psychological state. In this paper, the impact of psychological trauma on the protagonists in the films (Lost in Beijing and Buffalo Boy) will be discussed and the conclusion will summarize the findings of the paper. Thesis: Two Asian films from different countries indicate that stories about the past, inevitably exhibit psychological trauma in a way that it enables a multifaceted representation of political and historical issues in Asia generally. The Films Film making has been basically used to represent the events in the society as they occur e.g. in; ‘Lost in Beijing’ – China and ‘Buffalo Boy’--Vietnam. In; ‘Lost in Beijing’, shows how unrest in the city of Beijing, affects its inhabitants. Primarily, is about Liu and An Kun; a couple that recently migrated to the city of Beijing in search of a better life. The two struggle to survive in Beijing and they depend on manual work and this explains why they have to live in ramshackle residents. In the massage parlor where Liu is working, the boss (Lin Dong) loves women and he rapes Liu when she was drunk and her husband witnesses the event. Although An Kun protests, he eventually accepted the compensation because of the emotional torture that he had experienced. An agreement is reached that, in case the child turns out to belong to Lin Dong, then, An Kun would be compensated and Lin would be divorced. However, if the child belonged to An Kun, then there will be no compensation. the child turned out to belong to An Kun hence there he was not to be compensated, but since Lin had become fond of the child, he accepts to give the compensation in exchange even though the child was not his. An Kun regrets later and wants to have Liu and the child hence he attempts to kidnap them. He is imprisoned and after his release, he come back to buy them but Liu escapes and the two men have to look for her. By describing the story, it will be easier to understand how the story relates to the topic of discussion which in this case is psychological trauma. The story is significant without which, analysis will be difficult for the reader to understand. In ‘Buffalo Boy’, a young man named Kim goes to look for food to feed his starving water buffalo. By concentrating on the water buffalo, Kim is not able to harvest produce for his mother, neither can he attend to his sick father. Regardless of the threat that Kim faced from other nomads, he gets into business and falls in love with the girlfriend of his friend. This causes emotional torture to Kim. His father dies after telling him about his ancestry which includes the fact that his mother was the sister of the man who headed the herding team that Kim had joined. Kim also find out that he was born as a result of rape. Like his father, Kim wants to rape the wife of Det and after the death of Det; Kim adopts the son of Det. Comparing Two Films from Different Asian Countries In various parts of the world, the act of processing intense emotion encompasses the use of art. Filmmaking has been used as a voice that speaks for the individuals who have been traumatized in the society or to depict traumatized communities. For example; in Asia, some films such as ‘Trauma Interrupted’ has been used to show the trauma that women went through during the period of the slave trade. It is a film that shows the suffering of Asian slave women as they are forced into sexual slavery during the Second World War. Similarly, in contemporary films, the theme of psychological trauma has not been ignored. There are some artists who have used graphics or cartoons to exhibit psychological trauma in a manner that it reflects historical and political issues in the given society (Reyes, et al p.53). In the case of contemporary Asia, the stories of the past have continued to be told in the present using film. In the films ‘Lost in Beijing’ and ‘Buffalo Boy’, women undergo psychological trauma as they did during the slavery period. In the film ‘Lost in Beijing’, Liu is raped by her boss and she is not able to defend herself. Regardless of the fact that she was raped, Liu does not speak out for herself and this leaves her boss and her husband to make decisions about the issue .This depicts the political arena in the history of China and other regions of Asia where women were taken as sex slaves hence they did not have the authority to make any decisions (Wang 11). In the same way, ‘Buffalo Boy’ shows aspects of sexual slavery because; men form herding teams and they fight and rape women. The main character in the film, Kim, is also a product of rape. Women do not have the power to defend themselves and men continue to rape the women because they do not have the same strength as men without considering the feelings of women. Therefore, based on the two films, the stories about the past have been told in a manner that is depicts psychological trauma that women in history went through in Asia. Women were not protected and they were sexually assaulted causing them psychological distress and that may explain why they were not able to defend themselves. In other words, women did not receive sufficient protection and that is why they were exploited by men and this was the cause of psychological trauma. According to Cleaver (p.4), the history of Asia shows that the roles of men and women in the society have been changing and responding to the effects of globalization which include westernization or sharing of family roles between men and women. Although time may lead to distribution of roles, the disadvantages still exist. Gendered vulnerabilities are noted to be disadvantageous to men especially in relation to matters of health. This is attributed to the fact that, with gendered responsibilities, men are prone to emotional torture which may eventually cause them to take drastic actions that may include committing suicide. In consistence with division of responsibilities in south Asia, young men are bound to experience a high level of suffering when they are compared with women. As noted by Cleaver (p.3), “… some argue that in general, Asian men may suffer more ill health than women”. This is because; primarily, ‘being a man’ encompasses taking up the responsibility of providing for the family and in that effect, the man may experience immense emotional and physical strains that would lead to psychological trauma. In trying to be ‘the man’, the men in the two films end up suffering from psychological trauma. In the film ‘Lost in Beijing’, An Kun and Lin both try to be men principally in relation to the baby of Liu. An Kun first tries to prove that he is ‘the man’ when he protested against the act of rape by Lin. He wanted to show that he is the man in the life of Liu and thus he was responsible for protecting her and he even seeks compensation for the damages Lin caused because of the rape. Lin also showed that he was ‘the man’ mainly by using his money and power. First, he uses his money to make An kun keep quiet about his act of sexual assault against Liu. Secondly, he struggles to have the custody of Liu’s child. In trying to confirm that they are men, they both make an effort to look for Liu when they realized that she was missing. The film ‘Buffalo Boy’ is not different. The men in the film work hard to prove their manhood hence the herding teams are made up of men only. Kim works as much as he can to protect and to provide for his buffaloes and his parents. Chiefly, the desire to confirm that a person is ‘the man’, a number of men in the Asian community undergoes psychological anxiety. The provision includes protection and that is why, in the two films, the men take up the responsibility and making sure that they emerge the winners and more importantly, they provide for their loved ones. In the main, Asian history and in particular, the history of Vietnam shows that both male and female children experienced psychological trauma when making economic contribution to the family and the community at large. This was especially the case for the boys in the family because boys were thought to bring economic benefits to the family largely through agricultural activities. As mentioned by Marr and White (p.70), children learn to take the responsibility of producing for the family. The children are young and they experience anxieties when they have to take up adult roles of contributing to the family. Furthermore, when the parents of the male child are old, these children play the role of providing for the parents hence they are denied their childhood life causing emotional distress. In ‘Buffalo Boy’ this theme is clearly manifested. Kim takes care of the white buffaloes and engages in crop farming in order to provide for his aging parents. He does not have time to relax and have fun and this affects his emotional stability that is why he engaged in defiant behavior e.g. raping women and stealing buffaloes. On the other hand, history of Vietnam shows that when the male child in the family marries, he is bringing another person to the family who will provide labor to the family because his wife will be an addition of labor source in the family. At the same time, the couple is expected to give birth to children who will also be a source of labor to the family. Generally, the history of Vietnamese society shows that, families depended on domestic labor for economic development. Children were a symbol of affluence and joy from heaven. Considering the economic gains that children brought to the family, the society’s proverb stated that; “heaven creates elephants and it will create grass to feed them” (Marr and White 70). The meaning of the proverb is that, god brought fertility to help in addressing economic problems that the people in the society face so that the society does not have to undergo psychological trauma when seeking economic gains. In the case of the Vietnamese society, it is believed that a person is psychologically stable when the family is large because of the economic gains that accrue from the labor. This element was shown in ‘Buffalo Boy’ using its contrast. In the film, Kim does not marry and therefore, the family does not expand. Kim is therefore, left to take up all the agricultural activities to ensure that his parents have what they need. The film showed that, in Vietnamese families where family members are few, there is no support and this causes psychological torture to them. Kim is psychologically traumatized because he has to work hard for his parents and the trauma is triggered by the fact that he has no one from the family to support him. While it is evident that in Vietnam’s history, marriage was done for the purposes of gaining economic benefits mainly to the family, the case was quite different in the Southeast Asia. In the mid -19th century, marriage was for the rich hence it was not easy for the poor to marry. The poor and the rich interacted with each other during festivals and during operas. However, poor males did not have the hope of having lands or marrying or being part of the society that is respected. In Goldman & Gordon (p.49), the author note: “the poorest men had little hope of acquiring land or even marrying and being part of respectable village society”. History of Vietnam is illustrated in other Asian countries such as China. In the film ‘Lost in Beijing’, An kun does not receive much respect because he is poor whereas Lin is rich hence he has the respect of those under him. For example; An Kun accepts his proposal to the money in exchange for his silence about the rape and exchange for the baby and his wife. The inability of the poor to acquire wealth and to have power causes psychological trauma. This is due to the reason that, without wealth, these people are not able to speak up and express what they think or feel about issues. The highly ranked people in the society suffer from psychological trauma also because they have the desire to protect their image and the respect from the society hence they try to avoid engaging in activities that may cause scandals and this causes them to experience emotional torture (Goldman & Gordon 288). An Kun and Liu are the characters in the film ‘Lost in Beijing’ who suffer silently from psychological trauma because they are poor. Although she is raped and her husband trades her and her baby for money, Liu is a poor woman and she suffers in silence. Her psychological suffering is particularly apparent from her silence when discussions about the baby are on-going. In relation to political history issue, regions in Asia have been confronted with matters associated with hierarchy. In China, history shows that that is an apparent and natural superiority associated with hierarchy considering the political ranks during civilization and the historical links with classical civilization. China’s cultural hierarchy largely defines the political situation in China. This means that, China values the issue of hierarchy as explained by its fear of stumbling and falling and the possibility of losing its prestigious status of self worth. On the other hand, those at the lower level in the hierarchy do not have a voice and although they try to voice out their concerns, those at the high ranks are cautious not to be pulled down by those of the lower rank (Goldman & Gordon, 288). This issue is largely obvious in the film ‘Lost in Beijing’. Lin is at the higher hierarchical levels in the society and he wants to make sure that he does not lose his prestigious status thus he bribes An Kun so that he keeps quiet about the rape. Basically, An Kun does not have a voice because he belongs to the lower hierarchical level (he is a peasant living in dilapidated house, and work as a casual laborer) hence his protests against Lin do not bear fruit. Therefore, those in higher levels of political hierarchy suffer from psychological trauma because they have to work hard to protect their image and gain the confidence of the public. On the other hand, those in the lower rank struggle to deal with the humiliation they experience from those who are highly ranked. In conclusion, the two Asian films ‘Lost in Beijing’’ and ‘Buffalo Boy’ show stories about the modern Asia. They inevitably depict psychological trauma in a way that they address various political and historical issues such as sexual slavery, political hierarchies, gendered roles, cultural practices and others. Works Cited Cleaver, F. (2002). Masculinities matter! Men, gender, and development. Bradford: Zed Books. Goldman, M. & Gordon, A. (2000). Historical perspectives on contemporary East Asia. Harvard: Harvard University Press. Marr, D. G. & White, C. P. (1988). Postwar Vietnam: dilemmas in socialist development. New York: SEAP Publications. Reyes, G., Elhai, J. D. & Ford, J. D. (2008). The Encyclopedia of Psychological Trauma. New York: John Wiley & Sons. Wang, L. (2011). Chinese Women’s Cinema - Transnational Contexts. Columbia: Columbia University Press. Read More

In ‘Buffalo Boy’, a young man named Kim goes to look for food to feed his starving water buffalo. By concentrating on the water buffalo, Kim is not able to harvest produce for his mother, neither can he attend to his sick father. Regardless of the threat that Kim faced from other nomads, he gets into business and falls in love with the girlfriend of his friend. This causes emotional torture to Kim. His father dies after telling him about his ancestry which includes the fact that his mother was the sister of the man who headed the herding team that Kim had joined.

Kim also find out that he was born as a result of rape. Like his father, Kim wants to rape the wife of Det and after the death of Det; Kim adopts the son of Det. Comparing Two Films from Different Asian Countries In various parts of the world, the act of processing intense emotion encompasses the use of art. Filmmaking has been used as a voice that speaks for the individuals who have been traumatized in the society or to depict traumatized communities. For example; in Asia, some films such as ‘Trauma Interrupted’ has been used to show the trauma that women went through during the period of the slave trade.

It is a film that shows the suffering of Asian slave women as they are forced into sexual slavery during the Second World War. Similarly, in contemporary films, the theme of psychological trauma has not been ignored. There are some artists who have used graphics or cartoons to exhibit psychological trauma in a manner that it reflects historical and political issues in the given society (Reyes, et al p.53). In the case of contemporary Asia, the stories of the past have continued to be told in the present using film.

In the films ‘Lost in Beijing’ and ‘Buffalo Boy’, women undergo psychological trauma as they did during the slavery period. In the film ‘Lost in Beijing’, Liu is raped by her boss and she is not able to defend herself. Regardless of the fact that she was raped, Liu does not speak out for herself and this leaves her boss and her husband to make decisions about the issue .This depicts the political arena in the history of China and other regions of Asia where women were taken as sex slaves hence they did not have the authority to make any decisions (Wang 11).

In the same way, ‘Buffalo Boy’ shows aspects of sexual slavery because; men form herding teams and they fight and rape women. The main character in the film, Kim, is also a product of rape. Women do not have the power to defend themselves and men continue to rape the women because they do not have the same strength as men without considering the feelings of women. Therefore, based on the two films, the stories about the past have been told in a manner that is depicts psychological trauma that women in history went through in Asia.

Women were not protected and they were sexually assaulted causing them psychological distress and that may explain why they were not able to defend themselves. In other words, women did not receive sufficient protection and that is why they were exploited by men and this was the cause of psychological trauma. According to Cleaver (p.4), the history of Asia shows that the roles of men and women in the society have been changing and responding to the effects of globalization which include westernization or sharing of family roles between men and women.

Although time may lead to distribution of roles, the disadvantages still exist. Gendered vulnerabilities are noted to be disadvantageous to men especially in relation to matters of health. This is attributed to the fact that, with gendered responsibilities, men are prone to emotional torture which may eventually cause them to take drastic actions that may include committing suicide. In consistence with division of responsibilities in south Asia, young men are bound to experience a high level of suffering when they are compared with women.

As noted by Cleaver (p.3), “… some argue that in general, Asian men may suffer more ill health than women”.

Read More