Up the Yangtze, Essay Example

What does this film tell you about the familial roles expected of a young Chinese woman from a poor or rural family and her options for further education and employment? The parents understand that Shui Yu is destined to remedial farm jobs leading to a life of poverty and dependence on the China government. The young Chinese women from the rural areas are not expected to attend college or find employment. The women of Chinese are expected to be subservient and prepare their lives as a mother tending to her children. The Chinese culture does not allow for the wife to the head of household. The parents force Shui Yu to work on the cruise ship as a lesson on what the real world offers while learning how to survive. The school attendance from a Chinese girl in the rural area in not expected because the rural areas have inadequate facilities for learning, poorly trained teachers and the classrooms are crowed. In addition, the rural areas lack textbooks, papers and the proper tools to learn. The family would pay for the young girls’ education but they need to work the fields or land to make enough money to live. Therefore, the Chinese girls become migrant workers to help the families cultivate the land. The educational opportunities are very slim for the young girl because her parents are not educated and the village does not have the resources to prepare young girls for college. The primary reason is the parents cannot financially send the young girl to college. The resources within a rural community are usually spent on the farming to ensure the entire village has food to eat and sale in the market. Secondly, the Chinese government does not provide any subsidies for these villages to survive causing the entire families to accept a life of poverty.

The film pairs the story of the young woman in the film with a young man from a privileged urban family. Discuss the depictions of both of them in the film. What message does the filmmaker seem to be conveying about gender and class in a changing China?

The young man Chen Bo Yu is raised in a middle-class family believing in capitalism and the male learning the ways of Westerners to complete in the world market. It is obvious the filmmaker is shedding light on the male gender dominance in China. The film makes it clear that Chen Bo Yu as a middle class boy is supposed to be a leader, arrogant and leading a life full of educational opportunities and the head of the household. The film is following the traditional way of life of China’s male dominate culture which very different from the western culture. Both Chen and Chui are both in culture shock with the way Westerns act and live. Chen Bo Yu refuses to serve Westerners that do not tip because he feels as a Chinese male he is not their slave. He feels disrespected because he is the male alpha of the Chinese race. The captain teach Chen Bo Yu and Chui Yu that learning the Westerners ways will lead to success but hard work and discipline is the key. In contrast, Chui parents cannot afford to send her to college, so her lesson to learn is how to succeed in America. Chen Bo You was transformed as well. He had the attitude of a rich spoiled brat that was fortunate. The other workers called him “little emperor” because of the way he walked around as if he owned the cruise ship. The cruise ship boss goal is to teach Chen Bo Yu and Chui Yu how to learn the Western culture while learning how to survive in the new world

Describe the changes the young girl’s family goes through in the film, both in the parents’ understanding of their daughter’s new role in the larger world and their own future in an urban environment. The parents understand that the new dam is an end to a Chinese family way of life in poverty. The rumor among the displaced millions isThree Gorges Dam usher in a new housing area for the Chinese families. However, the parents understand that they must be prepared for lack of support. The government has promised to help all the millions of displaced Chinese people a new urban home. However, in reality the parents and others are indicating the housing has been poor, little compensation for being resettled and families in poverty still struggling to live (PBS, 2014). More important, the parents understand the future is uncertain after the dam is completed, therefore, they encourage the daughter strongly to work as a dishwasher in the cruise boat. The parents are hoping spending time with the Westerners; she will learn the ways of advancement, education, and capitalism allowing her to see the new Western culture in a different light. They hope she will embrace this new change moving forward in the Western world. The filmmaker does a great job in comparing the completion of the dam as a part of history that will be erased and forgotten. The dam brings in the new urban world but at what cost to the family and their daughter.

Conclude your essay with your own reflections on the film in light of our course readings. The film is an excellent look at the Chinese social classes and the changing of the Chinese society. The cruise ship represents freedom because the cruise passengers are Western tourists who reflect the capitalistic ways of their own culture. The young girl at first does not like the Western culture while washing dishes on the ship. However, this experience allows her to understand the significance of her parents village being destroy by the dam. It is about the education of the young girl who grew up on the cruise ship understanding the past and the new Western culture. More important, the girl finally understands in the last scene of the film that an entire village culture has been erased forever. The government has sold the Chinese village people that a new urban area is coming; however, it is shameful that many of the millions of people displaced will be homeless because of overcrowding and poor living urban areas. Nevertheless, most importantly, the film reflects the damage of new technology that will power China but as the same time these families will starve because China is not replacing agriculture programs to help them grow their own food. While many families and lives have been lost because of the “River,” however, a family tradition and ancestor has beenobliterated. The world has developed many power sources for electricityincluding the hydroelectric dam. The government should have found a way to incorporates 50s or 60s, who are unable to be trained in new skills besides the farming experience.

There are some major advantages to the construction of the hydroelectric dam. The economy will grow causing more tourist to visit the inlands. The 1994, the Chinese government had to solve a problem with energy. They were running out of viable options to bring electricity to the entire populations. As solution to this problem, they began the building of Three Gorges Dam, which has been documented as the largest dam in the world. The dam will be filled with trillion gallons of water that will help with the devastating flooding that has left many people homeless and taken the lives of thousands. The additional, ocean streamlines moving closer inland brings prosperity to Chinas communities. The additional, water streams will bring more agriculture, increase local and foreign trades and add more tourist to the inlands. The main advantage is the hydroelectric power will bring inexpensive power to the masses. The dam will save the atmosphere by decreasing amount of damaging gas emissions. The downside is the displacement of millions of people; however, the government did attempt to provide new housing and assistance to the masses. The new locations for the displaced families may not be the smoothest transitions but China is moving in the right direction making sure the families, ecosystem, traditional and the society resembles the traditional Chinese way of life.

Reference

PBS. (2014).Up the Yangtze. Retrieved October 22, 2014 from http://www.pbs.org/pov/uptheyangtze/lesson_plan.php