The phrase “history repeats itself is quite evident in this film. Currently, China’s economy is in a massive industrial revolution, similar to the American industrial revolution of the early 19th century. After three years of following the Zhang family, first time director Lixin Fan released The Last Train Home, attempting to raise awareness to the down side of China’s powerful economy. While the film The Last Train Home seems to just depict the lives of factory workers, it is also making a political statement about how western capitalism exploits factory workers to produce cheap goods. The film makes this exploitation evident by depicting the fracturing of the Zhang family and the harsh working conditions they must endure. Through the display …show more content…
The transition in the message of the film occurs during the scene where Zhang’s daughter Qin and her friends are shopping in a mall. Upon seeing a pair of jeans, Qin and her friends become mesmerized by the idea that this pair of jeans might have been made in their factory. However, upon closer inspection, they realize the jeans are manufactured by another company. This scene is paramount, because it reveals how Qin is being exploited, not even having the ability to buy the jeans which she toiled to produce. Instead, she is committed to slave like labor, to ultimately provide for the common American. The film exposes the flaws of American businesses in unison with the Chinese government. The root of the problem lies in the way American companies decide to produce their goods cheaply. While the average American might become aroused by the idea of saving money on a pair of jeans, they do not realize the “hidden larger cost.” The rest of the problem lies in the apathy that the Chinese government has for the mistreatment of these workers. The communist government does not allow for regulation in these factories, and they disregard anything that will prevent these factories from producing the maximum goods …show more content…
The purpose of The Last Train Home may seem identical to a typical documentary film, where the director sets out to raise awareness on a certain issue of importance. However, as the film progresses, the political subtext is revealed. The sincere intention of this film is to convey a message regarding the harmful effects that western consumerism has on the Chinese society. By doing so the director Lixin Fan, tries to make American viewers to sympathize with the problems of China’s industrial revolution, and feel partially responsible for supporting it through the products we
In China, Kelsey Timmerman spent time with a couple who worked at the Teva factory, traveled to the countryside to meet the couple’s son, insert name, who hasn’t seen his parents in three years due to his parents working long hours and it being expensive to take a train ride. In the US, the author visited one of a few clothing factories in the US to talk to the workers about his shorts, and the decrease of American garment factories. Timmerman wants the consumer to be more engaged and more thoughtful when mindlessly buying clothes. By researching how well the brands you want to buy from monitor their factories and what their code of ethics details, you can make a sound decision on if this is where you would want to buy your clothes. The author writes about brands that improve employers lives like SoleRebels, a shoe company who employs workers and gives them health insurance, school funds for their children, and six months of maternity leave. Brands like soleRebels that give workers benefits most factory workers have never even heard of help improve the lives of garment workers and future generations. From reading this book, Timmerman wants us to be more educated about the lives of garment workers, bridge the gap between consumers and manufacturers, and be a more engaged and mindful consumer when purchasing our
The story “The Execution of Mayor Yin” takes a perilous look at the dark side of the events that happened during the Cultural Revolution. Chairman Mao’s Red Guards were tasked with a cultural cleansing that left many people more confused at the roles they played in society than it reinforced the social class structure. The story tells of a young member of the Red Guard and the personal conflict he suffered during the cleansing of Hsingan, which lay to rest his uncle and possibly even a good friend. The torment the people suffered and the personal struggle Hsaio Wu battled with coincide strongly with the age old question, “Are humans inherently evil?”
Rae Yang’s Memoir “Spider Eaters” is a poignant personal story of a girl growing up amidst the political upheaval during the establishment of People’s Republic of China under Mao Zedong’s Communist leadership. Yang describes the fascinating journey of her life from her early years as the daughter of Chinese diplomats in Switzerland to a student in an elite middle school then a fanatic Red-guard and eventually a laborer in a pig farm. Her experiences through the revolution serve as an eye-opener and lead to her eventual disillusionment of the Communist revolution in China. There are many factors that contributed to her growing discontent with communism such as the anti-rightist movement which was an effort to rule out any criticism against the government, corruption and violence of the party leaders who abused their power and continued to exploit the peasants, the false claim of proletariat dictatorship used merely to eradicate bourgeoisie and further the interests of party members.
Most films captivate the audience’s interest through the main character. This film did just that. Through the main character Li Cunxin, I was able to notice the amount of hard work and dedication which lead Li to become a famous ballet dancer known worldwide. The film based on the autobiography by Li Cunxin, “Mao’s Last Dancer” directed by Bruce Beresford is about a Chinese boy named Li Cunxin who was born into a large family of 6 boys. At the age of eleven, Li was selected from a poor Chinese village by Madam Mao’s cultural representatives to leave his family and study ballet in Beijing. The film focussed on his eventual departure from China to U.S.A after being selected by a world leading choreographer, Ben Stevenson and the consequences that followed.
When the word “gold” is thrown around such news travels far and fast. This caused people from all areas of the world to flock thousands of miles during the Westward Expansion period in efforts of going from “rags to riches” to obtain the American dream. One particular group of laborers the Chinese went to pursue a dream in the west by working on the transcontinental railroad system. This paper will reveal experiences and discriminationsthat Chinese laborers faced while working on railroads during the Westward Expansion era in hopes of overcoming poverty.
The meaning of this book is that people (including children) can be manipulated easily in a time of crisis and if the blame for their sorrows can be put on someone else. That message is seen throughout the whole book and is a sad parallel to “you can’t trust a communist”. After Mao Zedong’s death China was weak and vulnerable, they were finally able to see the truth behind the struggle, and ultimately identify that they had been used and manipulated for years. The things they had done were irreversible and still affect people to this day. What this book holds or the reader is that it will help the reader realize that; it is a privilege to live in The United States of America, no matter what happens you cannot give up, and that no matter how bad the situation a family never gives up.
self is quite evident in this film. China is going through a massive industrial revolution, similar to the American industrial revolution of the early 19th century. After three years of following the Zhang family, first time director Lixin Fan released The Last Train Home, attempting to raise awareness to the down side of China’s powefull economy. While the film The Last Train Home seems to just depict the lives of factory workers, it is actually making a political statement about how western capitalism exploits factory workers to produce cheap goods. The film makes this exploitation evident by depicting the fracturing of the Zhang family and the harsh working conditions they must endure.
In the story the “train switch dilemma” a single train car is rushing toward a group of five unknowing workers who cannot hear the train approaching. Another train worker, who we will call Alex is working at his summer job, he sees the train headed for the five unknowing workers. Alex notices a rail switch lever which if pulled will divert the train unto a different track, however, if Alex pulls the rail switch lever he sees that it will divert the train to a track with one lone worker surly killing the one standing alone. The rail switch lever presents the following dilemma, do nothing and the train continues on its path towards the five, or pull the rail switch lever and send the train towards the one person. In this essay I will show why Alex should not pull the rail switch lever and doing so would be morally wrong. Making a choice that results in the intentional killing of someone and ignoring his or her value would be
China’s Great Proletariat Cultural Revolution (GPCR) is a well-documented period in world history, but the most profound records are found vivified in the literature and films later into the 20th century, respectively. One of the most profound novels is “To Live”, authored by Yu Hua, which as a fictional narrative offers both a unique and realistic sense of the time period at the individual level. However, the provocative film adaptation directed by Zhang Yimou in 1994 was formidable enough that it was banned in Mainland China. Zhang paints a more realistic picture of how the GPCR influenced Chinese society but adds zest to Hua’s ambiguity but acceptable imperfection. Naturally, the film has many different characteristics yet still manages to overcome the challenges that implicate film adaptations.
Released in 1987 by Columbia Pictures debut, The Last Emperor of China is a representation of Puyi’s life as the last Manchurian emperor. The audience experiences the life of Puyi through a series of flashbacks that shows Puyi internal struggle through his desire to restore the Manchurian Empire and his new life as a peasant worker of the People’s Republic of China. The film was directed by Bernardo Bertolucci and produced by Jeremy Thomas with the intention of reenacting the story of Henry Aisin-Giroro Pu Yi. Therefore people, who enjoy Hollywood’s attempts at recreating events of the China’s last emperor, will find this film fascinating as long as they do not attempt an analysis of the film’s historical accuracy.
The novel 'Mao's Last Dancer', is a gripping story about the author, Li Cunxin and his story to success as a professional ballet dancer in communist China. The story shows how hard work, determination and hardships lead to the achievement of goals. Throughout the book, Li suffers from a number of physically and mentally challenging struggles that test him and push him to become stronger and more determined. Both mental and physical struggles are equally as difficult to overcome and both play a big part in different stages of Li's life.
There is no better way to learn about China's communist revolution than to live it through the eyes of an innocent child whose experiences were based on the author's first-hand experience. Readers learn how every aspect of an individual's life was changed, mostly for the worst during this time. You will also learn why and how Chairman Mao launched the revolution initially, to maintain the communist system he worked hard to create in the 1950's. As the story of Ling unfolded, I realized how it boiled down to people's struggle for existence and survival during Mao's reign, and how lucky we are to have freedom and justice in the United States; values no one should ever take for
Starting in the 1850s, there were great increases in urbanization. Movements such as The Great Migration lead to huge populations in newly industrialized cities. In addition, there was a great increase in immigration, especially from families of eastern and southern European descent. The Orphan Train Movement’s purpose was to give the thousands of children in New York City that were left without homes due to increased urbanization and industrialization a new family out west with good living conditions and values and to increase the number of farm workers. The children mostly were placed with good families, but some children were treated as slaved by their families. Additionally, most of the children were excited to work; however, some were inept at doing farm work and were more detrimental than helpful to their new family.
When she arrives, she feels somehow proud to be Chinese. But her main reason why she went back home is to reflect her mother past life on her present life. Through the setting and her relatives, Jing Mei learns the nature of Chinese American culture. The main setting takes place in China, effects of the main character’s point of view through changing her sense of culture and identity. The time period plays a large role on the story, there is disconnect between the mother and daughter who came from different culture. In “A Pair of Tickets”, we learn it’s a first person narrator, we also learn detail of what the narrator is thinking about, detail of her past and how life compared to China and the US are very different. The theme is associated with the motherland and also has to deal with her mother’s death and half sisters. Her imagination of her sister transforming into adult, she also expected them to dresses and talk different. She also saw herself transforming, the DNA of Chinese running through her blood. In her own mind, from a distance she thinks Shanghai, the city of China looks like a major American city. Amy Tan used positive imagery of consumerism to drive home her themes of culture and identity, discovering her ancestral
...ve-it” basis. Many of the workers were injured or killed in industrial accidents each year because of the unsafe conditions they worked in. men and women weren’t the only ones to work in the harsh conditions there was child labor they were used to move, clean, or fix large machines since they were so small and fit between the parts. The kids that worked were all under the age of fifteen, they missed air, sunshine, fresh air, play, and the chance to attend school and get an education.