ipl-logo

What Is The Theme Of Farewell My Concubine: Homosexualism

1686 Words7 Pages

Farewell My Concubine is a powerful tale of friendship, forbidden love and betrayal. The film, directed by Chen Kaige has received widespread critical and popular success around the world, tugging at the heartstrings of its many movie-goers. In accreditation to its success, the film was also nominated for two Academy Awards and had been the winner of the Palme d 'Or at the 1993 Cannes Film Festival (Festival De Cannes, 2017). The plot follows two Beijing opera stars through decades of change in China during the twentieth century, from the nationalist, Japanese to the oppressive communist rule of Chairman Mao. Centering about the love triangle involving Cheng Die Yi, Duan Xiao Lou, and a former prostitute Juxian, the film ends tragically when Die Yi, no longer able to distinguish his passion for art from the real world, ends his life. Before Farewell My Concubine was released, homosexuality was a highly taboo topic that was considered a criminal offense in China and would have been easily condemned. As such, being the first movie of its time with a big and expensive production to portray a homosexual main protagonist, was a large step forward for homosexuality in its era. In this essay, we will discuss about the importance of homosexuality on impacting the film’s tragic ending, focusing mainly on the character Cheng Die Yi. Die Yi’s childhood development, more specifically, the role of Peking Opera in his life set the path for Die Yi’s homosexuality and played a crucial role

Show More
Related

  • The Castle Film Analysis

    952 Words  | 4 Pages

    In 2010, a poll taken from over 1000 people named Darryl Kerrigan of The Castle as the favourite Australian movie character with 23% of the votes (Hayes, 2010). The accolades kept flowing for the 1997 film, with over a third of those interviewed thinking The Castle best represents the real Australian culture (Hayes, 2010). These results raise an interesting question. How does a film taken in 11 days with a budget of half a million dollars capture the hearts of more Australians than a Hollywood blockbuster? What is it about Darryl and his family, and the story of the Kerrigans that Australians can relate to?

    Read More

  • Heavenly Khan Book Report

    1247 Words  | 5 Pages

    Xiong uses battles, executions, assassinations, and scandals to appeal to readers of any genre. Once a reader gets into the book they are hooked in the epic events of the book and the deep look into the ruling class. Unfortunately, Xiong’s novel might somewhat difficult to get into for many readers with no experience in Chinese history. Xiong also attempts to utilize dialogue that often comes off as underdeveloped or simplistic.

    Read More

  • Good Night And Good Luck Film Analysis

    1349 Words  | 6 Pages

    Good Night and Good Luck’ is a historical film based on the work of Edward Murrow and the television crew of ‘See It Now’, a programme broadcasted by CBS in the 1950s. Murrow and the crew are determined to confront the anti-communist command of the Republican Senator Joseph McCarthy. Throughout the film, the CBS team work in an effort to dismantle the views of McCarthy and prevent the spread of McCarthyism in the U.S. The film was written by George Clooney and Grant Heslov and was released in the U.S in October 2005. Clooney also directed the film, which is fitting to the subject matter of the film, given his background.

    Read More

  • Patriarchy In The Bride By Joseph Rowlandson

    1075 Words  | 5 Pages

    Throughout history the existence of patriarchy has threatened women’s rights to equality and self-determination. Patriarchy manifested itself in the marriage practices of early modern European society and became the foundation on which couples built their love and partnership. During the sixteenth century, literature describing ideal wives and husbands was a popular genre, but works about female gender roles were more prevalent. The Bride, a poem published by Samuel Rowland’s in 1617 details the duties of a good wife and life partner.1 The duties listed in Rowland’s poem were very common for women at that time and can also be seen in Steven Ozment’s book, Magdalena and Balthasar. Ozment’s book documents the relationship of Nuremberg Merchant Balthasar Paumgartner and

    Read More

  • Gentleman's Agreement Sparknotes

    610 Words  | 3 Pages

    The film “Gentleman’s Agreement” portrays Jews as second class citizens during a time period in America where bigotry is prevalent and the harsh discrimination against Jews has lessened their own pride and dignity while no one stands up for them. A surprising theme illustrated throughout the film was how the Jews themselves had a lack of respect or pride for themselves, such as when Professor Fred Lieberman wondered, “why the Jews among them still go on calling themselves Jews”. This passage is one of many showing how the Jews in this film have been mentally beaten down through hatred and racism, leaving many with less pride and dignity. Another good example of this is when Phil tells his Jewish friend Dave Goldberg that he’s pretending to be a Jew for his paper and Dave responds “Why, you crazy fool!”.

    Read More

  • End Of Watch Film Analysis

    1438 Words  | 6 Pages

    Throughout the movie “End of Watch” follows along with Officer Brian Taylor (Gyllenhaal) and Officer Mike Zavala (Pena) on their daily patrols in the inner city of Los Angeles. During the course of the movie, there are many things that Officer Taylor and Officer Zavala do that is very common and even accepted among police officers. But, one reoccurring theme is that they use foul language while on duty, act unprofessional, and use excessive force. In addition, Officer Taylor is actively recording his daily activities while on duty with a handheld video camera and lapel body cameras for both himself and Officer Zavala. Even though Officer Taylor was repeatedly told to cease his filming by fellow officers and supervisors he continued his behavior.

    Read More

  • 12 Years A Slave Movie Analysis

    1268 Words  | 6 Pages

    12 Years A Slave Do you care about human rights? Do you feel like injustice, racism and oppression has been and still is a huge issue in America? And most importantly, do you care about the cruel and brutal history of slavery and the consequences it has had for the future generations of African Americans? If the answer is yes to all of the above, then it is an absolute necessity for you to watch the movie 12 Years A Slave!

    Read More

  • 13th Film Analysis Essay

    1335 Words  | 6 Pages

    The film 13th directed by Ava DuVernay targets an intended audience of the Media and the three branches of the United States government with an emphasis that mass incarceration is an extension of slavery. It is intended to inform viewers about the criminalization of African Americans and the United States prison boom. 13th uses rhetorical devices in its claim to persuade the viewers by using exemplum in the opening seconds of the film. President Barack Obama presents statistics, saying “the United States is home to 5% of the world’s population but is home to 25% of the world’s prisoners.” Also the film uses a hyperbole in talking about the movie Birth of a Nation produced in 1915 which portrays a black man as a violent savage who will kill white women.

    Read More

  • Sunset Boulevard Film Analysis

    1617 Words  | 7 Pages

    Mise-en-scéne is crucial to classical Hollywood as it defined an era ‘that in its primary sense and effect, shows us something; it is a means of display. ' (Martin 2014, p.XV). Billy Wilder 's Sunset Boulevard (Wilder 1950) will be analysed and explored with its techniques and styles of mise-en-scéne and how this aspect of filmmaking establishes together as a cohesive whole with the narrative themes as classical Hollywood storytelling. Features of the film 's sense of space and time, setting, motifs, characters, and character goals will be explored and how they affect the characterisation, structure, and three-act organisation.

    Read More

  • Comparing The Chinese Seamstress And The Handsomest Drowned Man

    837 Words  | 4 Pages

    The short story “The Handsomest Drowned man” shows a broader development of identity through a society. One of the important characters in the “The Chinese Seamstress” is the narrator, who is not only vital because he is the main character but also because he goes through a lot of development and evolution based of the narratives he reads. Four eyes, the narrators friend, had a stash of foreign books that he had received from his mother that were banned

    Read More

  • Homosexuality In The 1920s Essay

    526 Words  | 3 Pages

    In the 1920s, homosexuals were widely accepted. The author of a popular play about homosexuality, Mae West, was an early advocate of gay rights. In the 1930s, the public didn’t want to deal with homosexuality in the actors, so they forced them to retire or keep their sexuality private. Homosexuals would not be accepted again until the 1960s. In the 1930s, life was harsh for homosexuals.

    Read More

  • Paradise Of The Blind Literary Analysis

    972 Words  | 4 Pages

    In Duong Thu Huong’s Paradise of the Blind, Hang has been placed on a path of self-sacrifice and duty by her family. Her life unfolds in stages- childhood, young adulthood, and her eventual role as an exported worker in Russia. With each of these shifts in her life comes a shift in setting and a shift in her emotional state. Hang’s changing emotional state depicts her “coming of age” and her growth as a character. Setting is important to creation of shift in the novel, and is often described in detail.

    Read More

  • Film Analysis: O Brother Where Art Thou?

    806 Words  | 4 Pages

    O Brother Where Art Thou? is a film that will take you on a perilous journey with Ulysses Everett McGill and his simpleminded cohorts. This film may be set amidst the early 1930’s Great Depression era, but it still has a Homer’s Odyssey feel to it. Down in the dusty and highly racial south, Everett recruits a couple of dimwitted convicts, Pete Hogwallop and Delmar O’Donnell, to help him retrieve his lost treasure and make it back home before his wife marries another suitor.

    Read More

  • Death Of A Salesman Film Analysis

    969 Words  | 4 Pages

    Death of a Salesman has been extremely influential in regards to theatrical performance and it has been performed by multiple different theatre groups. It has also been made into a movie, which has actors such as Dustin Hoffman as Willy Loman, John Malkovich as Biff Loman, and Kate Reid as Linda Loman. All of these actors’ performances were true to the character and were extremely realistic. It was easy for the audience to get caught up in the characters that these actors portrayed. Throughout the movie, Dustin Hoffman, John Malkovich, and Kate Reid all provided an outstanding performance by ensuring that their facial expressions, body language, and emotions always shined through all the while they were creating realistic characters that were easily believable by the audience.

    Read More

  • 12 Years A Slave Film Analysis

    1731 Words  | 7 Pages

    In the film 12 Years a Slave the editor, Joe Walker, makes use of a couple of techniques and styles that adds to the film in its own way. Long shots – Joe kept the long shots as long as he thought was necessary to add to the subject matter and the feeling he wanted to bind with the story. At the end of the film there’s this extremely long shot where Solomon is practically staring at the camera for about a minute and a half. The timing of that shot is so perfect because it’s not too short so you don’t have enough time to think about what just happened or too much time to overthink the situation. Closer to the end of the shot he lets the sound fade slowly and rapidly gives you a wakeup call when the next shot starts off where Solomon and the rest of the slaves are busy working in the field.

    Read More

More about What Is The Theme Of Farewell My Concubine: Homosexualism

Open Document