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What Is The Theme Of The Opium War By Xe Jin

993 Words4 Pages

The Opium War, is a historical epic film directed by Chinese director Xie Jin and was strategically released in 1997 to coincide with the Hong Kong handover ceremony. With its self-explanatory title, the film recounts the conflict between Qing Dynasty of Imperial China and the British Empire over the issue of trade and opium that gradually escalated into a war. It is important to note that there is a theme driving the film and at the same time being driven by the film. While the dominant theme in the film is resistance — be it big or small, official or personal — the nationalistic stance of the current People's Republic of China (PRC) also affected the way the story was told, all further exemplified in the paper below. First of all, the concept of resistance is shown by people of all walks of lives. From the Emperor’s resistance to giving in to the British to a songstress’s resistance to allowing the Westerner to take advantage of her, resistance is the core topic of The Opium War. Secondly, the film is backed up with propaganda messages that helped reiterate the nationalistic …show more content…

As such, even when they were mobilised to fight the British, they were still very much addicted to the drug. The irony of the very drug China is fighting against would be the one that is weakening China’s resistance in terms of its army. However, in the film, everyone has miraculously recovered from the addiction in a short time and are fighting to the best of their ability. This might also be the film’s intention of advocating the strong China image despite its hard times.

In conclusion, The Opium War is a informative movie for the audience to gain a rough idea of the war. However, minor details such as the actions of certain characters (i.e. Elliot) or the existence of certain characters (i.e. He) and their subsequent acts should not taken as

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