ipl-logo

Cultural Revolution In The Film Mao's Last Dancer

860 Words4 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Chinese cultural revolution research paper

To a fairly large extent the movie Mao's Last Dancer was an accurate and thoughtful depiction of the propaganda, chaos and turmoil of the Cultural Revolution in China. However, terrible acts of violence and torture that characterized the Cultural Revolution were not as prominent in the film. However; the film still remains a fairly accurate depiction of the time period 1966-1976 as it accurately portrays the propaganda, education, and arts revolution of the Cultural Revolution. The Cultural Revolution was mainly aimed at the youth of China who Chairman Mao feared would "make peace with imperialism" and abandon the ideals of the Communist revolution (Source C). Therefore it was only fitting that the propaganda of the Cultural Revolution was …show more content…

The movie sensationalizes the violence by only showing acts of violence in distant memories of Cunxin and not depicting the widespread torture and harassment of educators and counter revolutionaries. The Cultural Revolution was largely characterized by terrible acts of violence that were carried out by the Red Guards mostly against teachers and intellectuals (Source B). This torture was so grusome that many people died. Despite this, the film failed to portray these acts of violence and instead portrayed the propaganda and fear of western imperialism of the Chinese Communist government. This was depicted when the Chinese government was reluctant to allow Cunxin to travel to America because of the fear that he would be indoctrinated by the anti-Communists and not return to China. While there was one scene in which Cunxin had a memory of violence, when he watched an execution of 'class enemies', (Source A) it did not do justice to the 'attacks' that took place. Thus it can be seen that the film Mao's Last Dancer is a fairly fitting representation of the Cultural Revolution. The film depicts the influence that Communist government had on its people, the cultural transformation in China as well as the effect on the youth. However, one factor that the film failed to completely represent is the brutality and cruelty of the Red Guards and the Communist

Show More
Related
714 Words | 3 Pages

For my cultural reading task I read Mao's last dancer which is written by himself Li Cunxin. The majority of the book is based in China during Mao's rulings. The story follows Li as a little boy from his poverty stricken life to becoming one of Mao's last dancers. History-

Read More
959 Words | 4 Pages

The Chinese communist party gained much power after going after and attacking the Kuomintang and its anti communist policies into Taiwan. With the growth of the communist party’s power, the peasant and lower class experienced major influence that would change the course of their lives forever. Chinese peasants and the Chinese communist party between circa 1925 and circa 1950 had a relationship in which the party fostered and cared the state of the people. This created a sense of nationalism and pride for the peasants, while they were advocating social equality, and showing anti-Japanese sentiment. First of all, the Chinese communist party greatly influenced the peasant class in sparking and igniting a sense of nationalistic unity into the

Read More
1395 Words | 6 Pages

Any outspoken person of Mao was attacked. The Cultural revolution worked. After Mao Zedong’s death and Hua Guofeng, essentially a Mao fanboy, failed as his successor, Deng Xiaoping took over control of China and basically saved the country. Deng Xiaoping started to undo some of Mao’s policies and began to open up the country. Xiaoping wanted to shift away from Maoism and began to institute 4 modernization to help China grow.

Read More
615 Words | 3 Pages

One example is when somebody is actually a target of the red successors, Ji-li says, ““That poor guy,” I finally said. “He should know better than to dress that way, but I’d just die if somebody cut my pants open in front of everyone like that.”” (Destroy the Four Olds! 74). This shows that Ji-li is beginning to understand that not everything about the cultural revolution is so great. Chairman Mao does do bad things, and sometimes those things can hurt people.

Read More
837 Words | 4 Pages

The communist government in Forbidden City was the oppressors while the student demonstrators were the victims. Two ways people respond to systems of oppression is being a bystander or an upstander. In Forbidden City, Alex Jackson was a bystander, but he changed and became an upstander.

Read More
551 Words | 3 Pages

In this essay William Lutz would be considered someone who fakes history for the government like in the Ministry of truth, to please the government. Although this essay states there was blood on their shirts during that time, individuals continue to say, “I was wrong” and “No one died in Tiananmen Square”. No one denies this and they protect the government in results of fear. They are being forced to lie and say the army did not hurt anyone nor killed anyone. The government in China wants people to “Love the Party, love the socialist motherland”, similar to Nineteen Eighty - Four because “The two aims of the party are to conquer the whole surface of the earth and to extinguish once and for all the possibility of independent thought”

Read More
766 Words | 4 Pages

Of all the terrible events in history, the Holocaust may be the worst of them all. This tragedy was so terrible, I cannot think of the ones who instigated it as human beings. It was against many morals and standards that the world views today as common ethics. The most terrible part of this is, perhaps, how today’s new and younger generations are not sufficiently educated about this disaster. Although many younger generations do not know about the Holocaust, it’s importance should be emphasised in today’s society to learn from it, to realize that every human life is important, and to appreciate the blessings of the present day.

Read More
547 Words | 3 Pages

He launched the Cultural Revolution in order to maintain that system. First he would use indoctrination to get kids to know he is like the “god” and they need to show loyalty and follow his rules. A group called red guards pledged their devotion to Chairman Mao and the revolution. They were mostly students and teenagers who were part of this group. They wanted to smash the old, non-maoist way of life, by destroying buildings, beat and even kill alleged enemies.

Read More
1233 Words | 5 Pages

You will be charged with driving under the influence if your blood alcohol content is above the legal limit or if you are under the influence of drugs (prescription or illegal drugs) to such a degree that you are impaired. When a police officer stops you, he or she may initiate a DUI arrest if you smell alcohol or otherwise appear to be under the influence. The officer must have seen you driving. The officer will use various methods to determine if you are under the influence including a chemical or breath test, field sobriety tests, testing your reflexes and balance as a measure of how well you are able to operate a car. Blood Alcohol Level

Read More
886 Words | 4 Pages

The film American History X is a film about crime fueled by racism. The crime was committed by a man named Derek Vinyard, a white supremacist. He murdered two black gang members after they attempted to steal his truck. If we look closely at the case of Derek Vinyard, we can see that the crime he committed weren’t just a spur-of-the moment thought of killing someone. His actions were rooted deep into his past, wherein his experiences have shaped him into the person that he was today.

Read More
1507 Words | 7 Pages

Introduction In 1876, Captain Nathan Algren, an ex- United States Army Captain is traumatized by experience fighting in the civil war and Indian war. Algren accepts a job by a Japanese businessman to train the Imperial Japanese Army to inhibit a samurai rebellion, led by Katsumoto Moritsugu. He sails to Japan. Most of the soldiers being trained are just slightly better than peasants and farmers that are not experienced.

Read More
1319 Words | 6 Pages

Secondly, the Cultural Revolution and the chaos and disaster this had on the Chinese population, especially through the “Down to the Countryside movement” and finally, the Cult of Mao and what the idolisation and glorification of Mao meant for the future of China. Mao’s introduction of the Great Leap Forward policy and the impacts and effects this had on the Chinese population as well as its role in the introduction of the Cultural Revolution played a key role in shaping China into what it is today. The plan’s failure lead to Mao’s loss of power, which resulted in Mao introducing the Cultural Revolution in China. Unfortunately, Mao’s five-year plan was a disaster, and caused the death of an estimated twenty to forty

Read More
1485 Words | 6 Pages

During China’s Cultural Revolution, a large proportion of urban youth were forced to go to the countryside as a result of the state’s “send-down” policy (Xie). This experience was distressing for some youngsters as it disrupted ordinary life and the process of educational attainment. Students couldn’t express their opinions or reason with the government’s decision, because they did not dare to question Mao’s authority, therefore they had no other option but to conform to the officials. Mao Zedong was the ultimate figure that impeded the students’ educational and career path. Parental social status or political capital did not spare youths in certain privileged classes from being sent down to the countryside (Xie).

Read More
3436 Words | 14 Pages

1.0 INTRODUCTION The Help is an example of American drama film. It was released in August 9, 2011 and its length was 146 minutes and directed by Tate Taylor. The film was adapted to a novel, where there has been a long tradition of African- American women serving as “The Help” for upper-middle class white woman and their families. Descriptions of historical events of the early activities of thecivil rights movement are peppered throughout the novel, as are interactions between the maids and their white employers.

Read More
1472 Words | 6 Pages

Atwood parallels the Cultural Revolution in China to the how the Gilead government gains power and control over the United States. The Chinese communist leader, Mao Zedong launched the Cultural Revolution to assert his control over the Chinese government. Zedong ordered the nation to cleanse themselves of “impure” aspects of Chinese society. This was done by shutting down schools and a massive youth mobilization. The students formed groups called the Red Guards, they attacked and harassed members of China’s elderly and

Read More

More about Cultural Revolution In The Film Mao's Last Dancer

Related Topics

Open Document