Guess I will be beginning the discussion of this film! I saw a connection between this film and "Dirty Pretty Things" in the beautiful, vibrant colors. The scenes that showed the Vegas-type shows were especially beautiful. The sky had deep colors, in contrast to the grey skies in many of the films we have watched. I really enjoyed seeing all the colors. While I understand the reasons behind the grey in many of the other films we have watched, vibrant colors seen in this film and "Dirty Pretty Things" add to the experience of watching a film for me, because I then become visually engaged. I think that art, in whatever form it takes, should appeal to the senses, and I enjoy when the visual aspects of film are brought out in color. Globalization is scene in the literal "world" of the theme park, with everything from pyramids to the Eiffel Tower. We also see an effect of globalization in the friendship between Tao and Anna. They do not speak the same language, but they still become close friends. Language is not a barrier in this film in forming deep relationships. This harkens back to Babel and Demonlover, other films that employ a variety of language. The World shows that human relations transcend things such as language. The theme park, "The World," cashes in on the knowledge of other cultures and geographies, something that would not have been possible without globalization. The variety of places and cultures are represented in one small theme park in Beijing. Without the knowledge of other places in the world, this would not be possible. It is interesting that the workers know these places even thought none of them have ever been on a plane (Tao explains that she doesn't know anyone who has ever been on a plane), so none of these people have been able to visit these places. However, the knowledge of these places is still there, something that would not be possible without the effects of globalization.
"I think that art, in whatever form it takes, should appeal to the senses, and I enjoy when the visual aspects of film are brought out in color."
So: grey doesn't appeal to the senses? Why not? Or, maybe, in what way do you actually want art to "appeal": s color inherently "good" or "appealing"? Can grey etc not be appealing? And why "should"? What's the normative impetus here? Why "should" art not appeal to, say, our mind (which I take it is not included in the "senses" as used here)? What if a film shows misery? "Should" it still be "pretty" (as in "colorful")? Is it conceivable that there may be a problem--moral, ethical, political, I don't-know-what--with beautifying misery? Conversely, is there a problem with depicting misery in drab colors? Why? Why not? What are the underlying assumptions about how we perceive, sense, about art, etc.?
Looking over my post again, I realize that I my have been too general in my approach. Great points, grey can appeal to the senses, and I believe that it can make a powerful statement, as it has in the films we have viewed that employ that color scheme to depict misery. And yes, art "should" appeal to the mind, as well, but math can appeal to the mind. Does that make math a part of the arts? This gets into the deep question of what defines art, which is a widely debated topic and highly subjective, which, in my opinion, is partially what makes it art. It is my opinion that art "should" appeal to the senses...this can definitely be debated, however. Grey can definitely accomplish this task, and my original analysis was too narrow. I also believe that art engages the mind, but it has to be more than that, otherwise we would be calling algebra equations art (which I'm sure some would argue that they are art; they are entitled to that subjective opinion of art, but I am not of that opinion).
There is no problem with depicting misery in drab colors and it can be powerful. However, as I've mentioned I think in my post on Dirty Pretty Things (though it may have been for another film), I think that there is also power in showing beauty with misery, because misery is often masked in beauty. I don't see it as beautifying misery necessarily (that could have many moral/ethical repercussions), but as showing that things are not always as they appear and looks can be deceiving. On a warm, sunny day, a school shooting could occur. This is a surface example, a deeper example could be the beautiful, perfect-looking family that has dark secrets. Beauty on the outside, ugliness on the inside. This is all subjective, and others may perceive what an artist is trying to portray differently than the artist does or differently than other viewers do. It's all part of the territory of creating and consuming art.
Yes, there is a long history to the question of what art is and is not. Some of the central texts on this question include Kant's CRITIQUE OF JUDGMENT and Hegel's Lectures on Aesthetics, Nietzsche's THE BIRTH OF TRAGEDY, Heidegger's "ON the Origin of the Work of Art," Adorno's AESTHETIC THEORY, and Ranciere's recent work on aesthetics. None of them, in the end, allow one to assert it's all a matter of subjective opinion, however. They may, of course, all be wrong :)
I found both of these films (The World and A Touch of Sin) rather hard to follow. I think this was because a lot of the events that transpired in both of the films were not very well explained to us. I also felt like it was hard to know who all the characters were because they weren’t introduced to us very well. This being said, the themes of globalization in both The World and A Touch of Sin were hard to miss. I think that the concept of the world park is very interesting. All of the people that work in the park are trapped in Beijing, being able to see the world only through reconstructed smaller models of tourist attractions in other cities. In one scene, Tao remarks that she has never even met anyone who has been on an airplane, further reinforcing the idea of being trapped. Tao and her boyfriend are working class people, but the costumes she gets to wear in her acts are so beautiful and rich looking I think it is kind of sad that she could never afford something like that.
In A Touch of Sin, we saw several different stories about working class people in China, with a range of different lifestyles. The idea of this film reminded me of Import/Export. All of these people are doing whatever they can to find work, in The World, “Little Sister” even dies because he is trying to make more money for himself by taking on a dangerous job. The reality of the sex industry is real for characters in both films. Anna, the Russian immigrant that works at the park is forced to become a prostitute so she can make more money in order to visit her sister who lives in another city. One of the characters in A Touch of Sin, Xiao Yu, works at a spa and some of the clients are trying to force her to prostitute herself for them, promising that they would pay her, and even beating her up when she refused.
I think there were also some connections with Yella in both of these films. The smaller towns are struggling and the young people are moving away in hopes of finding work. Most of the characters in all three of these films did not live in their home towns because there was no work in those places.
One thing I couldn’t shake throughout the entire film was why exactly China felt the need to build a theme park focused on attractions from other countries. I kept racking my brain trying to think of an example of something in the U.S. that mimics some type of Chinese monument – I couldn’t come up with anything.
I was relieved to find a review of the film by Roger Ebert where he talks about how the director, Jia Zhangke often mocks modern day China for it’s over the top attempts to become Western. Although I don’t know much about Chinese culture, I think it’s important it isn’t left behind in attempts to copy-cat other countries.
http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/the-world-2005
Another thing Ebert touched on was how “long and slow” the movie was, which I think is why I had trouble conceptualizing everything that was going on. He says, “Either you will fall into its rhythm, or you will grow restless.” I think I did the latter. There really isn’t anything particularly interesting about the characters either, like Ebert says they are doing “boring and badly paid work day after day…”
I did find myself annoyed with the characters and their bad decisions though. For instance, after Taisheng holds Tao down in attempts to get her to have sex with him and tries to manipulate her by saying she doesn’t really love him – why does she continue to date him? And it’s literally been a decade since Qun has seen or heard from her husband, perhaps she should just move on. Wei and Niu are the definition of dysfunctional yet they’re the two who end up married. The character’s different fates are puzzling, such as how Tao and Taisheng end up dying from a random, apartment gas leak. When Tao says, “This is only the beginning,” I thought back to when she told him if he ever cheated on her, she’d kill him. Did Tao somehow tamper with the gas causing the leak and their death? Hmm….
Or, more broadly, consider the NAMES of many cities in this country: more or less all names from European cities. Or the many capital buildings, which are pretty much all imitations of classical buildings (meaning: Greek or Roman). Even the LNK state capital building could easily be related back to the classical age. And then you got Disney.... That being said, I think your point is that in the World Park the attraction is in and of itself that one gets to be in another city (has the illusion) whereas in, say, Vegas, the point, in the end, isn't the buildings but the gambling and the shows as such (tho Vegas isn't too far removed from World Park, or maybe vice versa given the latter is of more recent origin than Vegas). And your question--why?--is definitely an important one. Why indeed? And why in CHINA?
Globalization is seen in both The World and A Touch of Sin in different ways. The World is set in China, however it is in the world park where a lot of different countries are represented. This shows the aspect of globalization by the mimicking of the Eiffel Tower in Paris, the pyramids in Egypt, the large palaces in India, and so on. Another way globalization is seen in this film is the fact that there are a mixture of races and cultures throughout the film. Even though it is set in China there are Russians there too. The struggle to survive and make money is seen not only from the Chinese but also from the Russians and others where are migrating to find work.
In A Touch of Sin globalization is seen through the constant change of locations where the four stories are being followed. Even though the whole film initially takes place in China, it takes place in both rural towns and big cities in China. Every story is different and all of the violence and crime that are seen in the film is possible to be seen in any other country in the world. All four of these individuals in these stories, the coal miner, the migrant with the gun, the young receptionist at a spa, and a young factory worker could be anywhere in the world. These jobs are not just relevant to China; they are all seen in different countries.
Even though A Touch of Sin is a more modern film I still enjoyed The World better because of the connection I felt with Tao and her character. I agree with Elsa in saying that she felt trapped in the world park (I even as if I were trapped myself) and just wanted to get out and go abroad. The scene in the beginning of the film when Tao’s old friend comes to see her and tells her he got a passport and is leaving to go abroad she has a look of longing and jealousy in her eyes. She wanted to see his passport and longed to have one herself. A lot of the camera shots that I focused on were the shots of Tao while she was in the world park working. It was always as if she is only in this fantasy world and not in the “real” world. She wants to leave her troubles behind and step into the “real” world. She finally gets the chance to escape and that is at the end of the film when she and Taisheng die. Tao says that “this is just the beginning.” She finally got to break away from the world park.
One of the points that I saw The World trying to argue, is that individuals in a globalized world are very self-conscious of the other world which they have no real hopes of entering. In the film, there is the world and there is “The World.” In the former, they are poor and don’t have any true aspirations of ever leaving. In the latter, the employees have mobility through representations and are able to adapt themselves to represent any culture in the world. They know what the women wear, ( at least stereotypically) in Russia, or how they sit in Japan, etc. By turning themselves into representations, they are able to be a part of the representational world. But being a “world” instead of a world, being a miniaturized copy instead of an original, makes it feel less like a replica and more like a parody. But, in some sense, film itself also deals with many of the same issues as “The World. In film, people are actors, dressed up in costumes, behaving like someone they’re not, reading from scripts. Time in film is shortened. Colors are tampered with. Everyone is wearing make up. Film is perhaps the most prominent medium, besides language, responsible for representing the world today. And often, when sitting in a movie theatre, I like to look around at the rest of the audience, and everyone seems to be totally engrossed in a representation of the world, far more engrossed than they are when the movie is over and they are standing in the streets, wondering what to do now. In The World, it seems to be similar. While on stage, nothing ever goes wrong with the dancing and every scene is flawless. It is only in the real world where things go wrong. Tao tells Taisheng, that if he is cheating on her, she’ll kill him. She finds out the truth, but only through a representation of the truth. She reads the text, and the film empathizes the fact that the text is a representation of something, by representing the moment through animation.
After viewing both A Touch of Sin and The World, I was clearly able to pick out the obvious similarities that this director establishes in his film practice, although, it would be wise to state that his technique obviously evolved from The World to A Touch of Sin or at least changed for the film. But on a personal note, I would agree partly with what some of my classmates have stated in how, at points, I found these films harder to follow than others. Or, in a different way of stating it, I found myself straining to remain locked into the film without my mind wandering during certain points in the film. But, I can track this back into simply being more versed in a different style of cinema. Going on with this little side-note, I think it would be wise to note that many of us have been brought up surrounded by a different style of film-making and films. If I could make this generalization, more American films move quicker plot-wise and have to work harder to retain an audience’s attention, while in relation cinema from different parts of the world have evolved in a different style than the “Hollywood” style.
Moving on, I will state that I was able to pull away from these two films a great deal about globalization in a much more lower-key and tone than perhaps the other films that we have seen in this course. In A Touch of Sin, we are met with violence, most of globalization centering on this violence. In addition, the director shares his view upon why he chooses violence for this particular film in an interview with Sight and Sound “A Touch of Sin reflects real-life violence. I believe that violence can be eliminated only by understanding its causes. I don't support violence, but I respect people with a rebellious spirit.” Frankly, I found this quote to be rather informative. In a film that is dealing with some aspects of globalization, I might reference Chandler’s post when he states that “capitalism revolves around death.” I don’t think it’s too much of a stretch to tie these two ideas together in stating that A Touch of Sin might be focusing on how exactly globalization and its effects creates violence and spreads death.
Now in relation, The World was a sort of change in terms of this violence which I saw in A Touch of Sin which I watched earlier in the week. In fact, if I might make a personal statement, I actually found this film somewhat more disturbing that the other by the same director. While the idea of globalization was perhaps a little more apparent for myself due to the entire theme park being a representation of the world, I did make a rather interesting number of observations. First, I’d like to say the most of the park was almost freakishly empty. While this isn’t to say there was a lack of visitors, but what the camera views in an almost ghost like area devoid of what many of us might call a vibrant and “happening” world. It took me a while to put my thoughts together about this, but in the end I came to the conclusion that this was more-or-less a directorial choice. I felt like the director used this in an attempt to completely isolate these characters in this “so-called” larger world in which they live. This isn’t to say it’s only in the theme park, but it was only an example. In addition, there was one particular scene in which the female lead’s ex drifts off into the largest crowd of people in the film, leaving the other characters isolated in the work of the theme park. Once again I found this interesting in a sense that I felt the director was stating that globalization, is perhaps more dangerous in a local setting. This might be thinking too far into it, but I feel like it does lie upon a correct train of thought.
Rayns, Tony. THE OLD AND THE NEW. Sight & Sound. 24.6 (2014) 30-34. Print.
I want to begin with once again, I did not know what was really the plot in The World. However the film was not about plot. This to me is the difference between films such as Demonlover and Boarding Gate. Those film in my mind were begging for plot at least in the point of view of an American film viewer. The two films moved through their respective worlds with a high intensity backdrop of sleuthing and killing. With The World the disconnect from any fluid plot line gave a much more mosaic like structure to its own story telling. The World to me was about the circumstances people live in and their day to day in an entertainment park that while shows the world to visitors also marginalizes it's workers. The World is defiantly about globalization even though we never leave China.
The park itself boils down world cultures into character types that are quickly sold to ticket buyers. This experience in one park with workers beings on an idea or rather two ideas into one functioning experience. It is the same thing with the Magic Kingdom at Disney world. This is a thinking globally, touring locally. The park offers the identity kits of other cultures into canned performances that at the end of the day seldom amount to anything more than what they really are, cheap amusement that just might offend those from the real places. Withing this park that generalizes other cultures are the workers and performers that dream that may see the real locations they maintain sets of.
There is longing in these characters. Everyone of them has their own anxieties of their situation. For instance when the couple gets married, the girlfriend felt trapped by first her violent boyfriend and her economic situation. Their action prompted Tao to discuss with her boyfriend the idea of getting married. For these women, at least, marriage seems to be a way out or a way further in.
We of course get the Russian performers who we have seen in previous films, along with their passports being turned over. This came to a head when Tao saw Anna again and both knew what Anna has had to do for her living and after that no words needed to be spoken.
This also brings up the idea of tourism to me. What do we really see when we go to knew places? I can book a glitzy trip to Europe tomorrow and when I get there spend all time I want and never really see anything or learn anything. This is also what do we see and what do we chose not to see? With the theme of a park such as The World and their marginalized workers how do you walk through Disney World and not wonder who is behind Goofy's mask?
Thankfully I kept my confusion card throughout Demonlover and Yella, because The World is the film I have had more trouble understanding. I struggled to make sense as to where the movie was going and it seems I am not alone after reading other posts. In terms of globalization it was clear that the theme park as a whole represents globalization. The tram and talk of airplane travel between characters reveals “that these migrants are hopelessly confined in the spectacle of wealth created by their cheap labour” author Tonglin Lu points out (2008, p. 163).
With Tao’s journey we get to see her as trapped similar to Diane in Demonlover (although to a lesser extent) and seeking vengeance like Sandra in Boarding Gates. To reiterate what Emily writes, Tao was in a “fantasy world and not in the ‘real’ world,” a facade similar to the outward appearance of the theme park. But Tao struggles internally after multiple revelations concerning Taisheng and Anna and ultimately takes matters into her own hands, presumably taking her own life as well as Taishengs. This internal struggle, also a depiction of the inner grumbling of unhappiness caused by globalization is can be summarized by Robert Ebert’s question in his review of the film, “ is hard labor better than pointless labor?” (http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/the-world-2005). Yes, we have survived the ages and are afforded many luxuries that generations of the past were not, but are we better off for it? Tao’s short life would point to no.
Lu, T. (2008). Fantasy and reality of a virtual China in Jia Zhangke's film “The World”. Journal Of Chinese Cinemas, 2(3), 163. doi:10.1386/jcc.2.3.163_1
I love the cinematography in A Touch of Sin and The World. I guess it helps that the film quality has gotten better over time. A Touch of Sin, for me, was like watching an art piece moving around. Like how Elaina stated, the colors were gorgeous. I kept noticing how vibrant they were. The wide shots framed the characters very well. The World had some great wide shots as well. The beginning kept me hook on how the camera followed I believe Tao? when she was searching for a band aid. It had a documentary feeling to it. It felt very real. The closeness of the camera work reminded me of Workingman’s Death.
I agree with Elsa and my other classmates about the films being hard to follow. I like how A Touch of Sin was broken into four stories. Each character had their section and after it was done, they didn’t appear again. It was more straightforward. I think that made it a bit easier for me to follow than The World where it was very intertwined. The World had a lot of characters that made it hard to follow because like how Elsa said, it was not explained very well in the film.
Globalization in A Touch of Sin I believe was less obvious than The World. A Touch of Sin focused on four separate stories all let down by injustices in some way or another. The first story with Dahai showed the viewer how corruption lies even in the smallest towns. Dahai throughout his segment killed his way for revenged of his poor village. He believed that the owner of the coal miner owed 40% of the profits to the village. Dahai wants justice and often rants about corruption. He takes matters into his own hands and goes on a shooting rampage. I think this segment stuck out to me the most out of the four. I admired the framing of the camera work of the entire segment.
In The World, globalization is seen through the amusement park itself. Many of my classmates mentioned how westernized it China was trying to be with this amusement park. But I think it was Kyle who mentioned that it often appeared empty. It certainly didn’t feel like they were at Disneyland or Six Flags. Tonglin Lu author of Fantasy and Reality of a virtual China in Jia Zhangke’s film The World, wrote,
Migrant workers in this amusement park spend their days and nights staging Broadway-like glamorous spectacles of dance and songs, which in turn imprison their lives by shaping their desire for consumption beyond their material means. Tao confesses to her boyfriend Taisheng, while sitting in an amusement park aeroplane ride, that she feels like a ghost trapped in this staged world. If the world of the amusement park is conspicuously composed of endless spectacles, in a subtler but no less controlling way the personal lives of its residents are also saturated with technological gadgets, so that even their emotions are turned into spectacles through various dispositifs
I felt that they were trapped as well. One character even mentioned that they have never met anyone who has flown on a plane before. This constant push by China to see the world through an artificial lens is sad in a way. I remember how two characters were pointing at the Big Ben and London Bridge and making it sound like it was the real thing. This film gave me a sad impression of how globalization is spreading through other countries. They seem so eager to drop their cultures and become “westernized” and that can be a dangerous thing.
Lu, Tonglin. "Fantasy And Reality Of A Virtual China In Jia Zhangke's Film The World." Journal Of Chinese Cinemas 2.3 (2008): 163-179. MLA International Bibliography. Web. 6 June 2014.
As with Yella, some historical knowledge of Chinese society (or contemporary, or both!) really aids in making sense of both "The World", and "A Touch of Sin." Both films depict the contemporary Chinese people stuck in the margins of rapidly growing capitalist economy. Moreover, both capture the boundless frustration and hopelessness these people live with, along with moments of joy of course.
Crucial to understanding both films is the relationship between the countryside and the eastern, urban centers of Chinese society. Over half of China's population lives in the countryside. The countryside is largely improvised, and a bit of a Wild West (as we see in "A Touch of Sin"). Many young people from the countryside migrate to eastern urban hubs for work. They are rarely well-educated and always poor, and as such, will end up doing some kind of blue-collar work. Upward mobility is an only an option for the middle class, and all the people we see in both films are considered lower class.
I think Jia Zhangke's isolated long takes (where we get one main character in isolation just moving through whatever space they're in, pensive and forlorn) really dramatizes the fact that these characters live long days yearning for another life, knowing the whole time that they'll never get one.
I suspect that part of the reason the Chinese government permits Jia Zhangke to make these films is because of the careful way they parse through the structural problem that under girds Chinese society. These are not feel good films about how wonderful life in China is. "A Touch of Sin", in particular is actually quite devastating in the way it depicts the violence that people (largely) in the countryside use to exploit or hurt one and another as an outgrowth of the frustration and hopelessness they feel. Vigilantism doesn't seem totally irrational in a place where corruption renders the law somewhat fluid.
While corruption is certainly a problem, Jia Zhangke never directly implicates the central government. But I think what he achieves in these films is more important: he offers a counter narrative. He shows us the people in the margins; the people usually hidden in plain site.
Wow! This week has been full of confusion for me! I found The World quite difficult to follow and frankly hard to stay awake for. The World seems to lack a driving force that keeps the story moving. The movie was broken into several "chapters" but I fail to see how these chapters actually impacted the movie. A Touch of Sin also was broken up into four different stories but these made much more sense.
Globalization is clearly shown through the amusement park. I was not sure if the people working there were slaves or if they were free to go if they chose. It certainly seemed like the Russians were certainly being trafficked but I'm still unsure about their counterparts. In a Touch of Sin we see the violence and corruption. These four people are driven and pushed over the edge by the forces of globalization.
Guess I will be beginning the discussion of this film! I saw a connection between this film and "Dirty Pretty Things" in the beautiful, vibrant colors. The scenes that showed the Vegas-type shows were especially beautiful. The sky had deep colors, in contrast to the grey skies in many of the films we have watched. I really enjoyed seeing all the colors. While I understand the reasons behind the grey in many of the other films we have watched, vibrant colors seen in this film and "Dirty Pretty Things" add to the experience of watching a film for me, because I then become visually engaged. I think that art, in whatever form it takes, should appeal to the senses, and I enjoy when the visual aspects of film are brought out in color.
ReplyDeleteGlobalization is scene in the literal "world" of the theme park, with everything from pyramids to the Eiffel Tower. We also see an effect of globalization in the friendship between Tao and Anna. They do not speak the same language, but they still become close friends. Language is not a barrier in this film in forming deep relationships. This harkens back to Babel and Demonlover, other films that employ a variety of language. The World shows that human relations transcend things such as language.
The theme park, "The World," cashes in on the knowledge of other cultures and geographies, something that would not have been possible without globalization. The variety of places and cultures are represented in one small theme park in Beijing. Without the knowledge of other places in the world, this would not be possible. It is interesting that the workers know these places even thought none of them have ever been on a plane (Tao explains that she doesn't know anyone who has ever been on a plane), so none of these people have been able to visit these places. However, the knowledge of these places is still there, something that would not be possible without the effects of globalization.
"I think that art, in whatever form it takes, should appeal to the senses, and I enjoy when the visual aspects of film are brought out in color."
ReplyDeleteSo: grey doesn't appeal to the senses? Why not? Or, maybe, in what way do you actually want art to "appeal": s color inherently "good" or "appealing"? Can grey etc not be appealing? And why "should"? What's the normative impetus here? Why "should" art not appeal to, say, our mind (which I take it is not included in the "senses" as used here)? What if a film shows misery? "Should" it still be "pretty" (as in "colorful")? Is it conceivable that there may be a problem--moral, ethical, political, I don't-know-what--with beautifying misery? Conversely, is there a problem with depicting misery in drab colors? Why? Why not? What are the underlying assumptions about how we perceive, sense, about art, etc.?
Looking over my post again, I realize that I my have been too general in my approach. Great points, grey can appeal to the senses, and I believe that it can make a powerful statement, as it has in the films we have viewed that employ that color scheme to depict misery. And yes, art "should" appeal to the mind, as well, but math can appeal to the mind. Does that make math a part of the arts? This gets into the deep question of what defines art, which is a widely debated topic and highly subjective, which, in my opinion, is partially what makes it art. It is my opinion that art "should" appeal to the senses...this can definitely be debated, however. Grey can definitely accomplish this task, and my original analysis was too narrow. I also believe that art engages the mind, but it has to be more than that, otherwise we would be calling algebra equations art (which I'm sure some would argue that they are art; they are entitled to that subjective opinion of art, but I am not of that opinion).
DeleteThere is no problem with depicting misery in drab colors and it can be powerful. However, as I've mentioned I think in my post on Dirty Pretty Things (though it may have been for another film), I think that there is also power in showing beauty with misery, because misery is often masked in beauty. I don't see it as beautifying misery necessarily (that could have many moral/ethical repercussions), but as showing that things are not always as they appear and looks can be deceiving. On a warm, sunny day, a school shooting could occur. This is a surface example, a deeper example could be the beautiful, perfect-looking family that has dark secrets. Beauty on the outside, ugliness on the inside.
This is all subjective, and others may perceive what an artist is trying to portray differently than the artist does or differently than other viewers do. It's all part of the territory of creating and consuming art.
Yes, there is a long history to the question of what art is and is not. Some of the central texts on this question include Kant's CRITIQUE OF JUDGMENT and Hegel's Lectures on Aesthetics, Nietzsche's THE BIRTH OF TRAGEDY, Heidegger's "ON the Origin of the Work of Art," Adorno's AESTHETIC THEORY, and Ranciere's recent work on aesthetics. None of them, in the end, allow one to assert it's all a matter of subjective opinion, however. They may, of course, all be wrong :)
DeleteI found both of these films (The World and A Touch of Sin) rather hard to follow. I think this was because a lot of the events that transpired in both of the films were not very well explained to us. I also felt like it was hard to know who all the characters were because they weren’t introduced to us very well. This being said, the themes of globalization in both The World and A Touch of Sin were hard to miss. I think that the concept of the world park is very interesting. All of the people that work in the park are trapped in Beijing, being able to see the world only through reconstructed smaller models of tourist attractions in other cities. In one scene, Tao remarks that she has never even met anyone who has been on an airplane, further reinforcing the idea of being trapped. Tao and her boyfriend are working class people, but the costumes she gets to wear in her acts are so beautiful and rich looking I think it is kind of sad that she could never afford something like that.
ReplyDeleteIn A Touch of Sin, we saw several different stories about working class people in China, with a range of different lifestyles. The idea of this film reminded me of Import/Export. All of these people are doing whatever they can to find work, in The World, “Little Sister” even dies because he is trying to make more money for himself by taking on a dangerous job. The reality of the sex industry is real for characters in both films. Anna, the Russian immigrant that works at the park is forced to become a prostitute so she can make more money in order to visit her sister who lives in another city. One of the characters in A Touch of Sin, Xiao Yu, works at a spa and some of the clients are trying to force her to prostitute herself for them, promising that they would pay her, and even beating her up when she refused.
I think there were also some connections with Yella in both of these films. The smaller towns are struggling and the young people are moving away in hopes of finding work. Most of the characters in all three of these films did not live in their home towns because there was no work in those places.
One thing I couldn’t shake throughout the entire film was why exactly China felt the need to build a theme park focused on attractions from other countries. I kept racking my brain trying to think of an example of something in the U.S. that mimics some type of Chinese monument – I couldn’t come up with anything.
ReplyDeleteI was relieved to find a review of the film by Roger Ebert where he talks about how the director, Jia Zhangke often mocks modern day China for it’s over the top attempts to become Western. Although I don’t know much about Chinese culture, I think it’s important it isn’t left behind in attempts to copy-cat other countries.
http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/the-world-2005
Another thing Ebert touched on was how “long and slow” the movie was, which I think is why I had trouble conceptualizing everything that was going on. He says, “Either you will fall into its rhythm, or you will grow restless.” I think I did the latter. There really isn’t anything particularly interesting about the characters either, like Ebert says they are doing “boring and badly paid work day after day…”
I did find myself annoyed with the characters and their bad decisions though. For instance, after Taisheng holds Tao down in attempts to get her to have sex with him and tries to manipulate her by saying she doesn’t really love him – why does she continue to date him? And it’s literally been a decade since Qun has seen or heard from her husband, perhaps she should just move on. Wei and Niu are the definition of dysfunctional yet they’re the two who end up married. The character’s different fates are puzzling, such as how Tao and Taisheng end up dying from a random, apartment gas leak. When Tao says, “This is only the beginning,” I thought back to when she told him if he ever cheated on her, she’d kill him. Did Tao somehow tamper with the gas causing the leak and their death? Hmm….
http://www.hrsvegas.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/View-of-the-Paris-hotel-and-Eiffel-Tower-from-the-Las-Vegas-Strip.jpg
Deletehttp://www.myfoxorlando.com/story/22200938/closed-attraction-splendid-china-to-be-demolished
Delete:) Now home to condominium development.
Guess I should have done some more research on that!
DeleteOr, more broadly, consider the NAMES of many cities in this country: more or less all names from European cities. Or the many capital buildings, which are pretty much all imitations of classical buildings (meaning: Greek or Roman). Even the LNK state capital building could easily be related back to the classical age. And then you got Disney.... That being said, I think your point is that in the World Park the attraction is in and of itself that one gets to be in another city (has the illusion) whereas in, say, Vegas, the point, in the end, isn't the buildings but the gambling and the shows as such (tho Vegas isn't too far removed from World Park, or maybe vice versa given the latter is of more recent origin than Vegas). And your question--why?--is definitely an important one. Why indeed? And why in CHINA?
DeleteGlobalization is seen in both The World and A Touch of Sin in different ways. The World is set in China, however it is in the world park where a lot of different countries are represented. This shows the aspect of globalization by the mimicking of the Eiffel Tower in Paris, the pyramids in Egypt, the large palaces in India, and so on. Another way globalization is seen in this film is the fact that there are a mixture of races and cultures throughout the film. Even though it is set in China there are Russians there too. The struggle to survive and make money is seen not only from the Chinese but also from the Russians and others where are migrating to find work.
ReplyDeleteIn A Touch of Sin globalization is seen through the constant change of locations where the four stories are being followed. Even though the whole film initially takes place in China, it takes place in both rural towns and big cities in China. Every story is different and all of the violence and crime that are seen in the film is possible to be seen in any other country in the world. All four of these individuals in these stories, the coal miner, the migrant with the gun, the young receptionist at a spa, and a young factory worker could be anywhere in the world. These jobs are not just relevant to China; they are all seen in different countries.
Even though A Touch of Sin is a more modern film I still enjoyed The World better because of the connection I felt with Tao and her character. I agree with Elsa in saying that she felt trapped in the world park (I even as if I were trapped myself) and just wanted to get out and go abroad. The scene in the beginning of the film when Tao’s old friend comes to see her and tells her he got a passport and is leaving to go abroad she has a look of longing and jealousy in her eyes. She wanted to see his passport and longed to have one herself. A lot of the camera shots that I focused on were the shots of Tao while she was in the world park working. It was always as if she is only in this fantasy world and not in the “real” world. She wants to leave her troubles behind and step into the “real” world. She finally gets the chance to escape and that is at the end of the film when she and Taisheng die. Tao says that “this is just the beginning.” She finally got to break away from the world park.
One of the points that I saw The World trying to argue, is that individuals in a globalized world are very self-conscious of the other world which they have no real hopes of entering. In the film, there is the world and there is “The World.” In the former, they are poor and don’t have any true aspirations of ever leaving. In the latter, the employees have mobility through representations and are able to adapt themselves to represent any culture in the world. They know what the women wear, ( at least stereotypically) in Russia, or how they sit in Japan, etc. By turning themselves into representations, they are able to be a part of the representational world. But being a “world” instead of a world, being a miniaturized copy instead of an original, makes it feel less like a replica and more like a parody.
ReplyDeleteBut, in some sense, film itself also deals with many of the same issues as “The World. In film, people are actors, dressed up in costumes, behaving like someone they’re not, reading from scripts. Time in film is shortened. Colors are tampered with. Everyone is wearing make up. Film is perhaps the most prominent medium, besides language, responsible for representing the world today. And often, when sitting in a movie theatre, I like to look around at the rest of the audience, and everyone seems to be totally engrossed in a representation of the world, far more engrossed than they are when the movie is over and they are standing in the streets, wondering what to do now.
In The World, it seems to be similar. While on stage, nothing ever goes wrong with the dancing and every scene is flawless. It is only in the real world where things go wrong. Tao tells Taisheng, that if he is cheating on her, she’ll kill him. She finds out the truth, but only through a representation of the truth. She reads the text, and the film empathizes the fact that the text is a representation of something, by representing the moment through animation.
I like this post :)
DeleteAfter viewing both A Touch of Sin and The World, I was clearly able to pick out the obvious similarities that this director establishes in his film practice, although, it would be wise to state that his technique obviously evolved from The World to A Touch of Sin or at least changed for the film. But on a personal note, I would agree partly with what some of my classmates have stated in how, at points, I found these films harder to follow than others. Or, in a different way of stating it, I found myself straining to remain locked into the film without my mind wandering during certain points in the film. But, I can track this back into simply being more versed in a different style of cinema. Going on with this little side-note, I think it would be wise to note that many of us have been brought up surrounded by a different style of film-making and films. If I could make this generalization, more American films move quicker plot-wise and have to work harder to retain an audience’s attention, while in relation cinema from different parts of the world have evolved in a different style than the “Hollywood” style.
ReplyDeleteMoving on, I will state that I was able to pull away from these two films a great deal about globalization in a much more lower-key and tone than perhaps the other films that we have seen in this course. In A Touch of Sin, we are met with violence, most of globalization centering on this violence. In addition, the director shares his view upon why he chooses violence for this particular film in an interview with Sight and Sound “A Touch of Sin reflects real-life violence. I believe that violence can be eliminated only by understanding its causes. I don't support violence, but I respect people with a rebellious spirit.” Frankly, I found this quote to be rather informative. In a film that is dealing with some aspects of globalization, I might reference Chandler’s post when he states that “capitalism revolves around death.” I don’t think it’s too much of a stretch to tie these two ideas together in stating that A Touch of Sin might be focusing on how exactly globalization and its effects creates violence and spreads death.
Now in relation, The World was a sort of change in terms of this violence which I saw in A Touch of Sin which I watched earlier in the week. In fact, if I might make a personal statement, I actually found this film somewhat more disturbing that the other by the same director. While the idea of globalization was perhaps a little more apparent for myself due to the entire theme park being a representation of the world, I did make a rather interesting number of observations. First, I’d like to say the most of the park was almost freakishly empty. While this isn’t to say there was a lack of visitors, but what the camera views in an almost ghost like area devoid of what many of us might call a vibrant and “happening” world. It took me a while to put my thoughts together about this, but in the end I came to the conclusion that this was more-or-less a directorial choice. I felt like the director used this in an attempt to completely isolate these characters in this “so-called” larger world in which they live. This isn’t to say it’s only in the theme park, but it was only an example. In addition, there was one particular scene in which the female lead’s ex drifts off into the largest crowd of people in the film, leaving the other characters isolated in the work of the theme park. Once again I found this interesting in a sense that I felt the director was stating that globalization, is perhaps more dangerous in a local setting. This might be thinking too far into it, but I feel like it does lie upon a correct train of thought.
Rayns, Tony. THE OLD AND THE NEW. Sight & Sound. 24.6 (2014) 30-34. Print.
I want to begin with once again, I did not know what was really the plot in The World. However the film was not about plot. This to me is the difference between films such as Demonlover and Boarding Gate. Those film in my mind were begging for plot at least in the point of view of an American film viewer. The two films moved through their respective worlds with a high intensity backdrop of sleuthing and killing. With The World the disconnect from any fluid plot line gave a much more mosaic like structure to its own story telling. The World to me was about the circumstances people live in and their day to day in an entertainment park that while shows the world to visitors also marginalizes it's workers. The World is defiantly about globalization even though we never leave China.
ReplyDeleteThe park itself boils down world cultures into character types that are quickly sold to ticket buyers. This experience in one park with workers beings on an idea or rather two ideas into one functioning experience. It is the same thing with the Magic Kingdom at Disney world. This is a thinking globally, touring locally. The park offers the identity kits of other cultures into canned performances that at the end of the day seldom amount to anything more than what they really are, cheap amusement that just might offend those from the real places. Withing this park that generalizes other cultures are the workers and performers that dream that may see the real locations they maintain sets of.
There is longing in these characters. Everyone of them has their own anxieties of their situation. For instance when the couple gets married, the girlfriend felt trapped by first her violent boyfriend and her economic situation. Their action prompted Tao to discuss with her boyfriend the idea of getting married. For these women, at least, marriage seems to be a way out or a way further in.
We of course get the Russian performers who we have seen in previous films, along with their passports being turned over. This came to a head when Tao saw Anna again and both knew what Anna has had to do for her living and after that no words needed to be spoken.
This also brings up the idea of tourism to me. What do we really see when we go to knew places? I can book a glitzy trip to Europe tomorrow and when I get there spend all time I want and never really see anything or learn anything. This is also what do we see and what do we chose not to see? With the theme of a park such as The World and their marginalized workers how do you walk through Disney World and not wonder who is behind Goofy's mask?
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ReplyDeleteThankfully I kept my confusion card throughout Demonlover and Yella, because The World is the film I have had more trouble understanding. I struggled to make sense as to where the movie was going and it seems I am not alone after reading other posts. In terms of globalization it was clear that the theme park as a whole represents globalization. The tram and talk of airplane travel between characters reveals “that these migrants are hopelessly confined in the spectacle of wealth created by their cheap labour” author Tonglin Lu points out (2008, p. 163).
ReplyDeleteWith Tao’s journey we get to see her as trapped similar to Diane in Demonlover (although to a lesser extent) and seeking vengeance like Sandra in Boarding Gates. To reiterate what Emily writes, Tao was in a “fantasy world and not in the ‘real’ world,” a facade similar to the outward appearance of the theme park. But Tao struggles internally after multiple revelations concerning Taisheng and Anna and ultimately takes matters into her own hands, presumably taking her own life as well as Taishengs. This internal struggle, also a depiction of the inner grumbling of unhappiness caused by globalization is can be summarized by Robert Ebert’s question in his review of the film, “ is hard labor better than pointless labor?” (http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/the-world-2005). Yes, we have survived the ages and are afforded many luxuries that generations of the past were not, but are we better off for it? Tao’s short life would point to no.
Lu, T. (2008). Fantasy and reality of a virtual China in Jia Zhangke's film “The World”. Journal Of Chinese Cinemas, 2(3), 163. doi:10.1386/jcc.2.3.163_1
I love the cinematography in A Touch of Sin and The World. I guess it helps that the film quality has gotten better over time. A Touch of Sin, for me, was like watching an art piece moving around. Like how Elaina stated, the colors were gorgeous. I kept noticing how vibrant they were. The wide shots framed the characters very well. The World had some great wide shots as well. The beginning kept me hook on how the camera followed I believe Tao? when she was searching for a band aid. It had a documentary feeling to it. It felt very real. The closeness of the camera work reminded me of Workingman’s Death.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Elsa and my other classmates about the films being hard to follow. I like how A Touch of Sin was broken into four stories. Each character had their section and after it was done, they didn’t appear again. It was more straightforward. I think that made it a bit easier for me to follow than The World where it was very intertwined. The World had a lot of characters that made it hard to follow because like how Elsa said, it was not explained very well in the film.
Globalization in A Touch of Sin I believe was less obvious than The World. A Touch of Sin focused on four separate stories all let down by injustices in some way or another. The first story with Dahai showed the viewer how corruption lies even in the smallest towns. Dahai throughout his segment killed his way for revenged of his poor village. He believed that the owner of the coal miner owed 40% of the profits to the village. Dahai wants justice and often rants about corruption. He takes matters into his own hands and goes on a shooting rampage. I think this segment stuck out to me the most out of the four. I admired the framing of the camera work of the entire segment.
In The World, globalization is seen through the amusement park itself. Many of my classmates mentioned how westernized it China was trying to be with this amusement park. But I think it was Kyle who mentioned that it often appeared empty. It certainly didn’t feel like they were at Disneyland or Six Flags. Tonglin Lu author of Fantasy and Reality of a virtual China in Jia Zhangke’s film The World, wrote,
Migrant workers in this amusement park spend their days and nights staging Broadway-like glamorous spectacles of dance and songs, which in turn imprison their lives by shaping their desire for consumption beyond their material means. Tao confesses to her boyfriend Taisheng, while sitting in an amusement park aeroplane ride, that she feels like a ghost trapped in this staged world. If the world of the amusement park is conspicuously composed of endless spectacles, in a subtler but no less controlling way the personal lives of its residents are also saturated with technological gadgets, so that even their emotions are turned into spectacles through various dispositifs
I felt that they were trapped as well. One character even mentioned that they have never met anyone who has flown on a plane before. This constant push by China to see the world through an artificial lens is sad in a way. I remember how two characters were pointing at the Big Ben and London Bridge and making it sound like it was the real thing. This film gave me a sad impression of how globalization is spreading through other countries. They seem so eager to drop their cultures and become “westernized” and that can be a dangerous thing.
Lu, Tonglin. "Fantasy And Reality Of A Virtual China In Jia Zhangke's Film The World." Journal Of Chinese Cinemas 2.3 (2008): 163-179. MLA International Bibliography. Web. 6 June 2014.
As with Yella, some historical knowledge of Chinese society (or contemporary, or both!) really aids in making sense of both "The World", and "A Touch of Sin." Both films depict the contemporary Chinese people stuck in the margins of rapidly growing capitalist economy. Moreover, both capture the boundless frustration and hopelessness these people live with, along with moments of joy of course.
ReplyDeleteCrucial to understanding both films is the relationship between the countryside and the eastern, urban centers of Chinese society. Over half of China's population lives in the countryside. The countryside is largely improvised, and a bit of a Wild West (as we see in "A Touch of Sin"). Many young people from the countryside migrate to eastern urban hubs for work. They are rarely well-educated and always poor, and as such, will end up doing some kind of blue-collar work. Upward mobility is an only an option for the middle class, and all the people we see in both films are considered lower class.
I think Jia Zhangke's isolated long takes (where we get one main character in isolation just moving through whatever space they're in, pensive and forlorn) really dramatizes the fact that these characters live long days yearning for another life, knowing the whole time that they'll never get one.
I suspect that part of the reason the Chinese government permits Jia Zhangke to make these films is because of the careful way they parse through the structural problem that under girds Chinese society. These are not feel good films about how wonderful life in China is. "A Touch of Sin", in particular is actually quite devastating in the way it depicts the violence that people (largely) in the countryside use to exploit or hurt one and another as an outgrowth of the frustration and hopelessness they feel. Vigilantism doesn't seem totally irrational in a place where corruption renders the law somewhat fluid.
While corruption is certainly a problem, Jia Zhangke never directly implicates the central government. But I think what he achieves in these films is more important: he offers a counter narrative. He shows us the people in the margins; the people usually hidden in plain site.
Wow! This week has been full of confusion for me! I found The World quite difficult to follow and frankly hard to stay awake for. The World seems to lack a driving force that keeps the story moving. The movie was broken into several "chapters" but I fail to see how these chapters actually impacted the movie. A Touch of Sin also was broken up into four different stories but these made much more sense.
ReplyDeleteGlobalization is clearly shown through the amusement park. I was not sure if the people working there were slaves or if they were free to go if they chose. It certainly seemed like the Russians were certainly being trafficked but I'm still unsure about their counterparts. In a Touch of Sin we see the violence and corruption. These four people are driven and pushed over the edge by the forces of globalization.