Monday, December 16, 2019
The Story of Qiu Ju
Think about the presentation of Qiu Ju and Meizi in the film. In one paragraph, discuss how both of these women are represented cinematically. In your next paragraph discuss how the countryside and the city are represented cinematically. In your last paragraph, tell me what you learned and what you liked best about the film.
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In the film The Story of Qiu Ju, women are presented as the main driving force behind the family. They seem to be the ones who tend to take charge in order to defend family honor, something that is very important in Chinese culture. For example, when Qiu Ju’s husband is attacked, she is the one who continuously fights for his case to be heard in front of someone who will actually work to benefit their situation. Women are not portrayed as weak in the slightest, as the majority of the film follows a pregnant woman seeking both change and justice. Cinematically, however, they are often depicted as the powerless ones in the situation. An example of this is whenever Qiu Ju and Meizi are in a new place (as the women move the case up in ranks of government, the cities that they visit are increasingly larger). The women are always positioned much smaller in the frame, in comparison to their surroundings. This allows for the perception of them both being vulnerable and alone in what is essentially a foreign place. In my opinion, this is not shown due to the fact that they are women, but due to the fact that there is a massive social and economic divide between the different parts of China. Had Qiu Ju’s husband been the one to pursue the same things as his wife, it is difficult to say if he would have been taken more seriously. As a man, he was likely to have been more respected in general, solely based on the ”natural” lack of respect for women at the time. Despite this, her husband’s case would likely have been dealt with in the same way due to him living in rural China and him not receiving the same amount of respect as someone who lives in the more urban parts of the country.
ReplyDeleteCinematically, the countryside and the city are represented as completely different worlds. The city is significantly more cramped and busy than the countryside. An example of this is the way that space is used within the shots of both settings. In the shots of the city, the frame is almost completely filled with people bustling about on the streets and large buildings that loom over all of the characters. In the shots of the country, there is a lot more space which is shown by the lack of things in the background. Other ways that the differences are shown is through the mise-en-scene. For example, everyone who lives in the country wears warm, mainly brightly-colored clothing. In the city, most people wear cooler-toned colors and they all seem to wear similar styles. When Qiu Ju and Meizi are in the city, this difference makes then stick out drastically, drawing more attention to how they are outsiders there. Additionally, in the country, the main mode of transportation is sitting in a wagon pulled by a bike (which there seems to be only one of) or walking. This is starkly contrasted in the cities, where almost everyone has a bike and there are even cars that transport people around the city.
I think that this film is eye-opening in the way that it depicts China during this time period. When thinking of China’s history, it is easy to forget that there was a transitional period in between the fall of Communism and the rapid modernization that is known today. The Story of Qiu Ju shows the people that were affected by this change, and the divide that occurred between those who lived in the city and those who lived in more rural areas. I can’t say that it was the best movie that I had ever seen, but I appreciated the way that the film was broken up into different parts, each categorized by different levels of government. I think that it was a very interesting choice that helped move both the film’s plot and themes forward.
ReplyDeleteQiu ju and meizi are both represented in this film in different ways. With qiu ju being the provider for the family and most definitely the most outgoing, she’s typically in the foreground of the film. She is also centered within this film, thus making her the center of attention narratively and cinematically. Meizi always seems to be in the middle ground of the frame if not the background. This is due in part because she's written as a supporter of Qiu Ju. She is present in an abundant amount of scenes that also include qiu ju but she is never the main focus of the camera enforcing her supportive role. In regards of framing, meizi is within the back while Qiu Ju dominates the frame and this mirror the narrative of the film.
The countryside is clearly portrayed with more color as compared to the city. Vibrant colors such as green for the plants and red for the chilis brings to life the country side of the film. The shots are also medium to long shots so the viewer has a chance to fully witness the vast beauty of the country. The city however is more grey and consists of more neutral colors. The mise-en-scene in the city contains many more subjects within the shot between people and store fronts, it creates a sense of being overwhelmed. The mise-en-scene in the country is mostly made up of village houses, which are small, and empty space. In conclusion, the countryside is far less overwhelming and is enriched with color compared to the city.
In this film I learned pride can take you a long way. However, I also learned that sometimes it really isn’t that big of a deal and it’s worth letting things go sometimes. I suppose i liked the cultural difference, that brought more awareness to me. I did not like the repetition even though it suited the films themes and I understand its importance.
Since this film is explicitly about the journey of Qiu Ju and Meizi they are the center of the films cinematic qualities.In a usual film ,groups of men especially government men don’t talk about a female protagonist if there is one and likewise female protagonists only talk about men.This is not true for the story of Qiu Ju, even when Qiu Ju is not in the scene, which is rare for this film, the subject is her journey to get justice for her husband who was assaulted. The desires of Qi Ju are thus the focus of the film.As far as editing the film does not present anything that Qui Ju doesn’t already know about or will learn in the near future.One shot after another is chronologically consistent with her experience.Thus the perspective of the film is that of Qiu Ju.In addition the film is full of shot compositions where Qiu Ju is the subject but is not centered in the frame.For instance the shot where she is making noodles for the men visiting her farm she is the subject but she is off to the left of the frame while the men eat.When she is in the city motel on the bed she is to the far right of the frame which is crowded by other women.This perspective communicates that she feels as small as how the frame shows her as one of the many poor women who could only afford the community bed at the motel.When she is in the city streets she is only distinguishable by her country themed clothing which barley stands out in the long frame.The frame represents Qiu Ju’s feelings of being at odds with the world.This is appropriate for the subject matter of her going to progressively higher levels of the chinese government to get justice for her husbands assault.
ReplyDeleteCinematically the countryside in the story of Qiu Ju presents much smaller shots with fewer subjects and less colors.The frame often shows a small room in a medium long shot with a few members of the village talking over a bowl of noodles.They wear colorful winter coats along with multiple other layers suggesting their warmth and culture. the small size of the frames too compliment this atmosphere of warmth.The people in the city are depicted outside in long shots and although the shots are obviously exterior they are often framed by the urban scenery which crowds the background.Compared homemade huts of Qiu Ju’s farm buildings in the city are often quite unattractive as they are made of concrete and are sometimes falling apart.An example of this would be the motel which Qiu Ju stays at.Its archaic in its construction with walls made of sloppy dirty concrete and with a floor of dirt.We see in the long shots of qiu ju walking through the city that she stands out among the hundreds of other bodies dressed in either gray or blue jump suits.The only reason she is visible in these long shots is because she is wearing such bright colors.
I liked the film presentation of rural chinese qualities.When Qiu Ju is at odds with the government the camera shows her as a plump woman dressed in layers of red(the Chinese symbol for fortune)among crowds of other people walking much faster and wearing blue and grays.We see frequent close ups of her ruddy complexion.The film even ends in a 400 blows style freeze frame of her face.In this instance we see that Qiu Ju, a symbol of fertility and fortune, is the antagonist to the many flaws of the Chinese government thus her motivation of demanding an apology conflicts with the flaws of the government as well.
In ‘The Story of Qiu Ju’, the women drive the plot forward. Qiu Ju’s main motivation is to have the Chief apologize to her husband, and cinematically, most of the focus is placed on her. She is consistently placed in the foreground of a scene whereas other characters, such as Meizi or other women who appear are placed further back in the frame to make them appear smaller and powerless. Scenes, where Qiu Ju is not the main focus tend to occur in the city, where it is crowded, bustling, and unfamiliar for Qiu Ju.
ReplyDeleteThe portrayals of the city and countryside sharply contrast each other throughout the film. The countryside is calm and vacant. Characters are framed with plenty of space around them and the frame is rarely crowded. On the contrary, the city is crammed with people and the frame doesn’t allow much space around a character. When in the city, Meizi and Qiu Ju are almost lost within the sea of people. The city lacks vivid colors, so there isn’t a strong sense of individuality between citizens and they blend together. Long shots are used more often to make them appear smaller physically and in terms of the power they hold.
I find the way that the difference between city and country life was displayed to be interesting. The country lifestyle in China at the time appeared to center around self-sufficiency while maintaining bonds with those around oneself. However, in the city, people appear not to care much about those around them and while somewhat self-sufficient, people tend to fall into being another cog in the machine.