The representation of gender and sexuality in Zhang Yimou's Ju Dou and Red Sorghum
The three protagonists in Ju Dou formed an oedipal triangle and the other saying will be Chinese oedipal complex in psychoanalytic terms. Jin-shan is symbolizing the traditional patriarchal character but with the impotence in sexuality while Tian-qing, Jin-shan's nephew, has the description of social impotence for the signifying of the lost of masculinity. Ju Dou[1], show the shadows of patriarchal unconscious in encouraging and modelling as the apparatus in enhancing the contrast of male masculinity in the film.
The appearing of the two protagonists in Red Sorghum is in the case, more "open" than the conservative idea of marriage in Ju Dou. The two protagonists in Red Sorghum were rather less influenced by the social gossip although the husband of My Grandma[2] had just dead while My Grandma remarried to another man. The mise-en-scène of Red Sorghum can effectively deliver to the spectators on the remasculinizing of male through the half-naked body and having sex openly, when contrasting with Ju Dou.
The male gaze and the confrontation of male gaze
To start with the view point and gaze in Ju Dou, the good using example is the peep hole for Tian-qing in peeping during the showering of Ju Dou. Clearly, Tian-qing is being a male subject in looking at Ju Dou as being an object. Through the gaining of visual pleasure, Tian-qing can therefore be fulfilled and satisfied his sexual desire. Upon the gaining of visual pleasure, this has imposed the patriarchal ideology by the using of female image, and also signified the sexual difference between male and female. The narrative method of using low-key dim light also point out the peeping process as a difficult task which can effectively bring the desire for peeping as a hard level to achieve, with the necessity to overcome obstacles.
In Western feminist film criticism, the nature and the structure of gaze has became an essential element in explaining the gimmick for the presentation of gender question. The ground for the analysis is on the bases of psychoanalytical process using Freud's theories of voyeurism. Voyeurism in general, is not rare, and always present among the public. For instance, the dark, hiding environment for spectators in the cinema during the watching of films, has also been considered as a kind of pressure seeking process to satisfy the visual pleasure. The visual pleasure is gained form the self-satisfaction and relief. If we concern the nature of observing as a spectator is a form of invading the private sphere of other individuals, it is unreasonable not to consider the spectatorship action as peeping. However, to be more specific, here we only take the narrower definition of voyeurism as only sexual arousing.
Normally, the only active and dominate gaze is male gaze which mainly use the female character as the object to fulfil male sexual desire erotically. However, some critics have coined the concept of gaze in Ju Dou has been presented differently according to the cultural effect during the fragile, curious with fear process of peeping. The female body, instead, is representing the mediation of desire, fear and making a good contrast for the desire and social position. Because of this, the multiple roles of women bring us to the question: can the confronting of male gaze result in the gaining of masculine authority?
This question may be one of the representation method used in the construction of My Grandma in Red Sorghum. During the opening scene of the using of sedan chair to deliver My Grandma to the house of the old shopkeeper of the distillery, My Grandma looked through the curtain and starred at the sedan carrier's half-naked body. However, this action had been discovered and noticed by the sedan carrier. This can lead us to the idea of "to see is to be seen". This confronting of female gaze gives a good confrontation example of the typical male gaze. After the fighting off the assailant, My Grandma took down the curtain in not allowing My Grandpa in looking at her and the trying to grab the feet of My Grandma by My Grandpa. The struggling between My Grandpa and My Grandma gave a good symbolization of seeing as the gaining of masculinity authority in the desperate of seeing. Similar to other kind of gaze showing the power relationship between the gazer and gazed, the above situation always proposed the same thing.
The mise-en-scène on representation of gender and sexuality
The landscape
There are lot of different surrounding factors as bases for the representation of sexuality in the two films. Here, the comparison first starts with the mise-en-scène for of two films. In Ju Dou, the story was happened only in a very small village, or more precisely, in a Chinese traditional rectangular courtyard. The world was created by circles (or a small group) of individuals and had embedded the emotions: desire and fear, during the narration. The small village resulted in the spatial trapping for the protagonists and the gossip among different circles of individuals. What Zhang Yimou did in telling the story, was to create a world only process the several families with tighter bonding. The protagonists are in fact with no freedom of movement, no privacy and under the supervision of the dense population. Ju Dou and Tian-qing were in fact, not able to have marriage according to the conservative doctrines, gossip and rumour of the neighbours. This kind of barriers leads to the suppression of desire of Ju Dou and Tian-qing. They had sex not just simply inside the house, but in an underground cellar. It will be a good symbolization of the invasion of private sphere by the public sphere and the suppression of the sexuality through the suppression of the sexual desire.
Alternatively, in Red Sorghum, the story appeared and took place in a very remote, wild area and with very limited population. In contrast, things that can be seen in Ju Dou are totally absent in Red Sorghum. Opposing, since the low population in the remote area of the distillery, the invasion of private space and privacy did not happened in Red Sorghum. This will be the reason for My Grandma could soon remarry My Grandpa soon after the mysterious death of the shopkeeper of the distillery. And the place for My Grandma and My Grandpa to have sex was surprisingly and openly on the ground of sorghum. This action has symbolized the rebelling of the traditional cultural and historical place of having sex, and the their desire towards sex.
The construction of characters
In the construction of characters in Ju Dou, the three main protagonists had portrayed the three different gender representations in the movie. This solidified the saying of the symbolization of the patriarchal ideology, social and cultural suppression of certain masculinity and sexuality, and also the importance of female image and body for the building up of men's masculinity. Jin-shan, of course, was symbolizing the patriarchy father of the typical patriarchical society as in China. Similar to the dominance of economic according to the Marxist Feminism, Jin-shan was being portrayed as economic, social and cultural dominant as the ruling class. But the sexual impotence of Jin-shan leaded to the shifting of sexual desire to male violence towards female sexuality in order to aim at the regaining of masculinity.
On the other hand, Tian-qing apparently, was being presented as masculinity impotent who relayed living and any other things on his nephew, Jin-shan. However, beneath the impotence, he was embedded with the suppressed masculinity. His suppression of masculinity was accounted for a larger extent by the social-cultural effect. The effect of this social-cultural phenomenon was significantly in affecting the rational thinking and the value standard of the two protagonists: Ju Dou and Tian-qing. Tian-qing showed explicitly the individual sexual desire which has confront with his social position. With the reason for his social position, the resulted representations of Tian-qing were both sexuality and masculinity for the social impotence.
However, the present of a female figure - Ju Dou, had been used for the regaining masculinity of Jin-shan and Tian-qing with the suppressed masculinity by social position. Apart from the turning of sex to violence by Jin-shan, the present of Ju Dou has turned Tian-qing from the struggling between desire and fear to the side of desire. The same principle in Jin-shan also applied to Tian-qing as the gaining of the lost masculinity from a female body. The female body mediated the reaffirmation of the male subjectivity and sexuality. Also, this reinforced the use of female body as a cinematic and the narration apparatus for the female objectivity.
In contrast, the symbolized meaning of the protagonists in Red Sorghum was in a slightly difference. My Grandpa, being a famous sedan carrier, he was surely with the masculinity in strength. Further, he surely had the ability to express his desire for love and sex. During the process of sending the bride by the sedan chair, the sedan carrier sang out an energetic song and with the cylindrical up and down movement of the sedan chair, showing the explicated intense passion and subconscious sexual desire toward the bride. By looking at the point of social position as the view point in looking at Tian-qing in Ju Dou, the social status of My Grandpa will not bring to the suppression of masculinity. Instead, the masculinity and the sexuality of My Grandpa were almost "normal" or even more explicit than other male.
In the previous mentioned gaze on My Grandma, the confrontation of gaze already gave the seduction sign which implied the passionate feeling of My Grandma. Also, the counteracting action of My Grandpa's action in holding My Grandma's feet, gave a more intense symbol for as a metaphor for passion and sexual desire. The "use" of My Grandma in narration is differ from Ju Dou who is used as the apparatus as an object. My Grandma gives a strong sense of individual sexual desire, instead as a passive tool.
Symbolization using colours
The two films directed by Zhang Yimou, have used a lot of colours in helping the symbolization and the metaphor for the signifying of different personal emotions and feelings. Both in Ju Dou and Red Sorghum, red is being used as an apparatus for the symbol of passion, love and death. But among the different expression of colour red, the most likely expressed one will be death. Both the death of Jin-shan and Tian-qing were associated with red which was in turn giving out the sense of blood. Ironically, Jin-shan and Tian-qing were drown to death, which means no blood lose and flow. Then the complementary uses of red colour become the even better way to symbolize the death of Jin-shan and Tian-qing which is an imaginary process for the spectators.
And in Red Sorghum the death of My Grandma was associated with the appearing of solar eclipse. While this red give the strong reflection on the violence and for the blood lost during the counter fighting against Japanese army.
The signification of rituals and the symbolizing of incest taboo
The contrasting point between Ju Dou and Red Sorghum in ritual will be the wedding ceremony in Red Sorghum, and the funeral ceremony in Ju Dou. Both the two ceremonies turn to the significance of certain conservative doctrine and incest taboo, that one of them will be the Confucians idea.
From the desire to love, to oedipal complex
Normally, Chinese people always tend to be haunted and fear of the violation of ancestors' ritual principles. Among those principles, the two most important principles will be the filial piety for men and chastity for women.
The filial piety comes from the extra emphasis of the inter-human relationship of classical Chinese philosophy. If the relation is inborn, this is also being considered as first priority among other relations, while Filial piety is the one in the most important relation: father and son. The obedience of son to father is important while the rebellious action of son toward father is straightly being considered as not filial which is also can not be accepted among any other population. Do imagine: if the rebellious action of the son toward father is successful, will their relation still exist? If this relation doesn't exist, the morality will also be affected. Since then, the conflicting of the desire with filial piety will be a challenging issue.
The chastity for women should come with the maintaining of self-dignity of women. For a long time, sex is being considered as a moral issue which also holds nowadays in some sense. One possible explanation for the linking of morality and sex will be the death associated with the reproduction of women. Surely, things that dealing with death will be a moral issue, resulting the connection between sex and morality. Hence, the reasons for women in having sex with other men beside their husband will be considered as the failure in maintain their chastity. So, maintaining the chastity of women will be the highest virtue in Confucians tradition.
Based on the two ritual principles, the desire to love and the desire to sex make Ju Dou and Tian-qing into the only solution of repression. However, love and desire in some sense, are insanity. Also, the only way for Ju Dou in getting out from the patriarchal dominating violence was to build up the relationship with Tian-qing. This reflected the original based story of Ju Dou. Ju Dou was originally adopted from the novel, Fuxi Fuxi, which is the story about the marriage between Fuxi and Nűwa. However, Fuxi and Nűwa are brother and sister relationship, which turned into the oldest and original parable of incest. The way to present the relationship between Ju Dou and Tian-qing in the film is incest. Nonetheless, the only ways for them is repression or towards the desire. During the struggle between the sexuality, desire and ritual principle, Zhang Yimou had chosen the way to present the sexuality as the solution, as the shouting for human instinct.
On the other hand, the relationship of My Grandma and My Grandpa was with the absence of filial piety, but only the chastity of My Grandma. As in Confucians tradition, the remarriage of women after the passing away of her old husband will not be considered as fulfilling the chastity. Nevertheless, the situation in Red Sorghum is similar to Ju Dou in which the only access road for My Grandma was to seek for other one else instead of the leprosy shopkeeper for self-protection as illustrated by the hidden of scissors in her blouse.
Conclusion
Ju Dou and Red Sorghum have been the good examples of Zhang Yimou's productions in the past years. He has successfully put the two productions in a good contrast with representations, filming techniques, mise-en-scène and the themes. More importantly, he would like to point out the choices to be made during the difficult situations with the struggling between traditional principles and human instinct. We can see he has chosen the way to live, rather than nonsensical obeying those traditional taboos, ritual principles. Being the spectators, we can see the bright standing, the style of filming in his productions and also his vision in filmology.
References
Cui, Shuqin. (2003) "The Search for Male Masculinity and Sexuality in Zhang Yimou's Ju Dou." Women Through the Lens: Gender and Nation in a Century of Chinese Cinema. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press. pp. 127-149.
Fuery, Patrick. (2000) "The Gaze: Masochism, Identification and Phantasy in the Spectator." New Developments in Film Theory. New York: St. Martin's Press. pp. 6-23, 158-174
Hayward, Susan. (2000) Cinema Studies: The Key Concepts. 2nd edition. London & New York: Routledge.
Hong gao liang (1987), http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0093206/ (accessed December 3, 2008).
Ju Dou (1990), http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0099902/ (accessed December 3, 2008).
[1] Ju Dou refers to the female main protagonist, while Ju Dou in italic form refers to the film production.
[2] My Grandma and My Grandpa are the main protagonists in Red Sorguhm. Annotation from the data in The Internet Movie Database
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