The Three Gorges Dam is one of the most impressive architectural projects of this decade. I've never been to China, so I've been forced to appeal to various Western resources about it. All sorts of environmentalist critiques are available, even from such mundane places as youtube. Those of that viewpoint lament the loss of habit for the Chinese river dolphin and other typical claims. This view doesn't require much thoughtfulness to reach and ignores China's economic struggle for modernization. The libertarian viewpoint harshly condemns forced relocation of millions of peasants. I find the latter an issue irrelevant to those living in community-centric China. The business manager (of my university organization) is a Chinese citizen and once told me that her people "conform," for lack of a better word, to what others expect of them. She cannot wear a tank top in public because everyone will stare questioningly at her. So, from her stories, and my own off and on research, I wanted to learn about Chinese citizens' reaction to Three Gorges Dam. I didn't think it would bother people in the way Westerners claim. I never expected to find such an illuminating answer so quickly. It's like how I felt the first time I watched Batman Begins.
Most residents, by the time Up the Yangtze was filmed, had already relocated. The project was completed October 30, 2008, so no one still lives along riverside like previously. Director Yung Chang, also narrator, tells us how he realized a while ago that old China is dead. What people see in their mind's eye, as they board river cruise boats, is China as depicted in Hong Kong martial arts movies and wuxia pictures. The Yangtze project is complete and China is modernizing. You can still travel luxuriously; getting service from young people like those shown in this movie, but you won't see what you want. China itself isn't sure of its future. One man interviewed says that he isn't sure if China is capitalist or communist now. As long as society progresses forward, its path is unimportant. A black cat or a white cat is fine, as long as it can kill mice.
Most of the story follows a single impoverished family who lives in a hut beside Yangtze. They send their daughter to wait tables on a tour boat. Yu Shui doesn't adjust well to her new robotic life as maid. Other children don't either. Middle class kids are on board to advance themselves, while Yu Shui is on board to survive. Mr. Chang suggests that China's one child policy permits parents to mollify their male children. While what we see indicates this, I found similar effect in young women. While they were harder workers, they were more withdrawn. Everyone on that boat has to be from a small family, so they're sense of family community must be incredibly strong. Perhaps China's one child policy may have larger negative effect on human capital than it has positive environmental impact.
When we aren't on deck, Chang shows us various clips of Chinese urbanization. Government officials show dumb Westerners new housing projects, built to accommodate relocated persons, and acknowledge that everyone residing there is "happy." Of course people are happy; they are still alive. Chang's documentary can be summarized by my preceding statement. It's like The Grapes of Wrath or Doctor Zhivago. The characters in both those books (and films) experience tremendous hardship. When your family is tossed around, all you care about is keeping it intact. Chang does show us that older, single people do feel nostalgic regret at having to leave their ancestral homes. Even then, they aren't rallying against their government.
Up the Yangtze is too limited to be the authoritative "Three Gorges Dam" documentary. By following Yu Shui's family, Chang shows us what we could probably have deduced from reading an amateur film review. I hope his next project will be more inclusive of all people affected by "an issue." A documentary about middle class people living in Shanghai would be unique but not inspiring.
Most residents, by the time Up the Yangtze was filmed, had already relocated. The project was completed October 30, 2008, so no one still lives along riverside like previously. Director Yung Chang, also narrator, tells us how he realized a while ago that old China is dead. What people see in their mind's eye, as they board river cruise boats, is China as depicted in Hong Kong martial arts movies and wuxia pictures. The Yangtze project is complete and China is modernizing. You can still travel luxuriously; getting service from young people like those shown in this movie, but you won't see what you want. China itself isn't sure of its future. One man interviewed says that he isn't sure if China is capitalist or communist now. As long as society progresses forward, its path is unimportant. A black cat or a white cat is fine, as long as it can kill mice.
Most of the story follows a single impoverished family who lives in a hut beside Yangtze. They send their daughter to wait tables on a tour boat. Yu Shui doesn't adjust well to her new robotic life as maid. Other children don't either. Middle class kids are on board to advance themselves, while Yu Shui is on board to survive. Mr. Chang suggests that China's one child policy permits parents to mollify their male children. While what we see indicates this, I found similar effect in young women. While they were harder workers, they were more withdrawn. Everyone on that boat has to be from a small family, so they're sense of family community must be incredibly strong. Perhaps China's one child policy may have larger negative effect on human capital than it has positive environmental impact.
When we aren't on deck, Chang shows us various clips of Chinese urbanization. Government officials show dumb Westerners new housing projects, built to accommodate relocated persons, and acknowledge that everyone residing there is "happy." Of course people are happy; they are still alive. Chang's documentary can be summarized by my preceding statement. It's like The Grapes of Wrath or Doctor Zhivago. The characters in both those books (and films) experience tremendous hardship. When your family is tossed around, all you care about is keeping it intact. Chang does show us that older, single people do feel nostalgic regret at having to leave their ancestral homes. Even then, they aren't rallying against their government.
Up the Yangtze is too limited to be the authoritative "Three Gorges Dam" documentary. By following Yu Shui's family, Chang shows us what we could probably have deduced from reading an amateur film review. I hope his next project will be more inclusive of all people affected by "an issue." A documentary about middle class people living in Shanghai would be unique but not inspiring.