After watching Lust, Caution

If Sex Works: On the Movie “Lust, Caution”
Lust, Caution, a movie about an obscure love affair, had drawn considerable disputes to every aspects of itself: from the director’s decision of the cast, to the actress morality, from the P.R. China’s censorship, to the righteousness of the theme.
The story is written by Zhang Ailing, a legendary Chinese female writer, which is set in 1930’s Hongkong, a lost time in a murky city.

Under the Japan aggression, Wang, a young and chaste college girl joined a theatre group in school which performs patriotic plays and made acquaintance with a group of enthusiastic young men. Soon, she found herself in a plan designed by the theatre group members to assassinate Mr.Xie, the head of the intelligent bureau of the corporate government. Disguised as a wealthy merchant’s wife, and thanks to her charms, she successfully seduced Mr. Xie. However, in the last moment of the action, she desperately found herself in life with Xie and couldn’t bear to give him in to the ambush. Found out the students’ plan, Xie arrested and executed all the students including Wang.
The story might be simple, but the desperateness of the era presented in the story was profound. The subtle and complicated representation of emotion is the traditional advantages of Chinese directors and actors.
The dispute about the movie is that in order to reveal the process Wang falls in love with Xie, the movie seems testing the tolerance of Chinese Media Supervision Bureau. To some sense, Wang made out with Xie before she actually loved him. Or, according to the movie, She loved him because they made out—she was simply sacrificed herself physically to the cause of anti-Japanese mission at first, but then since making out with her became the value of her life, she accept the fate and loved Xie. Considering the destruction Wang did to her theatre group, she did love him heartily and honestly.
The problem is, what to do with the sex scene the main theme of the movie, and was indispensable for the plot. Admittedly, the Sex scene was even more vehement than normal (I estimate, at least) but that’s the specialties of the movie. In some sense, seeing the Sex part as part of the plot and retain it is far more probity than regard them as squalid and cut it. But, without an official ranking system in China, I do worry how kids would take this movie. Then, dispute is just unsettled dispute. The Bureau cut it despite abundant criticizes on media. And everyone still has access to it on Internet, that’s how the system works in China.
Amidst the disputes, discussions on the morality of the actress is plenty, and yet, surprising. Wang, the heroine in the movie sacrificed herself partly because the prevailing misunderstanding of sex in that era: Sex is a mechanism of living which had nothing to do with love, therefore, just use it for your country’s benefit! Wang proved that wrong, as a woman who was able to love, and sacrifice for her love. It’s said that what we’ve learned from history is we were never learned from history. The actress playing Wang was regarded as a vogue actress and was forbidden to act in any more commercial movies recently. Someone applauds it, while others don’t. The dispute is hot. But didn’t they misunderstand the value of sex too, like the stubborn time 80 years ago, like we are never making progress in terms of understanding ourselves.

My friend said it's movie aimed to render viewers uncomfortable. Very true.

The Shock Wave of the Wall Street Financial Storm

Jogging alone the lake in my neighborhood after dinner, I overheard a conversation before two women, both of whom, with vegetable shopping bags in hands, are ordinary mid-aged Chinese women. “Have you heard about the U.S. government’s new financial policy?” “Yes, I heard that they are pouring billions of dollars, and the congress is still voting for it.” “How I hope it works!” “Yes, I do too.”

What evokes such roaring enthusiasm for world economy? Since the countries “reform and open” policies taken into effect two decades ago, it’s the first time that Chinese are exposed to the world economic fluctuation. They are thrilled and curious in some sense. Besides, a major economic crisis smells too bloody for them to bear, even when it’s afar. As a generation that has witnessed the development of the country from poverty to prospect, they dread whatever force takes their fortunes away. The poignancy of starving is undeletable, and any prospect of returning to poverty is deplorable. Apart from the immediate interests that Chinese concern, the increasing intellectuals in the country form a populace with enough preliminary knowledge to understand issues like sublime lending.

All these give a rise to the fervor to study American economy in China, which indicate that for better or worse, it’s not as much a land insular from the world economic issues as it did years ago.

Undoubtedly with the contemporary international financial system, the financial crisis in the U.S. has its impact far beyond the U.S. border.

To what extent does the economic crises influences China? Actually, since the way Chinese captain joined the world market are mainly through stock market and bank loaning, and that China is lending rather than borrowing, the impact of the crisis is far less than other countries with the same system as the U.S. Although Chinese stock market shrink for seventy percent in the last few months and the real estate is on the declining, the problem is much of domestic rather than part of wall-street. (For China, the mystery that Chinese economy is fortified by the Olympic Games blows the economic bubbles so big that it eventually breaks.)
However, this assessment is unpopular among people. Eyes on the U.S. are intense.
“I’m thinking of applying a graduate school in the U.S. I’m really worried that the difficulties in economy may diminish the chances for me to get scholarships.” To Ying, a Chinese college student, the U.S. economy weighs much in her future.
“My company has business relationship with an American factory. Since their money is getting tighter, I’m taking growing risk too. They may stop paying at any time, yet, I can’t afford to stop my business with them, because the business is really important to me.” Li, the manager for a chemicals Imp&Exp company said with gloominess.
“I’m hoping that if America stock market warms up, Chinese market would revitalize too.” A middle aged man said. As many Chinese mid-class assaulted by the looses at stock market, it’s unbelievable how the good life they’re expecting is suddenly fading from their future.

Anyway, China is an active participator in World Economy nowadays. What can it contribute and gain? Let's wait and see.

Forever Dancing:

The paralympic never fails to move me.

This time, it's the girl in pink, among the azure back ground, like a bloomed rose in the dark night, captured the beauty of the whole nature.

She is twelve, and she dances, which recalls my childhood, when dancing class was my favourite.

And then, there's May 12th, 2008. Maybe for her, there's no memory about that three days, only darkness. The fragile school building collapsed in the earthquake, pressing on her little body and her other classmates, her left leg stuck firmly in the relics.

The fainted girl was discovered the next day, but the rescuors couldn't pull her out without massive machineries which were unavailable to them for the roads were destroyed by the quake too.

The whole nation was watching her, anxious, helpless. For seventy hours, she stayed there, among the relics and probably, bodies of her former classmates. For seventy hours, she watch rescuors coming and going. She Struggled for life. She is twelve, the most blithe age.

Worrying that she couldn't survive anymore hours lying down the relics severly injured, the doctors decided to ampulate her leg to save her life.

Can you imagine the pain? You know you can dance the prettiest balad, you know you'll shine with your nimble limbs, but now, you watch yourself to be ampulated.

Luckily, she survived all.

And here she is, dancing in the center of paralympic opening ceremony, in the center of the world too. Elegantly did she sit on wheelchair, and the other dances around her mimic the movement of her legs. Yes, with our help and support, she can dance forever.

So she danced, with music, in pink dress like a princess in fairytale, who had survived the disaster and will be rewarded with all the happiness in the world.

She'll dance forever. Although real life maybe be crueler than the fairy tale, but she will dance forever.

Who Needs Who?

The official saying is that Olympic needs China as well as China needs the Olympic Games.

Is it that Chinese audience was expecting an ecstatic party for their own happiness or that the country is in need of international recognition? The two interpretations are inextricably entwined. Since the Opening Up reformation took place two decades ago, it’s the first opportunity ever for China to meet the world on an equal basis and on such a large scale. China is like a kindergarten kid who had worked hard in the hope of being praised by his teacher but had hardly achieved any. He is eager to please the world.

Besides, Chinese expectations for the performances on the ceremony are soaring, as high as the index of their economy. For the majority of the Chinese population who grew up in the adversary environment of 60’s, they have devoted their youth to the rocketing economic development in the 80’s. The Olympic Games is their show. They are yearning to witness a powerful and prosperous China nurtured under their effort. It’s a sense of achievement essential for a people, especially a people that are not usually looked up by the world.

Fortunately, as the praise from around the world flush in for the organized games, resourceful volunteers and enthusiastic audience, Olympic is all successful for everyone and every purpose. The question at the beginnning really doesnt matter any more since whoever the Olympic is for, he had get it.

On the Openning Ceremonies

Nothing imbues the essence of Chinese Culture better than the scroll--it rolls open bit by bit, like the ancient Chinese wisdom: A real touch of beauty can hardly be an extravaganza, but a careless, yet mysterious encounter. What has revealed on the canvas is a stunning picture at its best, but the exhilaration of the moment you see the dreamed beauty captured by the picture can be breathtaking, exulted, and tasteful. That’s way Chinese Art always looks simple, and elegant, and sometimes, remote.

That’s what the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games Opening Ceremonies strives to achieve. If one of the moment, you are touched by the beauty, or the awe, the color and the fireworks, the thunderous drum or the extramundane nature of the background of Kungfu, bravo!

The scroll unfold in the center of National Stadium, as extensive as a football field. After a few moment’s aerobic-like dancing, the rueful light shot from the top of the venue shifted and the image ascended to be suspended in the air. The picture reveals itself to be a scribbled outline of rolling mountains and the sun hanging on the right. An abstract picture with unutterable Orientation taste, leaving much the blank for your imagination, that’s what China had for the world for the opening ceremony of the 2008 Olympic Games.

The Olympic Ceremonies have tried to compass the five millenniums civilization into a few dances. In other words, they imparted a profound topic that worth decades of study in UC Berkeley to a Sports Fan in front of TV in an hour! No wonder it’s so compounding.

But art is a universal language that should transcend time and spaces, cultures and backgrounds. Like the spirit of Olympia, it’s a legacy for the whole human beings, not a particular nation, nor a particular culture.

The problem is it seems that the director of the ceremonies, Zhang Yi Mou, seemed disagree. His logic is "The more traditional and ethnic, the more global." As a movie director who had won numerous awards for his specialties in setting exotic and photogenic scenes, he is obsessed with traditional settings and effects. Individuals are nothing to him, they're uniformed to emerge into a larger picture to shock the audience and strike awe.

Notwithstanding all the thrills the show had brought to the audiencelack , the young people find it "over-Chinesenized". It's more of a grand royal ceremony paying tribute to gods than a modern international event. Critics of the sourt bubbled on to the internet blogs the next day, immediately after the show. Zhang had snatched to Olympic to his own benefit, but we're expecting a more open and cosmopolitan China.

When Olymic Games is comming to the town

Eight o’clock in the evening, the streets in this city with 3milliom population is empty.
No pedestrians wondering alone the road to enjoy their daily after-lunch walk, no sideway fruit sellers out for their last deal of the day. Most of the stores are closed hours before their close time. It’s not the New Years Eve when people nesttle at home with their family and friends, nor do the people take exodus; it’s the August 8, 2008 in China, the evening for opening ceremony of Beijing Olympic Games.

People finish their work early and come home to watch the live opening ceremonies on TV. Their expectations for the performances on the ceremony are soaring, as high as the index of their economy. A scarlet dancing man, the Olympic symbol become an everyday decoration in every city in China, on clothes and windows, jewelrys and road signs.

A gathering of the world is what modern Olympic games for. This times, however, it's a show of China to many Chinese.

The volunteers of the Beijing Olympic game is exorbitantly 170000, more than two times larger than the Athens, 70000. The major source of which comes from University students because they’re the only group of people that can speak English well enough to communicate with the foreign travelers. What may surprise the world, although the number is large, the enthusiasm of Chinese is so intense that there pose no difficulty at all to recruit such a group. College students from all around the nation have applied to serve the games, but only those in Beijing were accepted. In fact, dating back to two or three times ago, when the students were choosing the place for college, to volunteer for Olympic were in their minds during decision making.

To welcome the Olympic Games, the whole country is like the symbol, dancing in exhilaration, waving their hands to welcome the world.