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.