We discussed in class the “cat joke” from Chang’s “Up the Yangtze.” I would like to add that this joke represents both the socialist and capitalist undertones that are grappled with throughout the film and how this is Chang’s way of having us question our own motivations and cultural paradigms.
The “cat joke” was originated from Deng Xiaoping, the Chinese leader from 1974 to 1999 following Mao. The saying is “it doesn't matter if a cat is black or white, so long as it catches mice.” Deng Xiaoping was famous for the economic reform that he brought to China, so this quote is referring to the influx of capitalism in China.
My initial reaction to the quote was that it was referring to capitalism, and that Deng Xiaoping was comparing China with western capitalist countries, saying that they could both have successful modern economies. But, Taryn’s comment in class referring to the quote about how the cat was doing its job made me rethink this. The joke also made me think of the socialist idea that people should fill the place in society that they are best suited to fill, in order to eliminate suffering. This idea seems to contradict the social mobility that capitalism would ideally provide China. So, I was unsure about which way to think about the joke.
This dilemma reminded me of a quote from the director’s statement for “Up the Yangtze.” “You have Yu Shui and Chen Bo Yu, you have people who want change, who want a better life. And who can argue with that?” (Chang) When I first read this quote, I felt compassion for both characters and their desire for a better life. But, when viewed in the context of the “cat joke” and the human suffering portrayed in the film, I realized that the desire that Yu Shui and Chen Bo Yu have, though on a smaller scale, is the same as the desire of the Chinese government for progress. But, this is a catch-22 because the desire for change is causing the suffering and suffering is causing the desire for change.
So, this is representative of the promises that both capitalism and socialism make to the proletariat for a better life. But, as this movie suggests, neither can fulfill the promises completely. This conundrum doesn’t apply only to China though. Chang is prompting the viewer to question their own desire for a better life and the ethics and consequences behind such a desire.
http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/d/deng_xiaoping.html
http://www.answers.com/topic/deng-xiaoping
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When I first heard the “cat joke” that was brought up in our class discussion, I thought of something different than what Adrienne thought of. When I first heard the joke I immediately thought of the workers in China. I related the cat to the citizens of China; that is doesn’t matter what education they have, what attributes they have or what class they are. All China cares about, through this joke, is what they are doing for their country and if it is beneficial for the country. To go deeper with that thought, I relate this joke to the employees on the cruise ship in Up the Yangtze, directed by Yung Chang. If we analyze how they treated Cindy when she didn’t quite understand or put the effort into her job at the sink, we see that they didn’t care where she came from or that she began to cry on the job. They just assumed that she was crying because the job was stressful rather than maybe the fact that she was sad about her family or the unknown jeopardy her family was going to encounter from the dam. All the cruise ship employees were worried about is that the job was done and done correctly to avoid an embarrassment in front of the Americans. To step back, this could be related to China as a whole and that the government/country just wants success in its country so they do whatever it takes, or as long as they catch a mouse.
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ReplyDeleteLindsey and Adrienne,
ReplyDeleteI wish I had seen this (additional) comment before I submitted my blog! Lindsey, I had not thought of the joke in that way but I think that you are on to something.
Perhaps the joke is referring to their interests in the betterment of their country as a whole, regardless of who suffers. I related this joke to the "to do for the many" quote, and now that I think of it, it does not say "to do for all." As we discussed in class, many people in China were still not aided after losing their land in the flood. Even those who were aided will still likely suffer as we had seen from Cindy's family. Though the end was somewhat optimistic, they will still likely struggle due to the damages from the dam in addition to loss of their farmland. Perhaps the entire country (the cat) benefited as a whole from the dam, but some families (the mice) individually will not.