As I was watching the first part of “Up the Yangtze,” I was surprised to hear the familiar tune of Yankee Doodle in the background music. I found this odd, but after further review of other music in the movie and Schirato and Webb’s theory on visual narratives, I think I can shed some light on this.
According to Schirato and Webb, “[the pianist] musically interpret[s] the affect” in movies (99). This principle was practiced in “Up the Yangtze.” In a majestic shot of the Yangtze river and its steep banks toward the beginning of the movie, presumably traditional Chinese music, based on the pentatonic scale, plays. This is juxtaposed in the urban scene with the Chinese teenagers set to western classical music. This juxtaposition makes sense to me because it is showing both the great history of China and the economic progress that they have achieved. Since the movie’s major theme is the “biggest engineering endeavor since the Great Wall” and its effect on the rest of China, this comparison seems appropriate (http://www.uptheyangtze.com/up-the-yangtze.php). The question then is how does Yankee Doodle fit into this narrative strategy.
Yankee Doodle was originally meant to make fun of the Americans and their troops, but it was adopted by the Americans as a humorous sign of patriotism (http://lcweb2.loc.gov/diglib/ihas/loc.natlib.ihas.200000025/default.html). I thought that this was interesting and relevant to the idea of enculturation in “Up the Yangtze.” The irony of the story in Up the Yangtze is that the economic miracle, the pride and joy of the Chinese government, is causing the loss of the livelihood of millions (http://www.uptheyangtze.com/up-the-yangtze.php). This is reflected in the idea of a highly profitable cruise ship that is literally showing off the destruction of a part of Chinese culture and history, the river and its neighboring inhabitants. This irony I believe is captured by the playing of Yankee Doodle because it represents the Western influence and is being used to “make fun” of the Chinese economic miracle by the director.
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Adrienne, I think you have made a really great observation here. ¬¬Knowing that “Yankee Doodle” was created as a knock on American patriotism, I feel that the song is perfect for this scene. As the Americans sail through an impoverished and flooding landscape, they sip on their wine and enjoy what they understand to be China. I feel that these scenes on the cruise ship are the perfect example of ignorance, as the tourists have no real perception of the problems going on in China, or even what true Chinese culture is like. Even the staff members on the ship are taught to speak to the Americans in a certain manner because they understand them to be pampered and clueless. Therefore, this song completely satirizes the American’s behavior and pride in their country.
ReplyDeleteI think that music plays a large role in “Up the Yangtze”, as the cruise ship plays more songs that dumb down Chinese culture. In one scene on the cruise ship, the MC plays “Speaking Chinese is Easy” on piano. When viewing this scene from the audience’s perspective, one might think that the tourists might feel this song was a little condescending. However, it further contributes to the feelings of ignorance felt by the stff members and audience.
I think much of the purpose in this movie can not only be found in Cindy's desperation to support her family, but also in the tourist's inability to recognize the problem and and sympathize with it.
Adrienne and Taryn, I think this is a great observation. It is clear that western culture is incredibly apparent on the cruise. Also, it can be seen that the culture of the tourists is placed above the Chinese culture of the workers. However, I do not see this as a negative aspect of Western influence.
ReplyDeleteThe cruise ship is owned by the Chinese in order to make a profit. The American’s may be ignorant to the fact that the government is parading the destruction of millions of its citizens, but that is only ignorance. The Chinese government does not value it’s own people. . This is depicted in the fact that the Chinese workers stay below dock when the Western tourists reside in the spacious well-furnished part of the ship. This promotes the culture of the tourists to the citizens of the country.
Also, although playing Yankee Doodle could be a slam against the American tourists, it could also be a sign of respect. Throughout history, the Chinese have always been trying to jump ahead in order to make the country a world super power. By promoting aspects of American culture, it could be inferring that the Chinese recognize and possibly want to imitate the success of the Western culture.