This was a Final Paper that I wrote for a Modern China history course I took in the Fall of 2015. For my Final Paper I needed to write about any Chinese topic. So naturally I chose something films related. Originally this was going to an overview of Ang Lee's career, then I was just going to concentrate on his first three feature films, finally, due to tie constraints, it ended up being an overview of his early life and a brief analysis of his first feature Pushing Hands.
World renown filmmaker Ang Lee was born in the town of Chaochu in Pingtung a southern area of Taiwan on October 23, 1954. Lee’s parents moved from Mainland China to Taiwan after the Chinese Nationalists were defeated in the Chinese Civil War in 1949. He was one of four children. He grew up in a household dominated by a father who represented the traditional Chinese patriarchal society. His father, being a headmaster of a local high school, heavily emphasized the importance of education. It was his artistically repressed childhood that he would later make him utilize film as a form of self expression. He studied in the Provincial Tainan First Senior High School, the school where his father was the Headmaster. After failing the University entrance exam twice, much to his father’s dismay, he entered The Taiwan University of the Arts where he graduated in 1975 with a Bachelor’s degree in Theater Arts. His father had wanted him to become a professor because he deemed it as a respectable career, but Lee was drawn to drama and the arts. After finishing a mandatory military service term in the Republic of China’s Armed Forces, he went to the United States in 1979 to study at the University of Illinois, where he completed his bachelor's degree in theater in 1980. That is where he met his future wife Jane Lin, who was pursuing a Ph.D in Microbiology. Initially he intended to pursue a career in acting, but he had difficulty speaking English at the the time, so he turned to directing.
World renown filmmaker Ang Lee was born in the town of Chaochu in Pingtung a southern area of Taiwan on October 23, 1954. Lee’s parents moved from Mainland China to Taiwan after the Chinese Nationalists were defeated in the Chinese Civil War in 1949. He was one of four children. He grew up in a household dominated by a father who represented the traditional Chinese patriarchal society. His father, being a headmaster of a local high school, heavily emphasized the importance of education. It was his artistically repressed childhood that he would later make him utilize film as a form of self expression. He studied in the Provincial Tainan First Senior High School, the school where his father was the Headmaster. After failing the University entrance exam twice, much to his father’s dismay, he entered The Taiwan University of the Arts where he graduated in 1975 with a Bachelor’s degree in Theater Arts. His father had wanted him to become a professor because he deemed it as a respectable career, but Lee was drawn to drama and the arts. After finishing a mandatory military service term in the Republic of China’s Armed Forces, he went to the United States in 1979 to study at the University of Illinois, where he completed his bachelor's degree in theater in 1980. That is where he met his future wife Jane Lin, who was pursuing a Ph.D in Microbiology. Initially he intended to pursue a career in acting, but he had difficulty speaking English at the the time, so he turned to directing.
In 1980, he began attending the Tisch School of the Arts of New York University, where he received a Masters degree in film production in 1984. He was a classmate of future famous filmmaker Spike Lee and interestingly enough worked on the crew of his thesis film, Joe’s Bed-Stuy Barbershop: We Cut Hair. During his time at NYU, Lee made a 16mm short film called Shades of the Lake in 1982, which won the Best Drama Award in Short Film in Taiwan. For his thesis work he made a 43-minute drama called Fine Line, which won NYU's Wasserman Award for Outstanding Direction. It was that thesis film that made it possible for him to sign with the famous talent agency William Morris. Unfortunately WMA found him little work and he was effectively unemployed for six years. During that time his wife was the sole financial provider for the family. Although this arrangement put personal strain on his relationship with his wife, he did not abandon his career in film. In 1990, Lee submitted two screenplays, Pushing Hands and The Wedding Banquet, to a competition sponsored by Taiwan's Government Information Office. The results were that they came in first and second in the competition This resulted in bringing Lee to the attention of Li-Kong Hsu, who had just become a senior manager in a major studio. Now, with his support Lee was now able to make his feature film directorial debut with Pushing Hands.
Pushing Hands was originally released in Taiwan in 1992. It would not be released in the United States until 1995, after which both The Wedding Banquet and Eat Drink Man Woman had become big successes. Along with those two films, they form what is known as his "Father Knows Best" trilogy. Each film deals with the conflict between the older more traditional generation and the new generation that their children live in.The story is about an elderly Chinese Tai chi Master and teacher of the martial art named Mr. Chu who emigrates from Beijing to live with his son, American daughter in-law, and grandson in a New York City suburb. What is heavily emphasized throughout the film is that he does not fit into his new life or more specifically into the lives of his son and daughter in-law. As the film opens Lee immediately establishes the distance between Mr. Chu and his daughter in-law, Martha.
Pushing Hands was originally released in Taiwan in 1992. It would not be released in the United States until 1995, after which both The Wedding Banquet and Eat Drink Man Woman had become big successes. Along with those two films, they form what is known as his "Father Knows Best" trilogy. Each film deals with the conflict between the older more traditional generation and the new generation that their children live in.The story is about an elderly Chinese Tai chi Master and teacher of the martial art named Mr. Chu who emigrates from Beijing to live with his son, American daughter in-law, and grandson in a New York City suburb. What is heavily emphasized throughout the film is that he does not fit into his new life or more specifically into the lives of his son and daughter in-law. As the film opens Lee immediately establishes the distance between Mr. Chu and his daughter in-law, Martha.
In the opening sequence there is a visual juxtaposition of their characters by showing Mr. Chu performing his Tai Chi and Martha typing on a computer. Both are individual activities but are very different from one another. For Mr. Chu, Tai Chi is all about inner peace and establishing stability within oneself while Martha’s writing is a stressful external activity. One is a very natural physical activity, the other is more stationary and mechanized. He is dressed in traditional Chinese clothing and she is dressed in modern western clothing. When they sit down and eat across from one another there is even a great contrast in the food they eat. He is eating a bowl overflowing with traditional Chinese food, typically meat, while she is eating a plain salad. But, what is also interesting is that while they are so different there some similarities, even though they are unaware of it. There is a particular angled camera shot of Mr. Chu working on his calligraphy while she is typing at her computer, both working on their own specific type of art. But what is the chief culprit for the rift between them is the language barrier. They can not communicate with one another on the most basic level. But who is very much the mediator between the two is Mr. Chu’s son, Alex.
I believe Alex Chu represents the generation that still has one foot in the old Chinese traditional world and the other placed in the modern western world. As result a result of this duplicity, their is conflict created within him. He wants to create a life for his family but still wants to be loyal to his father. Despite recognizing how difficult it is for his father to acclimate to his new surroundings, he feels obligated as an only son to take care of his father. This loyalty to his father creates a conflict with his wife because she feels like her father in-law is more of a burden than she can handle. Granted, I think the source of most of her stress and frustration is her inability to write, but it is exacerbated by the presence of Mr. Chu. There are two sequence in the film that I think best displays Alex’s frustration with his situation. At one point Mr. Chu goes for a walk alone with Martha’s blessing and gets lost which forces Alex to drive around all night frantically looking for him. He arrives home late without having found his father and proceeds to get into a fight with Martha that results in her going to bed alone and he just having an emotional meltdown trashing the dining area and kitchen in a angered rage before he proceeds to leave the house again. This emotion and this anger is at himself for not being able to take care of his father and make his wife. His emotional strain is further emphasized when he returns home drunk, while away his father was returned home by the police. His wife and father hoist him up to an upstairs bathroom, where in a frustrated drunken rage he bangs his head against the wall. Yet again his emotional struggle between his loyalty to his father and wife has manifested itself into self harm.
In the very next sequence there is a particular reveal that I found interesting. Alex decides to inform his father that he is going to send him to a home for the elderly when he notices his father has a picture of his deceased wife in his pocket. This prompts a conversation where his father reveals to us as the audience that his wife was killed as a result of persecution during the Cultural Revolution. The Cultural Revolution was a social and political movement that took place in China from 1966 until 1976. Set into motion by Mao Zedong, its goals were to preserve 'true' Communist ideology through getting rid of anything to do capitalist and traditional elements from Chinese society. Tai Chi being ties to traditional Chinese society made Mr. Chu and his family subjugated to persecution. Mr. Chu admits that while they could not harm him because of his training, they could hurt his training. The main point is that he only had the strength and ability to protect his son and not his wife and it is a regret and pain he has had to live with for years. The reason why I feel this is significant to mention is because it is a prime example of Mr. Chu’s life impacting his son. How can his son send him away after a conversation like that? this reinforces the idea tat his son will always feel like he is obligated to take care of his father, unless of course that obligation is somehow removed, which it is.
Alex’s next move is done with the best intentions but it has adverse effects. Earlier in the film Mr. Chu had met widowed elderly Chinese woman named Mrs. Chen at the local Chinese Community Center, where he was teaching Tai Chi. Through a series of comedic circumstances he ended developing an affection for her, even gifting her a piece of calligraphy. So his son devises a plan along with the woman’s daughter to pair them up in a romantic sense through a family picnic outing. But what ends up happening is that Mr Chu and Mrs. Chen see through their ruse and have a long discussion about what it means to be old. A chief theme explored through their conversation is just how much autonomy they have lost living with their children. Mrs. Chen going as far as admitting how useless she feels and how much of a burden she must be on her daughter, making her believe that her daughter doesn't want her around. It is an interesting look at how one feels when they reach an age where they come to the realization that their lives now depend on their children and just how frighteningly powerless they feel. Especially coming from a generation and a culture that was very much about pride and individual strength. What Mr. Chu decides to do is take back his autonomy and leave his son’s home and leaving a note relinquishing him of any responsibility of him. This will lift the burden he believes he is applying to his son. He wants his son to solely focus on his family. In a way Mr Chu is again assuming the role as protective father by saving his son, like he did during the Cultural Revolution, by relieving him of his internal anguish.
