Youth(Spring) 青春(春)
-
Directed by Wangbing
-
2023
-
3h 32m
In Zhili, Zhejiang, a nexus for private children's clothing factories, young workers from across China, including Xuancheng, Anhui, converge.
The film, featuring a boy from a poster and a group portrait of women workers, spans three and a half hours with a loose narrative. The young workers are depicted operating sewing machines, enjoying music, and chatting about love and life.
Director Wang Bing reveals that these garments reach markets nationwide and globally, highlighting the film's stark reality. As a viewer, this realization made me feel complicit, both as an exploiter and a witness to their lives. Wang Bing's ability to capture their everyday moments with a simple camera is a remarkable feat, offering a raw, unfiltered look into the lives of these unseen workers.
We were SMART 杀马特我爱你 click on the poster to see my article
-
Directed by Li Yifan
-
2019
-
2h 05m
The rise of the Shamate style is deeply intertwined with the harsh realities of factory life – mundane, predatory, and oppressive. "I wish my hair could catch the wind and carry me over the factory's high walls," embodies this sentiment. The flamboyant hairstyles symbolize a yearning for identity, subjectivity, mutual support, and group connection.
The film's 915 videos unflinchingly capture the bleakness of assembly lines and workers' lives, challenging viewers to recognize their potential roles as both exploiters and participants in this exploitative ecosystem. At some point, the realization hits: "they" are in fact "us."
The director gives Shamate ample narrative room, tracing its evolution and eventual decline. Yet, the reasons behind the 2012 siege of Shamate remain elusive, mirroring broader societal issues. By 2018, as Shamate resurfaces in mainstream culture, its significance shifts amidst internal divisions. Despite this change, the dominating forces controlling it have only become more unyielding and formidable.
三和人材市場～中国・日給1500円の若者たち
-
Directed by Kenichi Endo
-
2018
-
1h 50m
Sanhe stands as a stark representation of societal issues stemming from China's widening wealth gap. In this place, the romantic notions of poetry and distance are overshadowed by a grim reality – discontent with the present, despair for survival, disillusionment about the future, a yearning for destiny, and a longing for freedom. The so-called 'masters of Sanhe' are not devoid of dreams; rather, they've grown numb under the relentless grind of society, reduced to merely existing.
China's rapid development, driven by aggressive industrialization, has come at a cost. It has pushed a vast majority of its rural population into the lower echelons of urban life, creating a facade that's glittering on the outside but decaying within. This reality brings to mind Bei Dao's poignant poetry – once we dreamt of literature, love, and world travel. Now, in the late hours over drinks, the clinking of our cups echoes the shattering of those very dreams.
Hou Street 厚街
-
Directed by Zhou Hao
-
2002
-
55m
Zhou Hao has a talent for finding extraordinary individuals in ordinary settings, such as a ward, a classroom, or a lively street like Houjie. These people, while embodying certain social or demographic groups, come alive with unique vibrancy, challenging stereotypes and breaking down interpersonal barriers. "Houjie" exemplifies this, showcasing bold and fiery personalities that shine brilliantly.
Yet, beneath this brilliance, Zhou Hao captures the reality of life's fleeting highs and inevitable lows, often leading to solitude or silence. He insightfully notes that it's difficult to define certain life stages as purely joyous or painful. This journey, with its trials and tribulations, is crucial for personal growth and maturity.
Zhou Hao also explores how perceptions of suffering are often shaped by our own biases. He questions the validity of feeling pity for others based on our social or educational standing, suggesting that empathy shouldn't be conditional. This viewpoint offers a stark contrast to the narrative in "Youth," adding depth to our understanding of life's complexities and the diverse experiences of individuals across social strata.
Gaokao 高考
-
Directed by Shi Yan
-
2002
-
6 episodes, each 50m
This six-episode series delves into five authentic stories surrounding China's college entrance examination, featuring diverse backgrounds like Maotanchang Middle School, children of Shanghai migrant workers, students from impoverished rural northwest areas, a study abroad institution, and the High School Affiliated to Beijing Normal University.
Under the lens, "small-town swot" at Maotanchang display an almost MLM-like fervor, working tirelessly with high spirits. The children of migrant workers in big cities, hindered by the household registration system, face academic and environmental challenges when returning to their hometowns for exams. Technical secondary schools offer a semblance of an escape route, suggesting self-blame for any failure to thrive under these conditions. This narrative perpetuates the cycle of migrant workers' children remaining in similar socioeconomic strata.
In contrast, Beijing's middle-class children benefit from a global outlook, innovative opportunities, and top-tier educational support. Their exam aspirations often surpass those of their less privileged peers, as they aren't confined to the stringent norms of the college entrance examination that govern most of the country. Children from affluent backgrounds enjoy a blend of Eastern and Western cultural influences, often navigating outside the traditional rules.
Ultimately, the college entrance examination emerges as a crucial, albeit imperfect, tool for breaking down class barriers in contemporary China. For students from underprivileged backgrounds, it represents a vital, if not the only, path to upward mobility. Despite its limitations, this education system remains a key mechanism for social mobility at this time.