While watching the movie Up
The Yangtze, I noticed that many of the characters a a struggle with their
identification. Some were based on being accepted to a friend and work group.
And the other was based identifying with a country, or how this specific person
labeled himself or herself. The reason I bring identification into light is
because I have a second-hand experience, of what its like to be accepted or
feeling like you belong. My sister, Mei, was adopted when I was 5 and she was
around 18 months. Also from China, like the some of the main character, she
grew up in an extremely poor orphanage outside of Hong Kong.
In the movie the
biggest struggle with identification was the father. The father was a
representative or leader of a village while the last leader of China was
ruling. When the position changed, he was thought of as a trader, and had to
flee the village they lived in, in fear for what the others would do to him.
Because of this, he is technically labeled and illegal alien in his village. I
can’t imagine what’s its like to be born and raised in a country your entire
life and be labeled and illegal alien. His struggle with identification is just
one of the many that happen in this film.
The main character,
Cindy (her given American name) also had a struggle with identification, but
was able to turn it around. Her first struggle with identification comes when
she is graduating middle school. Most of
her peers are going on to high school, but unfortunately because of her parents
financial status, Cindy would have to work instead of attend school. I don’t
think that not being able to go to school was what she struggled with, but I
feel like she was more concerned with identifying herself with the other boat
workers. Being younger, not as sophisticated and virtually on her own, she
struggled with her quickly changing situation and life style. Luckily, Cindy
was able to meet the other workers and quickly became a part of the group of
workers.
Unlike Cindy, the
other new boat worker, Jerry, wasn’t able to identify himself with the others
in more than one way. Unlike most of the workers on the boat, Jerry’s family
was well off, and lived in a modern city. Already he couldn’t identify or
connect with any of these people. Being from a well off family, Jerry tended to
have a cocky attitude towards the other workers. Because of this, none of the
other workers like to identify with Jerry, which in turn caused him to not
identify with them, which somewhat ended up getting him fired / him quitting.
Not being able to
identify with what is closest to you is extremely difficult. Like I was saying
earlier, my younger sister, Mei, struggled with identification. Not with friends
at school, but with her own family. Being the youngest and relatively far apart
in age, Mei had trouble identifying with us. Not having the same friends
groups, and to be honest just not getting along with each other when we were
younger, made her feel like she wasn’t really a part of the family. But as she
grew older and we both grew more tolerable of each other and started to connect
in more ways, the identification struggle slowly lost its place.
For me, I think
that identification starts with Burkes Terministic screens. The way you view
things allows you to establish yourself or identify yourself based off what you
have learned or seen in your own situation. In the case, in the movie, Jerry
was from a wealthy family, and has grown up in a modern city. His screen caused
him to act a certain way, which inevitably lead to him not getting along with
the rest of the staff, and turned to him getting fired. I guess what im trying to convey is that the
struggle with identification can link back to several things. Whether its race,
friend group or family, there are so many ways to identify or what I like to
call, disidentify, with a group. In some cases this can change or evolve over
time; and in some cases it never changes.
It was really interesting to hear about your sister and add another perspective into this film. I like your identification theory and that helped me understand things a bit more. After I read this post I thought a lot about what you were saying and I think that I view things even more differently. You did a great job at explaining and relation your experiences to theirs.
ReplyDeleteSam,
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing about your family to give us a new perspective. I find that very interesting and also very useful as far as how Westerners understand that identification struggle. I can't imagine what it would be like to feel as though I didn't belong in my own family. That is one institution that is a safety net for most people. You've heard the saying "blood is thicker than water" and "you can choose your friends but you can't chose your family". I wonder if that factor of choice made your sister feel distant. The fact that she was chosen to be a part of your family instead of it being an automatic thing. I would imagine that to be flattering and equally stressful but, I wouldn't know. I was not adopted.
In a way, your sister was a product of diaspora. Originally, just now, I typed the word "victim" instead of "product" but had to revise because she is not necessarily a victim, just like other adopted Chinese babies brought to the west are not victims. They are given a chance at a new life - hopefully a life with more opportunities than they would receive in China. Really, "victim" is a very relative term. In many ways, one would consider your sister to be blessed and in other ways, specifically with regards to identity issues, she might be considered cursed. It is an interesting case to consider.
What I found most fascinating about your post, Sam, was your comment about "disidentification" as opposed to identification. I wish you would elaborate more on that because it really is a very interesting idea. It implies an identification through erasure of certain qualities/characteristics. The whole, "we are because of what we are not" idea - definition through binaries and opposites. I am a woman, therefore, I am not a man. I am not a horse or a car. I do not identify with these things, which then strengthens my process of identification.