Living in Diaspora

Up the Yangtze is a documentary about the building of the three gorges damn and the impact it had on the people of China. Many of these people were forced to relocate their homes due to the building of the damn on the Yangtze River. The film focuses on these people transitioning from a rural farming economy to a consumer capitalist area. Initially I did not see the connection between this film and some of the things we discussed in class, however after our discussion on juxtaposition I was able to form some connections.

Diaspora was the term I was assigned for my discussion leading. According to the Oxford English Dictionary it originally was defined as “the body of Jews living outside the land of Israel” (OED). Now it has been further extended to describe any group of people that has become spread or dispersed from their homeland or original point of origin. We discussed this term in relation to Gates’ “Writing Race”. Gates talks about the issue of African American’s finding their own voice and establishing their own literature. Gates states “Africans had no history, because they had developed no systems of writing and had not mastered the art of writing in European languages.” Gates is point out that people in America looked as blacks as lacking intelligence because they did not fit into the white culture that had already been established. They were also removed from their home culture in Africa. The problem is they were living in diaspora in this western culture because they were dispersed beyond their homeland. Therefore they had to establish a new culture and voice of their own.

This is the same thing that was happening to the people in Up the Yangtze. Cindy came from a very poor and illiterate family. She was forced to work on this cruise ship because her parents could not afford to send her to school. They also needed financial help themselves in order to survive. Cindy is still clearly living in China but she has dispersed from her point of origin given that she no longer lives in her rural home but rather a ship meant for tourists. Cindy is living in diaspora. Cindy had to adjust to this new home. She had to lean the common language of the ship including words, gestures and etiquette. She also had to learn the customs of people on the ship from other countries. On top of this Cindy also had to learn the technology of the ship. Cindy is an example of the complicated process that is diaspora. When you no longer live in the culture you are accustomed to and do not fit into the new one you were thrust into you have to adjust and create your own. You are faced with the challenge of finding where you fit into this new world. In some cases it can be a rather lengthy adjustment. Gates’ example of African Americans and Cindy in Up the Yangtze exemplify that creating your own voice and culture takes time. Living in diaspora is process, and a complicated one at that.