Rivers of Diaspora and Hegemony

Up the Yangtze is a documentary that focuses on the people affected by the building of the Three Gorges Dam in the Yangtze River within China. These individuals find themselves on a boat traveling through river and exchanging their own cultural experiences. The major theme of consumer capitalism arises when individuals must adjust to accommodate the norms set by New China, which has primarily western influences. In order to understand the movie on a greater scale, I have decided to further unpack the terms: diaspora and hegemony. I plan on using these terms to better relate to theme of consumer capitalism found within the movie.

The term diaspora can be defined as any group of people who have been displaced from their original place of origin, according to the OED. In this film, the setting takes place in the riverboat on the Yangtze River, which further exemplifies this term based on the two main characters. For example, Cindy originally resided in Fengdu, an area in close proximity to the Yangtze River, whereas, Jerry is from a middle class family that lived in a wealthier area than Cindy. Both of which, have been displaced from their original residence to endure a new type of adventure that challenged their cultural beliefs. Besides those on the boat, the boat sails along the river to show how parts of the town will be underwater leaving millions of people displaced when the dam is finished. This will result in people becoming scattered within new areas beside their homeland. To complicate this term, these people will carry their own beliefs based off of their homeland, which may force them to redefine these beliefs to become apart of the society.

Additionally, the term hegemony can be noted as a social or cultural predominance or ascendency, according to our class notes. This type of predominance forces a group to set a particular way of doing things by excluding those that are “different.” In the film, we are able to see this term when old China seems to disappear among the air pollution. The two main characters take jobs on the riverboat serving the passengers: Americans, Canadians, and Europeans. The two must learn proper etiquette adopting new norms to become accepted within “society” or those on the boat. For example, they learn to never talk about politics and never compare Canada to US. Both Jerry and Cindy are renamed to fit these more Western beliefs. In these aspects, they must adjust their own norms to accommodate those set in place by the passengers. Cindy must be able to serve the wealthier passengers on the boat, causing her to leave behind her previous lifestyle as the daughter of a poor family. The family lives a rural lifestyle by growing their own food and providing for themselves. In order to survive, Cindy must become familiar with the riverboat, an example of how consumer capitalism has played a significant role in China. Both characters must aim to please and address the needs of the passengers, those of which can be considered “dominant.”

Overall, the film expands upon these terms through juxtapositions. In order to better understand the terms of diaspora and hegemony, we can use elements of the movie. The diaspora (the flooding of the river) causes many of the inhabitants to become riverboat attendants, in order to survive. They must leave behind their old China beliefs and work towards becoming apart of New China, in the hopes that they will be able to support themselves. The passengers challenge both characters beliefs and values, causing them either to rise above (Jerry) or become apart of (Cindy) the more Western lifestyle. As the river continues to flood, Old China ideals metaphorically seemed “washed away” with the building of New China (dam).

-Erin Schwartz