The juxtaposition in Up the Yangtze is very evident in many places in the film as discussed on Tuesday. People, places, lifestyles, images; everything is juxtaposed at one point or another. But this juxtaposition is done for one reason: perspective.
When we want to look at a movie in a certain way, we have a preferable way to look at it. For instance, some people may want to look at the film through the young girl's eyes. This would show that they are sympathetic to her situation and want to share in her struggle.
Other people may want to see the film from the 19 year old boy's perspective. He is much more easy to identify with for us. He comes from a family that is well off. He can go to a school to get an education like we do currently. His choice to work is his own, which I have done before.
Perspective is everything. It affects our stance on different pieces of history or media. If we all had the same perspective, there would be nothing to unpack about anything. We need these perspectives to articulate different situations for different people.
I thought having the boy and the girl storyline was really interesting because they we're juxtaposed next to each other it forced you to see their differences. However, if you reevaluated both of them you see how many similarities they both share.
ReplyDeleteHi Andrew,
ReplyDeleteI wonder how perspective is influenced by audience construction? Since the film is created for a specific and particular audience, do you think he constructed these perspectives so that the viewer could identify or not identify with particular characters?
Best,
Joelle