I'm beginning to understand that representation is, basically, "...the use of one thing to stand for another through some signifying medium" (Bedford Glossary 438). In the case of Up The Yangtze, the river serves as this signifying medium--medium that is used to represent the social stratus, a factor of the tourism industry and even the economic boost of China.
The Yangtze river in the film is the represented as a popular source of tourism, as we see clearly in the film. With the scene of people from all over the world exploring and scoping the river, it represents the perspective that the rest of the world has on China and its economy. It represents, the lens that the rest of the world sees China through. This was depicted mainly through the conversation that the passengers aboard the cruise board held about the dam. They shared their individual perspectives, that which shows how their perspective and the reality of China's economy.
Life aboard those ships/boats also serves to represent the social stratus of the real world. Cindy is a lower class, uneducated, rural girl who competes against other upper class urban children to make life better for herself and her parents. She works on the cruise boat that runs up the Yangtze. The life aboard this boat represents the life and hierarchy of China. The life that goes unnoticed to most of the Chinese society and the rest of the world. The life that the people aboard the tourist cruise boat come to learn of. The Yangtze represents the lives that will benefit from the building of the dam and the lives that will perish. The Yangtze represents the separation of classes and the hierarchical structure of China.
In addition, the river raised awareness of the actual struggle of rural Chinese who will suffer from the building of the dam. It also shows that though this construction is good move for the economic boost of China, it also represents the battle between the upper and lower class; the difference between those who will benefit and those who won't. The river represents the difference of what the world sees China as and the actual reality of China and its economic and social struggle.
-Kelli
I am interested in your thoughts on representation. I wonder how you see the representations you are describing; or rather from who's perspective do these representations come from?
ReplyDeleteIs this just your interpretation or is this in actuality how the people of the Yangtze see this? or the Chinese government? The reason that sparks my curiosity is because I want to better understand how representation affects agency; and how representation is created by society.
When I reread your last paragraph, I think it is possibly the filmmaker's point of view we are looking at, and how he chose to represent this situation. Funnily enough, I had not taken this into account. His documented interpretation (and therefore representation) of these people and situation, adds another layer to the issue of representation and agency.
If the filmmaker accurately represented this,does that lend them more agency? Honestly I don't know that it does, however it may lend them a more accurate representation to others (and not just themselves), which I think decreases the discrepancy between agency, identification, and representation; but to what end? It does not stop these people from living in diaspora, it does not make the Chinese government see their true representation and worth, so their agency is still limited (as it comes from society, of which they are a product.)
Sorry if I am way off base!