In a mirror of the earlier scene where the police officer kicked the dead triad, the elevator doors attempt to close on his body, symbolizing the complete destruction of Chan's identity and humanity, as nothing is left but a piece of meat slumped on the floor. This scene effectively concludes the point made earlier by Wong's death, namely, that action films, and subsequently, the action film audience, simultaneously seek to find meaning in death while remaining dependent on the lack of meaning inherent in the deaths of most characters in action films. Infernal Affairs confronts the audience with this contradiction by melding these two disparate tendencies into the single scene of Chan's death. Violence and death are integral Infernal Affairs' storytelling, and the film's use of violence continues a trend that began with the Hong Kong action films of the 1980s. However, rather than aestheticize violence along the lines of John Woo's gangster films, the violence in Infernal Affairs is blunt, messy, and callous. The film portrays violence in this way not to minimize it, but rather to highlight the action-film audience's reception of it. For the audience, certain deaths are inherently more meaningful than others, but this meaning is only possible so long as the audience is willing to forgo the possibility of finding meaning in the deaths of less central characters. Infernal Affairs...
This challenge reaches its apex during the scene of Chan's death, because the audience is not given any real time to engage in the kind of emotional reaction one might expect from the death of a central character. Instead, the film forces the audience to view Chan's dead body in the same light as any of the unimportant triads killed earlier on, and in doing so does not allow the audience to participate in the kind of moral and emotional equivocation that is central to most action films. Infernal Affairs implicates its audience in the violence represented, and reveals how popular receptions of violence, even when they purport to offer an emotional reflection on the nature of violence or death, in reality contribute to that violence by selectively interpreting the importance of any given on-screen death.
(Chu 58 -- 67) it is also important to note that the film has an emotional / cultural tie, to the director Ann Hui. As a child, she immigrated to Hong Kong. Where, she learned English, as a second language and went through some of the common struggles of immigrants. ("Ann Hui") Clearly, the film the Boat People would highlight a shift that is occurring in the cinema of Hong
Masculine in Happy Together Chinese Film The paper will focus upon the issue of masculinity in Happy Together, a film written and directed by acclaimed director, Wong Kar Wai. "Happy Together" is also the name of a song by The Turtles. It was a popular lovesong about the classic story of boy meets girl and they fall in love. Happy Together is another sort of lovesong, but one more bittersweet about
The natural world allows us to show of more of our individual talents, whereas the urban landscape seems to only allow us to show what is needed of us in terms of industry. Modern Times echoes these themes and images of the early representation of the modern city. However, the film is much more comedic, but with the same message. For example, the factory scene shows the same monotony. It
Indeed, the trajectory of the narrative involves exacting revenge on those who prevented her marriage from taking place. Although the Bride's marital aspirations might suggest that she holds a conservative sensibility, this is far from the case and she is ultimately more aggressive than Jen. While Jen also exhibits physical prowess, her sacrificial gesture at the film's conclusion signifies how she maintains a strong reverence for the Confucian moral code,
Chinese Piracy of U.S. Products China, with a population of more than 1.3 billion, represents the largest consumer market in the world. Business interests in this market and the opening of China in the 1970s have lead to China's membership in the World Trade Organization as well as increased cooperation and interaction between the Chinese government, Chinese businesses and the international political and business community. This engagement has focused attention on
Chinese' Food and the Model Minority study in ethnic cuisine and culture, marginalization and commercialization, and the paradox of exoticism. The anthropological theme studied for this work was that of the ethnic compromises and paradoxes inherent in creating a "Chinese" restaurant in America, for Americans. In every English speaking country from England to Canada, Chinese food is a huge business. For many immigrants it is one of the only businesses ready
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