Misogyny in The Movies: a Small Town and Raise The Red Lantern

The misogyny on screen both Spring in a Small Town and Raise the Red Lantern presents an interesting case study of the Chinese culture. In both films, the leading women have little to no efficacy in their own personal and professional lives. Each film presents an insight into radically different eras; the 1950s and early 2000s, respectively.

Spring in a Small Town is on the surface a view into the marriage of Yuwen and Liyan but is further complicated by Zichen and Xiu who effectively create a love-square (a love triangle but with four). Yet at its core it’s a question of Yuwen and her own ability to chose what makes her happy in life or chose what she thinks she must do. Daruvala argues that perhaps this aspect of the story line is an intentional step away from the lyricism of the aesthetic in an effort to highlight the moral message hidden within (Daruvala 171). Yuwen feels compelled by duty to stick to the vows she has made for the sake of the vows, not for the sake of her husband. What might be seen as a great love is in fact a humble servitude, a misplaced dedication to the cause for the sake of dedication, nothing more. Its almost as though Yuwen would prefer to fetch her husbands medicines daily than think about the possibility of doing something for herself.

On the other hand, Raise the Red Lantern is a love-square, however, one sided. The misogyny and oppression here is inherent in the lack of control each wife has in her own affairs. The ‘love’ or rather, temporary affection, is only from the master to his chosen mistress for the evening. There is no reciprocation in any of his exchanges with the women. The women use the master’s fleeting attention in order to gain power and self-assurance, but nothing beyond the surface level, there is no emotional bond. As an example, the third mistress calls the master out of the fourth mistress’s house on her wedding night for the sake of some supposed illness. In truth, this was a clever ploy to exert her own power and show Songlian her rightful place in the house. Similarly, when the second mistress felt threatened by the new women in the house, she contracted the help of a servant to work in stealth against them.

Ultimately, the end of each film finds the misogyny reinforced by the lack of action for both female protagonists. Yuwen’s happiness lays just in front of her, the door having been opened by her true love, Zichen. Time and again she chooses fidelity to unhappiness over her own personal life. The story concludes with a smidgen of hope as the possibility of Zichen returning at the same time next year, but the prudent viewer knows she again will forgo his offers in order to remain in a loveless marriage. It’s a classic dilemma over love verses duty (Daruvala 174). Similarly, Songlian found herself at her wit’s end when she discovered the murder of Meishan. Her sanity had no other alternative but to dissolve. In this way, both films reemphasize misogyny in the lack of agency by their leading women in their own personal narratives.

Both films are also very accurate portrayals of their respective realities within the history of China. Daruvala notes, “deeply rooted in Chinese aesthetics” (Daruvala 171). Though they are fiction, they embody and emphasize the society around them at that time. Lu argues that in fact Chinese national cinema was being created as a vehicle for such social commentary (Lu 105). Artists were using their films to attract a large international audience to critique their own culture.

To conclude, both Spring in a Small Town and Raise the Red Lantern lend themselves to a robust study and analysis on the cultural and historical commentary they attempt to make. Each feature a concerning and degrading picture of life for a women and both offer a view into the mindset relevant to their day.