The Theme of Challenges of Cultural Translation in 'The Joy Luck Club'

The American and Chinese cultures have major differences. Most of these differences are highlighted or presented in the movie. While analyzing the movie, it was important to identify some of the differences as the basis to understand the underlying message that Amy Tan wanted to communicate in the original work. The Chinese society is all about the group of the whole society. In fact, the Joy Luck Club was formed with the same spirit after Chinese immigrants found it necessary to have a platform where they can interact and share their experiences in the new world. The U.S. society is different. If focuses on individuals and the benefit that a given action can have on the individual. The crash of cultures is portrayed through characters such as Waverly. After succeeding in playing chess, she realizes that her mother has been boasting about the win. 

However, since she has already been acculturated to adopt the American way of living, she feels that the victory should not be owned by her mother. It is her own struggle and so she should be allowed to celebrate alone. Amy Tan criticizes this approach. Waverly stops playing chess bringing an end to a promising career. In this section, Amy Tan wants to criticize the American culture. Freedom of speech is allowed in the American society. Maybe this is due to the fact that individual freedoms and liberties were respected in the society. However, in the Chinese culture, people have to consider the effect of their actions on the whole society. They cannot utter some words because they believe that they will hurt other members in the society. Therefore, while exploring different anthropological elements in the film, Amy Tan succeeds to identify some differences between the two cultures and the struggle of trying to marry them.

Thematic Analysis

The most outstanding theme is the challenge or challenges of cultural translation. The characters in the film fail to translate different elements of their culture to another culture. First, the mothers want to have the best life for their daughters. They believe that the best gift they can give to their daughters is education. They also hope that after getting educated, they would get married to good Chinese men and lead happy lives. However, the daughters change their perception and views of the society when they go through the education system. At first, they are angry for being Chinese. They feel that their place in the society is not guaranteed. Furthermore, they are discriminated in different occasions as they are being reminded that they are not American. No matter how dedicated and determined they are to become American, they cannot succeed. Towards the end of the film, they accept the fact that their mothers did no wrong for being Chinese. They just found themselves on the wrong side of a system.

Amy Tan further explores mother-daughter relationships in the original work. In fact, she was incorporated when developing the final version of the film to ensure that the themes were communicated without being altered. The complex relationship between daughters and their mothers is due to generational and cultural differences and conflict. The mothers were brought up in China. They fail to understand the struggles that their daughters are going through in the United States. June Woo struggles to find her deceased mother’s life. After the mother dies, June is admitted into the Joy Luck Club. The admission of June into the club is symbolically used to show the conflict that can occur when the young daughters are ushered in or forced to live the life of their mothers. The two are totally incompatible. In equal measures, the daughters do not understand the struggles that their mothers are going through. On one hand, the mothers are struggling to ensure that their daughters get education and a good life. They do odd jobs since they are not elite immigrants. 

The stories between Lindo, An-Mei, Ying-Ying and June reveal the struggles of being an immigrant at that time in the United States. Linguistic barriers are also communicated in the film. For instance, the daughters realize that their mothers cannot speak fluent English. At first, they are annoyed and embarrassed. In this respect, it is important to explore the character of Waverly Jong and June. Waverly is the typical American. She feels that the world is a competition and so she has to be the best. She feels that her space is threatened by June. In fact, she tries to humiliate June during her New Year dinner. In most cases, she is presented as a self-centered individual who has little to do to benefit other people. She also feels that people hate her. She believes that her mother hates her fiancé, Rich. However, the mother grants them her blessings to continue dating and making a family. Rich is white. Waverly therefore marries the Chinese and the American culture. She is the embodiment of transformation in the film.

Conclusion

By focusing on mother-daughter relationships, The Joy Luck Club movie highlights the challenges of identity development, cultural conflict and living as an immigrant in the U.S. society. The plot revolves around immigrant Chinese mothers and their daughters. Considering the difference between the two cultures, the mothers cannot understand their daughters, and the vice versa. The mothers want to force the daughters to embrace their Chinese heritage. The daughters on the other hand want to look and act American. In fact, Waverly even gets married to a white boyfriend, Rich. The cultural conflict was common to all immigrants since the children born in the United States had no chance to learn the heritage of their origin cultures.