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created by: Yisha Xu and Shuxian Huang

THE JOY LUCK CLUB AND RAISE THE RED LANTERN (click on the picture)

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THE JOY LUCK CLUB (ALBUM)

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Current Favorite Artists / Bands: RAISE THE RED LANTERN (ALBUM)

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Favorite Song:
THE JOY LUCK CLUB (VIDEO)

Favorite Album:
THE JOY LUCK CLUB (VIDEO)

Do you know what foot massage is? In the film "Raise the red lantern",red lantern is the main symbol, also foot massage is the other one. Master Chen said"feet is very important for women.When women feel comfortable for their feet,they will be happy for whole day,and they will serve men better." What Master Chen's word sound like that are good for women,but actually that's for men.

The Joy Luck Club

Joy Luck Club is a film about the characteristics of relationships between four pairs of Chinese mothers and their American-born daughters. Since the mothers came from different culture as their daughter, they have a different view of world based on their experience in China. However, they tried to let their daughters to understand them and wanted them to be successful in their career. Also, others could admired of them. For the mothers, they were hard to adapt the American culture. In their mind was all about their past, the suffering and sadness when they were in China. On the other hand, the daughters were grown up in America; they had different view of world as their mothers did. On the other hand, the mothers thought they could understand them as all because their daughters did not have the same suffering as they did.

Jing-Mei(June) Woo (daughter of Suyuan. )

she had trouble relationship with her mother, she was not understand her before her mother died and didn’t know the whole story of her. She tried to reject Chinese culture and sometime believed that she is not Chinese at all. After her mother died, she had many questions. And began to see that her mother’s story is part of her. And knew that her mother understood her even better than she understood herself.

Suyuan Woo, mother of Jing Mei.

She had twin daughters in China. When they were babies, she left them because of the war also she lose her first husband. For Suyuan Woo, she never forgot the twins, she spent her whole life to find them.

Waverly Jong (daughter of Lindo Jong)

she was a proud and often spoiled girl. She was a champion chess player.

Lindo Jong(mother of Waverly Jong) a best friend of Suyuan Woo, but they fight constrantly. She wanted her daughter to be success and control her life. She was upset when her daughter married with a white man.

Lena St. Clair (daughter of Ying-Ying St. Clair)

Ying-Ying St. Clair mother of Lena St. Clair, she grown up in a rich family. She believed her haughtiness cursed her. Because she thought she was too good to any man. However, she got married with a bad man.

Rose Hsu Jordan (daughter of An-mei Hsu) she often felt guilty and powerless. She believed that her mother didn’t understand her. And wanted her to stay her marriage even she was unhappy with it. But then, she realized that all her mother wanted is for her to be strong.

An-mei Hsus she was a mixture of strength and weakness. She acknowledges that she also and her daughter Rose were sometimes too easily influenced by others. But she also had a very strong faith in her ability to make thing right.

Raise the Red Lantern

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Raise The Red Lantern

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Video (Raise The Red Lantern)

Raise the Red Lantern

This film is about a 19 years old girl named Songlian, whose father has recently died. After her father died, Songlian had married to a rich family which is Master Chen’s family and became Master Chen’s fourth wife. Master Chen has fifty years old and already has 3 wives. Every wife lives in a separate castle of the house and the competition between them are tough. Everyone wants their master attention caries power, status and privilege. Each night, master Chen decides to spend the night with one of them. The wife to spend the night which the lantern is lit in front of the house of his choice. And that wife will receive foot massage, gets her choice of menu items at mealtime, and also receive more respects from the servants.

Characters in the Film ( Raise The Red Lantern)

• Gong Li— Songlian (fourth mistress), the main character

• He Caifei — Meishan (third mistress)




• Cao Cuifen — Zhuoyun (second mistress)




• Qi Zhao — Housekeeper




• Lin Kong — Yan'er (Songlian's young servant)




• Jin Shuyuan — Yuru (first wife)




• Ma Jingwu — Master Chen




• Cui Zhihgang — Doctor Gao




• Xiao Chu — Feipu (the master's eldest son)




• Cao Zhengyin — (Songlian's old servant)




• Ding Weimin — Songlian's mother

What Kind of Life for Women in Old China? Let's look at The conversation between Songlian and her Stepmother:

Songlian's mother: Rich man? If you marry a rich man, you will only be his concubine.

Songlian: Let me be a concubine. Isn't that the fate of a woman?

What do you think about these conversations? What kind of life for women in old China? WhatSonglian’s words show the life for women at the past time. In an old Chinese word “Womenhave to depend on men.” Women are not individual; they can’t have any chance to change theirlife. Women are the pregnancy machine, they are the toys for men, and women are servant formen. As Chinese tradition, there is very important to have new generation for a family. Therefore, Chinese women are expected to give birthed as many children as they can. Men can use an excuse which is their wife can not give birth a child to marriage the second wife or concubine.

Between these two films, there are similar and difference. First let talk about the similarity between these two. As I had seemed, both of them has the same background. In The Joy Luck Club, the four mothers were living in a same culture and situation same as the main character in Raise the Red Lantern. Some of them were living in a poor family. However, they were living in the situation that women had less power than men. And they had no choices to choose a marriage what they want to. Some married to a rich family because of poor situation. No matter how they got married in that time, but as I had seemed they had same ending. It was they were not happy in their marriage. And this affected their whole life, accept the view of life.