Tag Archives: Film

The Universality of Literature: Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress

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– Angélica Creixell

Literature has the power to transport readers to different times in the history of a country. Rather than stating facts and chronological events, authors situate and educate readers about a reality through characterization, metaphors, settings and, essentially, the plot. A novel can be a form of expression for authors to subtly, or not so subtly, protest against historic periods or governmental regimes. It can enhance higher education by teaching indirectly through narratives and imagery. Such is the case of Dai Sijie.

Born on March 2, 1954, in Putian, China, he was sent to the Sichuan Providence for his re-education during Mao’s Cultural Revolution. Afterward, he sought refuge in France and became a filmmaker. Years later trying to succeed in this form of art, he found the magic and universality of literature. In “Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress,” he portrays the re-education reality of two young men, Luo, and the narrator, who are sent to the countryside to learn from illiterate farmers in a semi-autobiographic novel. Together they share the hardships of their new life and then fall in love with the same girl, a seamstress.  They also meet Four Eyes, another young man from the same town who has a secret trunk full of books of Western literature – banned by the Communist regime. It is through literature that they discover the meaning of love, new ideas and the power of imagination. In the novel, literature represents freedom as it gives faith to the characters to overcome any obstacle. It becomes their channel of education in the middle of the mountains.

The novel’s subtle criticism was enough for it to be banned by the Chinese government. When talking about this, Dai Sijie stated, “It wasn’t that I touched the Cultural Revolution … they did not accept that Western literature could change a Chinese girl. I explained that classical literature is a universal heritage, but to no avail.” This novel about literature and love is an ode to the universality of literature and education. After its worldwide success, Dai Sijie directed the movie of the book. For me, it is one of the rare cases where the movie might be better than the book. As a filmmaker, Dai converts the novel’s simple language into beautiful images and palpable nostalgia as the two young men discover themselves in literature, Balzac, and love for the same seamstress. The film ends differently from the novel, as the two young men meet again in Beijing years later, possibly after completing graduate degrees in the United States and Europe, as did Dai Sijie with his former companions after the Cultural Revolution.

Sources and reviews:

Allen, Brooke. “A Suitcase Education.” The New York Times. Sept. 16, 2001. http://www.nytimes.com/2001/09/16/books/a-suitcase-education.html

Riding, Alan. “Artistic Odyssey: Film to Fiction to Film.” The New York Times. July 25, 2007. http://www.nytimes.com/2005/07/27/movies/MoviesFeatures/artistic-odyssey-film-to-fiction-to-film.html

 

Bollywood’s 3 Idiots

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Kirti Dhingra, a journalist from Delhi tells us that India is perhaps the only country in the world where parents will decide their children’s careers for them, right after they are born.

The character of Farhan Qureshi in 3 idiots echoes this astounding cultural practice of Indian parents’ iron-fisted authority over their children’s lives, when he says in the movie: “I was born at 5:15am and at 5:16am my father said: ‘My son will be an engineer.’”

The famous and hilarious 3 idiots premiered in 2009, and it remains as one of Bollywood’s highest grossing films of all time. Here are some key facts about the film:

  • Two friends embark on a quest for a lost buddy. On this journey, they encounter a long forgotten bet, a wedding they must gatecrash, and a funeral that goes impossibly out of control.
  • As they make their way through the perilous landscape, another journey begins: their nostalgic journey through memory lane and the story of their friend—the irrepressible free spirited Ranchoddas Shamaldas Chanchad (Rancho), who touched and changed their lives during their time in college.
  • 3 idiots is a story of these men’s hostel days at the Imperial College of Engineering in India, one that swings between Rancho’s romance with the attractive medical student Pia, and his clash with an oppressive mentor, Viru Sahastrabudhhe (otherwise known as Virus).

The opening moments of the trailer begin with these words, and they reflect the pragmatic culture that pervades India, where higher education is widely recognised as a great social leveller that brings with it lasting prestige, financial power, and even a promising love life:

We all went to college to get degrees. If you don’t get a degree, you won’t get a job. Without a job, you won’t get married. The bank won’t give you a credit card, and the world won’t respect you. But [Rancho] didn’t come here for a college degree, he came just to learn.

A brief look at the trailer will immediately bring to one’s mind several potential issues of the higher education system in India. Even though engineering schools usually consist of more men than women, why could be the reason for a disproportionate number of girls in this college? Is gender inequality in ICE reflective of a larger issue of gender imbalance in universities in India?

Also, the college may be effective in equipping its students with practical skills in engineering, but how far does it develop its students’ ability to think critically? More importantly, how should a college develop a student’s ability to think independently and decide for themselves the kind of lives and careers they wish to pursue, in the context of a culturally conservative and pragmatic India?

And if all of the above hasn’t quite piqued your curiosity to find out more about the film, perhaps a purportedly pro-feminist tweet about 3 idiots from a certain Mr D Trump might challenge you to form your own opinion on the film’s presentation of gender in India’s higher education scene: