Review Of Ju Dou: About Sexuality And Desire

Review of Ju Dou
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Review of Ju Dou
Ju Dou is a film about sexuality and desire. The movie was released in 1990 and was directed by Zhang Yimou and Yang Fengliang. The two directors told their story by using aspects of symbolism and many hidden themes in the film. While the film was accepted internationally, it was banned in China because of its supposed political nature. Aside from having a political story, the film also appears to have several themes including color symbolism as well as the plight of Chinese women in the early 20th century. Through the film, the women’s suffering is depicted through the life of Ju Dou who is the third wife of Jin Shan. Jin Shan runs an old dye factory, and after a few minutes into the film, the audience gets to learn about his cruel nature which led to the death of his first two wives. The man is impotent but continually blames his wives for not giving him children. Regardless of his cruelty, Shan decided to adopt his nephew Tian Qing who is more of a slave than family. Eventually, Tian Qing’s obsession with Ju Dou leads to a clandestine affair and she conceives a boy. However, in spite of many changes and even Shan’s death, Ju Dou’s situation continues to worsen, and this paper seeks to address the problems women encountered in the early 20th century in China.
The first thing that exemplifies the plight of women in China in the 1920s (the movie’s setting) is a simple fact that they are considered property. When Tian Qing made his way back to Shan’s home and sought to resume his work, he is told that “you uncle bought himself another wife.” The use of the word “bought” shows that women were not revered in the 1920s in China. They were considered property and thus could be treated as such. When one buys something that does not satisfy their need, the obvious action is to either return it. However, since this is not the case, Shan tries his best to make sure that the property he bought satisfies his needs. At one point after Shan called for Ju Dou, he tells her “I didn’t buy a freeloader” (min 8:36). Because he considers her as his property, he expects her to oblige to whatever he says. Other utterances that appear to show that Shan viewed Ju Dou as property include “I bought you, now obey me” (min 12:01) and this he said as he was beating her for not conceiving. However, aside from the all the above utterances, there is one that affirms the notion that women were seen as property and this happens seconds later. Shan tells Ju Dou “when I buy an animal, I treat it as I wish” (min 12:07). Well, this statement appears to capture the notion that women were considered property. They had no say and could not lament or run away or go back to their fathers’ houses. Having already been bought, they were expected to stay with their husbands regardless of and in spite of the torture and mistreatment.
Secondly, the plight of women is emphasized through the actions of Shan who not only tortured his two former wives but is also torturing Ju Dou. Shan believed that the fact that his wives are not giving him children is a good reason to punish them. To him, it was their duty to give him children, and since he bought them, they had no excuse except to give him children. It never occurred to the men that they could be the problem because the society esteemed them more than women. Being a duty to give conceive and give birth, Ju Dou was thus found wanting in the eyes of Shan and deserved punishment. Before Shan “bought” Ju Dou, he had had two wives who one learns that he beat them to death for the same reason he is beating Ju Dou. In all these instances, never at one point was it mentioned or considered that Shan could be impotent and since it was a duty for the women to conceive, it could only be interpreted as a failure on the part of the women. The only instance where Shan’s impotence comes through the words of Ju Dou as she was lamenting to Tian Qing. She says “that old man’s sick. He can’t do it! All he does is torture me.” (min25:49). However, Tian Qing remains silent after Ju Dou tells him about his uncle’s impotence.
Aside from the above, there is also the notion that women are being forced to marry men who are not only older than them but also men who they are not in love with. Marriage, as per the film, was not something that was done out of love. However, it was done for the convenience of men. Ju Dou is young and beautiful but is forced to get married to Shan who is not only old but killed his first two wives because they could not give him children. Shan is visibly older than Ju Dou, but with women having no say in the matter of marriage, Ju Dou is thus forced to become Shan’s third wife. However, it does not take the audience long to discover that Shan and Ju Dou’s union was for Shan’s convenience because he wan...