Sometimes a shot...

...shows a confusion in identity.

Dan here:

One of the most important, and practical, uses of film is to understand a possible mentality within a certain nation at a certain time. As a foreigner looking at a film from another land, I am able to observe an exploration of feelings and conflicts that have risen in response to the the socioeconomic position of the nation. From here, I may understand why certain peoples function in think in certain ways. Here is a great example of a window open for us to understand a gargantuan shift taking place in one of the world's superpowers.

Even with the slightest glance, one can tell that this is definitely not Paris, yet we see the Eiffel Tower dead center of this frame. We are actually in Beijing, in the Jia Zhangke film The World, made in 2004. Chinese cinema, in general, is quite mysterious to us in the United States as it has not had the same impact that other national cinemas have had like Japan and France. Jia Zhangke is a part of what is called the Sixth Generation of Chinese cinema, characterized by nihilistic perceptions on a changing socioeconomic landscape through the eyes of young individuals who are directly involved with the change. In addition, this shifting landscape expresses a sort of confusion of national and cultural self-identification, from the cold, faceless, and propagandistic communism (accelerated by the infamous Cultural Revolution) to the saturation of commercialized culture through globalization, that essentially leaves a cultural void within China, an alienated China. Zhangke illustrates such alienation through the nomadic stories of individuals who roam aimlessly within an ironic and even contradicting environment. Many of his protagonist fail to acquire the ability to assimilate with much of this failure grounded in their inability to identify themselves as a reflection of their culture, or lack thereof.

And this is why we have the Eiffel Tower as the focal point of this shot. If we look at the significance of the Eiffel Tower generally, we can make note that this version is tall enough to be bigger than most buildings but it is still smaller than some (and most certainly smaller than the original). In other words, the building of this French monument seems obscure. Is it trying to recreate the majestic nature by matching the scale? The crucial thing to note is that this world park that houses the tower promotes itself with the tagline, "See the world without ever leaving Beijing," (the film literally has this as part of the credits in the beginning of the film). China has literally imported culture from around the world and uses it as a means to stay within China. In fact, one of the security guards boasts as he gives a tour of the park to one of his friends, "The Americans don't have the World Trade Center buildings anymore. We do." Globalization has brought along a new wonder for the world while at the same time an instability of self-identification of one's national roots.

As we look at this shot, notice the many layers it employs. The city of Beijing that surrounds the Eiffel Tower, the tower itself, the lake and the magnetic train to the right, and then, of course, the man with the sack of trash on his back. It is crucial, though, to note that the middle ground, with the Eiffel Tower and the train, makes up most of the frame, as if the actual Beijing skyline and the  homeless man are being pushed out into the extreme background and extreme foreground respectively. This displacement visualizes the eccentric crisis of national identification within China, which will be fleshed out through the main characters' developments over time as well as the way in which they interact with the theme park. Now let us talk about this man who is glaringly obstructing our view of the park. When the shot commences in the film, he walks from frame left slowly to the position he is at in this screenshot, a kind of off centered position. Again, it is not that he takes visual precedence over the entire frame but that his relationship with the Eiffel Tower becomes more apparent. In addition, the man's face is heavily obscured by a hazy shadow. This serves an intriguing function. Since we do not have the ability to discern any facial features and thus any sort of the disposition we cannot not identify with him on any emotional level, just on the level that he exists within the frame and is somehow interacting with the other objects within the frame. I feel that a Chinese audience who understands the direction of Jia Zhangke's narrative would pick up on this lack of identification which, again, goes all the way back to the lack of identification for the Chinese people as they step into a new age of socioeconomic confusion.

Amusingly, this film, which is a firm indictment of the directionless country, is the first film of Zhangke's to be accepted by the Chinese government and distributed. Zhangke's earlier films have had to rely on foreign production and distribution companies to release his films; his films were never really seen in his own country (I have asked many of my Chinese friends in my university about him and while they know the name, they have never seen his films). The reasons behind this change of heart was that the Chinese government saw that the film was promoting this world park. Yes, quite amusing, as it turns out that Zhangke exposes numerous contradictions between his character's actions and the environment that they act in. Even though The World was made in 2004, I feel this still accurately resembles the state of Chinese mentality (or youth mentality). In fact, as long as they have an uneasy tension between loose social progress, economic progress, and political immobility, they will have a crisis in identification. I did not even add in there the most important aspect of identification...historical roots. History, or the country's past experience, help define what they country thinks of itself. But what history do these people connect with? Do these young people share communist sentiment? At the same time, in their obscure environment, do they connect with the more traditional history of China? Another way to as it is, what do you identify with in this provocative shot or can you even identify at all?