I am an English teacher at Chartiers Valley High School. This past year I taught World Literature 12 Advanced and English 9. Next year I will be teaching AP English 12 and English 9. I watched the movieThe Blue Kite, written by Xiao Mao and directed by Tian Zhuangzhuagn, as part of my NCTA Seminar. This is a beautiful film that portrays a tumultuous time in Chinese history with a simple honesty that does not try to vilify the people, but rather to simply tell their stories.
The Blue Kite spans 15 years in the life of a family, told primarily from the viewpoint of a child nicknamed Tietou. It is divided into three segments, each named for the primary male influence in Tietou’s life at the time. The first segment, called “Father” depicts his early memories of his father, who was sent to a work camp because of false accusations about his political beliefs. His father later dies in an accident at the camp. The second segment, entitled “Uncle,” tells of Tietou’s mother’s second marriage to a family friend. The marriage is happy, until Uncle dies from an illness relating to malnutrition and overwork. The final chapter, “Stepfather,” tells of his mother’s third marriage to a minor party official. With him they are able to enjoy more material possessions, but their happiness is short-lived because he begins to have trouble at work and suggests a divorce to protect them. The movie ends with Stepfather, who has heart problems, being taken out of his house on a stretcher by the mob, with Tietou’s mother begging for mercy and chasing after him. The mob also swallows up Tietou’s mother, and Tietou is badly beaten in the street.
There are both pros and cons to the idea of using this film in a classroom. One major benefit of this movie is the fact that it focuses on everyday people and how their lives were affected by the Rectification and Cultural Revolution in China. There are no major party leaders in this movie and no villains (or heroes for that matter). There are just people trying to survive and acting in the way that they think is best for their country. The members of the mobs are not monsters, just people who think they are doing their patriotic duty. The history books are full of the names of key figures in history, but they fail to capture the reality of life for the everyday citizen. It can be hard to understand how regular people can be swept up in this cultural turmoil, and what prompts them to act the way they do and become part of the mob. This film can help teach the perspective of regular citizens during this time in China’s history.
A negative about this deals with the length of the film. This film runs for two hours and twenty minutes. It is difficult to sacrifice that much class time to show a film. In addition, although this film is beautifully crafted, it can be a bit slow. I am not sure your average teenager has the attention span for this film. There is no action, no explosions, no special effects. The artistry comes from the subtleties, and I feel that a teenage audience lacks the patience to stick with this film in its entirety. In general, my advice would be to choose segments of this film to enhance your lessons, but not to show the whole film in class.