Monday, December 3, 2018
Beijing Bicycle
Wang Xiaoshuai's film Beijing Bicycle is ultimately a film about the effects of "modernization" in China. I'd like you to read this essay and discuss the film's narrative and what you feel is the implied meaning of the film as a whole. Choose one scene and analyze the scene fully and cinematically and tell me why you chose the scene and what is the scene's relationship to the film as a whole.
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I think that the implied meaning of the film centers around the how modernization leads to a more materialistic lifestyle. Mantis and Guei, despite having very little, don’t appear to place value on useless objects. Guei’s obsession with the bike stems from its necessity, whereas Jian’s obsession stems from pride and a personal need to “fit in”. Mantis even goes as far as to directly criticizes the wealthy’s fixation on materialistic possessions while he was watching Qin in her boss’s apartment thinking she was a member of the upper class. He questions why the wealthy need so many clothes when the money could be spent on more fulfilling things, like gourmet food. This view of Qin quickly changes when he realizes that her fixation on the clothes stems from a lack of luxury rather than boredom. He is no longer critical of her but pitying, knowing that she had similar hopes - to climb up the socio-economic ladder and one day make it to the top rungs.
ReplyDeleteThe parallels between the materialism that follows modernization can be seen between Guei, the country boy, and Jian, the city boy. In the last scene of the film we see Jian and Guei beat senselessly after Jian attacks Da Huan out of jealousy. In this scene Guei is covered by parts of the wall, and the audience is unable to see the hits, whereas Jian’s attack is portrayed openly. This is representative of the silent disadvantages Guei has compared to Jian. The audience can see what is literally beating Jian down, and in a way what is figuratively beating him down as well. Guei on the other hand must suffer silently as the audience cannot see what is causing his pain. This is representative of Jian’s explicit problems - not having a bike or financial strain that he believes ostracizes him from his friends- as opposed to Guei’s more implicit problems - an unknown financial burden that is barely explored in the film. We see Jian give up the bike after he realizes that his actions cost him the person he was trying to impress in the first place. He is left in the less rural looking background, an open frame with very little blocking him from the view of the audience. Guei on the other hand is lost in the crowd of the city. This can be seen as a representation of their growth as Jian realizes that he must not put so much of his personal worth on materials whereas Guei learns that even when he hasn’t done anything wrong, the world can still beat you down. The effects of the more modern city has left both Guei and Qin alone and disconsolate. The bike that was destroyed can be viewed as a representation of Guei’s hopes and naivety, and when it is destroyed he is left to wander aimlessly, losing himself in the sea of strangers.
I believe the implied meaning of the film “Beijing Bicycle” is about the isolatory and impersonal effect of modernization. The film presents a modern world that is incredibly unfair, uncaring and unforgiving to its main protagonist Guei, who is simply looking for a steady job. We see him first get cheated by a hotel who demands he pays for a shower they made him take. Then we see is bicycle get stolen. After he finally gets it back we see it stolen from him again, after which he is severely beaten. At the end of the film he and the other protagonist are beaten to the edge of their lives, and the bicycle is destroyed. In the final scene of the film, we see Guei walking home, the ruined bicycle he carries signaling his defeat at the hands of this modern world. I chose this particular scene to analyze because I believe that it perfectly sums up the themes which have been developed throughout the film. All around our character we see the bustling city, displaying, very unsubtly, the massive scale of this modern world, and the very insignificant role which he plays in it. We see the glazed over, uncaring eyes of the people around him, too caught up in their own daily lives and problems to help him with his. The scene is played in slow motion to display the slow trudge of defeat. Overall, the film is not meant to lift our spirits, but instead to provide a sobering look at our modern world in all of its harshness and cruelty.
ReplyDeleteI believe that the implied meaning of Beijing Bicycle stems from materialism and its effect on a changing Chinese social landscape. This film serves as a microcosm of this materialism, an analysis of the negative implications of a rapidly changing economy and lifestyle on the common person. Much like “The Story of Qiu Ju”, Beijing Bicycle compares the lives of urban citizens with those of common folk from the countryside, with the two main characters originating from the differing environments. These characters are used to describe the rapid changes that have plagued China, changes that the people have trouble adjusting to. Guei, the man from the countryside, arrives in the city and finds a courier job. This job centers around a bicycle, which in turn means the bicycle is Guei’s means of survival. This creates an attachment between Guei and the bike, as it is a material item which dictates his ability to provide for himself and others. On the other hand, Jian, a city boy, has a similar attachment to the bike, one that stems from personal and social desires as opposed to a precondition for buying food. While Guei obsesses over the bike as to keep his job, Jian obsesses over it to fit in with his peers. This contrast shows the change in mindset common to an evolving China, one of material goods holding greater importance to one’s social standing. In the modern world, tradition and necessity take a back seat to vanity and superficiality.
ReplyDeleteThe crushing spirit of materialism is exemplified through the final scene of the film, in which Guei is seen carrying the destroyed bike over his shoulder. Guei has been beaten to a pulp along with Jian, and he mournfully limps along to an unknown location. The reality of his situation is bleak, as the bike serves as his only true form of income, and without it he is out of a job. As he walks along, he is followed by a medium long pan shot, which depicts him entering and exiting the frame. This distance is used to allow for a clear view of the background, which shows the large masses of people walking around behind him. Despite his battered and unruly appearance, Guei is offered no help or paid any attention. The people around him completely ignore him, instead choosing to tend to their jobs or lives. The scene ends with an extreme long shot, a shot which loses sight of Guei and instead shows a panoramic view of the entirety of the street. The film becomes depersonalized and detached from the main character, as he blends into the crowd. This punctuates the aforementioned medium shots, shots which show the unimportance of Guei situation to the fellow city goers. Everyone has problems, and in a rapidly changing China, no one has time to take care of other people’s problems.
Beijing Bicycle is a representation of how modernization and urbanization in China has widened the divide between those who live in the city and those who live in the countryside, and how as a result the city is overtaking and engulfing the countryside as time goes on. As the cities grow larger, the countryside diminishes. In the film, Guei, who is from the countryside, needs the bicycle to make money. Jian, a student from the city, needs the bicycle for status and to fit in with his friends. At the time, which was marked by rapid modernization of the country, “the failure to own a bicycle is a clear sign that one has not succeeded in the new China.” (Letteri). This societal pressure in modern China to own a bicycle is reflected by the struggle between these characters over one bike.
ReplyDeleteChina’s growing cities overtaking the countryside is expressed in the scene where Jian and his city friends have trapped Guei and are trying to get him to surrender the bike. Guei, representing the countryside, is surrounded by the other boys, representing the city. The city boys outnumber Guei and physically surround him, illustrating how China’s cities are overtaking the countryside. The city boys make Guei smoke a cigarette like they do, symbolizing how those who live in the countryside must conform by moving to or working in the city, which is what Guei does by getting a job as courier. The camera is at an angle where it shows both the group of boys and also the vast city behind them, emphasizing the significance of this scene as a direct representation of Wang Xiaoshuai's intent to symbolize how China’s cities are intimidating the countryside.
Everyone has specific needs and te film “Beijing Bicycle” shows how individual needs are becoming more and more showed aside as society because more capitalist, materialist, and modern. It seems as society progresses, empathy is becoming less common place- the people in higher socio-economic classes don’t seem to understand and sympathize with the struggles of others. The scene in which this is most exemplified is the scene in which Guei and Jian both get beaten up. They are being pummeled by these rich kids- the authority figures. Their personal issues don’t matter any more as they are brutally beaten. This represents the advantage that the upper class takes over the lower classes in a capitalist society. As China was becoming more materialistic during the making of the film, I believe that this scene was meant to show, in the bluntest way possible, the way that the higher ups with beat the people without as much power. Even after they are beaten up, the shot composition of the sots of specifically the two boys are not focused on them. Either uncentered, too long of a take, or obscured, the boys and their issues seem to be shoved aside. Again this relates to how the issues of the lower, working class are shoved aside in a materialistic society.
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ReplyDeleteThe last scene of Beijing Bicycle is what really drives home the narrative of the modernization destroyed traditions and the people that are used to the old ways. The film ends with Geui getting beaten to the point of near death because he was involved with someone who had issues with a group, sort of like biker gang. Not only do they just beat him the break the bike that he has just gotten back, they have no reason to do this but they do it anyways. To me I see this as Xioashuai trying to say that people who try to cling to the old ways are going to be left behind and they are gonna be forgotten and left in the past, the last shot of him carrying the cycle was truly the end of the old ways. The film as a whole was meant to show light on how the classism in China was getting very bad and there was a strict divide, the last scene also helps show this as Geui's bike is not very nice, it is not special but to him it means so much more, while the boys chasing him are in very modern clothes and very nice bikes to show that they do not understand the necessity of the bike to Geui, as well as their negligence to the real problems that the majority of China is facing
ReplyDeleteBeijing Bicycle attempts to show how, while economic modernization may seem good, there is actually a dark side. As the world moves forward, many people are left in the dust. The sequence that I will be focusing on starts after Guei gets his bicycle stolen and is trying to find it to keep his job. First, there are many shots of hundreds of people riding bikes. They fill the frame, reflecting the idea that economic modernization is everywhere. The fact that there are many different people and bikes being shown from shot to shot contribute to an impersonal feeling. Next, there is a lateral tracking shot of Guei walking down the sidewalk, with people on bikes riding by in the foreground. Most of bicyclists are going left to right, a direction which is associated with going forward and progressing. Guei is one of the only ones going right to left, indicating the alienation that he feels in the city. This alienation is furthered in the next shot when he visits a bike lot at night. He is the only person in a sea of bicycles. The final shot is a long shot, showcasing a small Guei with rows of bicycles in front of him.
ReplyDeleteNext, it cuts to Jian riding the stolen bike with his friends. He is happy to finally have a bicycle, which is a symbol of modernization. However, as the boys play there are shots of the building they are in. These shots are chilling and unfriendly. The building is almost completely devoid of color. The camera then pans from this building under construction to a series of much smaller houses, showing how alien the modern building is compared to everything else.
Overall, Beijing Bicycle shows the negative effect of modernization on those “growing up in the middle of the social and cultural transformations wrought by these economic developments” (Letteri). In a rapidly-changing world, many people are left behind by the overwhelming modernization. Guei is helpless in the city without his bicycle. For Jian, the bicycle is a key to fitting in with the other teenagers. Modernization is good for businesses, as shown through Guei’s boss, but not for the people themselves. Beijing Bicycle looks under the surface of Chinese economic modernization to show the desperation of the people who have been disadvantaged by it.
Beijing Bicycle tells the crushing effects of modernization and urbanization in China. This is developed between the two storylines of Guei, a man from the countryside who obsesses over the bike as it is truly his vehicle for success and Jian, a schoolboy that desperately desires the bike since it is the key to his social status. This reliance on an inanimate object show the growth of materialism in our modern world. Even if the bike isn’t just for show and helps out their life, at the end of the day no one object should be placed with that much value. In no way should a bicycle be the equivalent to life and death.
ReplyDeleteOne scene that exemplifies the disconnect between Guei and Jian is when all of the boys are sitting in the parking garage attempting to create a solution to the bike dilema. It becomes so painful because Guei seems incapable of speaking for the most part, showing that a lack of communication might be the greatest problem of all. As an audience member you figures that if Guei was able to explain and express himself, than surely Jian would understand and let him keep the bike, but is that even really the case? In a world that becomes so focused on vanity and materialism Jian could still be stubborn to his point of view, as these qualities lead to a lacking sense of empathy. Besides miscommunication, the notion of conforming is also heavily stressed within the implied meaning. Guei is outnumbered and surrounded by city boys and Beijing’s skyline in the back, showing how he must conform to the setting around him just so he can survive. When he is forced to smoke a cigarette by the city boys, he is also being forced to swallow a new, uncomfortable form of living, just like the smoke that has now inhibited his lungs. Even though as a viewer, it is difficult not to have total sympathy for Guei, his inability to communicate is his fatal flaw, for in a changing landscape understanding and empathy might be the only true savior.
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ReplyDeleteBeijing Bicycle acts as a criticism of the modernization of China, demonstrating that a newly “efficient” society is more uncaring and indifferent to the struggles of others. As such, the implicit theme of the film is that preoccupation with your own issues and ignorance of the issues of others leads to a harsher and more unpleasant society. This is seen throughout the film - the indifference of the company manager to Guei’s plights in favor of criticizing his failure to keep his bicycle and deliver the package, Jian’s disdain for his father not buying him a bicycle leading to him stealing the family’s money, and, most pressingly, Jian and Guei’s lack of sympathy for each other’s motivations causing the two to take drastic actions against each other.
ReplyDeleteThis message is seen clearly in the scene where Jian gathers his friends to confront Guei about “stealing” his bicycle. Jian’s friends surround Guei on an empty construction site, surrounding him in a medium long shot with a closed frame. As they ask him about the ownership details of the bike, they repeatedly talk over each other, showing that they don’t care about resolving this is a clean or fair way, but rather about getting their own opinions and ideas out. This cuts to a medium close-up of Jian’s friends harassing Guei, creating a more closed and claustrophobic frame, displaying that the inability of Guei or Jian to compromise is just leading to an unresolvable and inescapable situation. As the shot continues, Jian’s friends are constantly moving but in and out of frame, consistently casting their shadows or body parts over other people in frame - again, trapped closed framing. As Guei refuses to give up his bicycle, Jian and his friends begin to get aggressive, eventually grabbing the bike from Guei and trying to pull it away from him as he screams and refuses to let go. At this point, the framing is an even closer medium shot, and the movement makes the frame so closed that it is difficult to tell who is who. They are unable to wrestle it away, and Guei collapses onto his bike, still screaming, the only person in frame (representing how he is unwilling to look beyond his own issues to consider Jian’s). As he screams, there is a cut to a long shot of the boys standing over and surrounding Guei, positioned in the right of frame with various construction bars taking up the left side, demonstrating that they are essentially skewed on their perspective of the issue and that it has trapped them in a situation they cannot readily escape. There is then a cut to a very closed medium shot of them all, still waiting, during the nighttime. Jian’s friends attempt to reach a deal, but Guei and Jian won’t settle. Throughout this, the sound design is such that cars driving and sirens are audible throughout the conversation, adding to the clustered nature of the situation. The sirens specifically play while Jian’s friends complain about having to wait around, which is somewhat ironic - presumably the sirens indicate that a major issue has occurred somewhere in the city, but the boys are only concerned with their own problems. While Jian and Guei are able to reach an agreement after a lengthy continuation of arguing, but the pact breaks off a few days afterwards as the two are unable to remain sympathetic for each other.
Ultimately, this scene shows the core issues that the film presents modernization with - lack of understanding or sympathy, and concern for one’s own issues over the issues of others. It takes hours before Jian and Guei are able to reach an agreement, and even then it is because they are unable to get out of the situation with the things they want otherwise. That very lack of empathy is what leads the agreement to fall apart.