Topic > Bargaining Power in the Marriage of Chinese and Western Cultures Depicted in Films

In the face of adversity, Western culture is different from Eastern culture, even though both cultures have no bargaining power. Western women tend to express their thoughts and fight for their rights. On the contrary, oriental women bear injustices alone. Ada cut her finger as punishment for cheating on her husband. But she still has the determination to seek love and has expressed her feelings to her husband. After the death of the servant and the third wife, Soglian never had the chance to express how she feels to her husband and eventually became mad and trapped forever physically and mentally while Chen married the fifth wife. Taylor and Choy admitted that obeying the husband as a wife is one of the Chinese moral principles. The common phrase “Three obediences and four virtues” described these behaviors. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essayThe film Raise the Red Lantern is a Chinese film released in 1991 and based on the novel Wives and Concubines by Su Ton. It is directed by Yimou Zhang and written by Ni Zhenby. The main character is played by Li Gong as Songlian. It won numerous awards in Belgium, Italy and the United Kingdom, as well as being nominated for best foreign language film by the Academy Awards. Raise the Red Lantern is about women in traditional Chinese culture and related to feminism. Feminism is explained as social equality between men and women. The film presented the oppression of women by including expressions and scenes to show the status characteristics of Chinese women. In this essay, I will compare the bargaining power in marriage and compare the way of dealing with adversity between Chinese and Western cultures. Red Lantern is a cultural drama film set in 1920s China. After Sognlian's father died, her stepmother forced Sognlian, a highly educated 19-year-old student, to abandon her studies and marry a rich, old landowner, Chen, to become the fourth mistress. After her arrival, she enjoyed living in luxurious surroundings and enjoying physical pleasure. Furthermore, her husband indicates which wife he tends to spend the night with and has a red lantern lit and hung outside his wife's house daily. Sognlian soon discovered that raising the red lantern represents the power of control in the home, such as receiving foot massage or respect from the servant. Because of this tradition, tension between women is intense. Songlian realizes that he must fight for the master's favor and attention. However, due to Songlian's inexperience and rebelliousness, she was defeated by her second wife, and tragedies continued to happen one after another. This tradition summarizes the fate of Chinese female inequality. Please note: this is just an example. Get a custom article from our expert writers now. Get a Custom Essay In both Western and Chinese cultures, women have no bargaining power in marriage. O'Brien said marriages were arranged between families based on property and economic status. In Raise the red lantern, Sognlian's stepmother arranged for her to marry into the Chen family to deal with the family's bankruptcy. Songlian said she has no choice to marry the kind of man she wants (Da Hong Deng Long Gao Gao Gua: Raise the Red Lanterns. Beijing, China: China Film Co-Production Corp.). This scene shows that Chinese marriage puts family needs first rather than love or attraction. Similarly, in The Piano, the.