Reaction to Up the Yangtze

I was moved by Yung Chang's Up the Yangtze. I rode my bike home from the screening feeling strange and contemplative. As I passed through the Sample Gates and observed students filtering through Starbucks and all of the shops on Indiana Avenue, I considered my privileged life. I get to go to college and opportunities are vast and varied. My family does not need my financial support and I get to make my own decisions. I don't have a tremendous amount of responsibility and my problems seem frivolous when compared to those faced by Cindy and her family.

This is often the intended result of informative texts about political and or social issues. I feel for those people whose homes will be underwater and their lives drastically changed. Through such texts, the audience can get a glimpse of understanding into the life of another. Cooper discusses the importance of such ability to "think one's self imaginatively into the experiences of others" (Cooper 381). "It is impossible to acquire it without a background and a substratum of sympathetic knowledge. Without this power our portraits are but death's heads or caricatures and no amount of cudgeling can put into them the movement and reality of life" (Cooper 381). Texts like Up the Yangtze provide background information and sympathetic knowledge for audience awareness.

While watching the film, I was struck by the juxtaposition of the predominantly wealthy white tourists and the young Chinese workers on the ship. It seemed wrong and foolish for the tourists to pay large amounts of money to enjoy their "exotic" trip while being served by adolescents like Cindy whose families don't have enough money to send her to school past middle school. Chang said, "I get the feeling that the tourists are here to see some ancient version of China that doesn't exist anymore." This reminds me of Johnson's discussion of authors who include Indian characters to "lend a dash of vivid coloring to an otherwise tame and somber picture of colonial life" (Johnson 388). The tourists seem to have a romanticized view of China, but they are likely unaware of what is going on in the background. Of course, the audience of the film has been educated about the realities of the situation regarding the dam. But the blissful ignorance of the tourists is upsetting. Such films require viewers to consider the privilege in their lives. I'm sure that's not Chang's main goal with the film. Simply raising awareness about what is going on in the world is always important. This leads to action and I just read the blog post from Chang and he discusses how after watching the film, many people made donations to Yu Shui's (Cindy's) family. I suggest everyone go visit those links.