Zhang Yimou, as the leading figure of the fifth generation of directors in China, has won numerous awards. His strong family and country sentiments made his early film works full of anti-feudal and anti-yoke era imprints. The sharp irony theme of the historical era, coupled with the keen artistic flavor of Zhang Dao's photography background, has made his works famous internationally.
There are two films in Mainland China nominated for Best Foreign Language Film at the Academy Awards, both directed by Zhang Yimou, one is "Hero" in 2003 and the other is "Ju Dou" in 1991. Thirty years have passed, and now I watch "Ju Dou" again, and I have a new understanding.
The reason why the classics have been circulating is that we can always find different angles to interpret. There are many film reviews about "Ju Dou", mostly from the background of the times, the character of the characters and the use of movie props, but few people analyze the role's mapping of real life.
Today I will analyze from the character of Yang Tianbai, and what reference significance does Yang Tianbai, who killed his father twice, have for our lives today.
The story takes place in the 1920s. The film tells the tragic fate of Yang Jinshan, Yang Tianqing, Judou and Yang Tianbai in the Yang Family Dyeing Workshop.
Ju Dou is the third wife that Yang Jinshan bought back with a lot of money. The first two wives were abused to death by Yang Jinshan, and Ju Dou could not escape the fate of being sexually abused. Overwhelmed, Judou chose to seduce Yang Tianqing, the adopted son of Yang Jinshan, in order to obtain Yang Tianqing's blessing.
Yang Tianbai is the inconsistent product of Judou (mother) and Yang Tianqing (brother), and he is also the protagonist we are going to discuss today. The image of Tianbai is presented in three different periods in the film, namely, infant, childhood and adolescence. Below I will analyze the character and meaning of Tianbai's characters from different periods.
1. Infancy: The beginning of a distorted personality stems from the lack of attachment to the mother
Tianbai is the fourteenth generation descendant of Yang, Yang is the only future generations, choosing a name, a man said: "! Crooked word we take on Yang Feng Shui may be finished" visible superstitious people of that era The influence and the name given also herald the pressure Tianbai will bear in the family.
Qingbai, meaning innocence and innocence, is a satire of the love between Judou and Tianqing. As soon as Yang Jinshan became paralyzed, Judou and Tianqing blatantly lived together, while Tianbai was placed on the second floor to live with Jinshan.
Tian Bai didn't like to laugh when he was a baby. Tian Qing said, "Laugh when it's time to laugh. It will make you anxious." Tian Qing picked up Tian Bai and sang nursery rhymes to coax him. There will never be such a scene anymore, only when Tian Bai is a baby, can Tian Qing secretly become a father.
Why doesn't Tian Bai love to laugh? The film is meant to imply that Tian Bai has been destined for a tragic fate since his infancy, but from the perspective of the psychological development of children, it is because Tian Bai lacks attachment to his mother.
According to Freud's theoretical system, from birth to about one and a half years old, breastfeeding is the most important thing, so it is called the "oral period." If the baby's need for milk is deprived during this period, the baby will develop distrust, rejection of others, and fear of love and intimacy.
Obviously, Judou and Tianqing only cared about their own happiness and threw Tianbai to Jinshan. Tianbai lacked the bond to establish a connection with his mother and could not enjoy the right to breastfeed in time. In addition, Jinshan did not treat Tianbai as his own son at all. Everything heralds the distortion of Tian Bai's character.
2. Childhood: The seeds of hatred are planted, the lack of maternal love, and the confusion of fatherhood deepen the loss of whiteness
Tian Bai was almost three years old, and he kept silent. Tian Bai asked Tian Bai to call him dad. Tian Bai only played with him, and didn't care about Tian Bai at all. At this time, Judou began to persuade Tianqing that the child would grow up.
Seeing the relationship between Ju Dou and Tian Qing Wuren, Tian Bai had a puzzled expression. What was he thinking? This is related to the characteristics of children's psychological development during this period.
3-6 years old, is called the pre-genital period, also called the Oedipus complex period. Children in this period began to have gender awareness and became interested in their own sexual organs.
You will find that children at this stage will regard their father or mother as their love rivals. For example, girls will be more attached to their father (Electra complex), and boys will rely more on their mother (Electra complex), but don’t worry, Electra or Oedipus is a very important growth task for children at this stage.
If children can naturally and fully understand gender differences at this stage, and solve their own curiosity about gender, they will play a vital role in their gender identity and attitudes towards the opposite sex in adulthood.
Tianbai has not spoken all the time, which illustrates the incompetence of Judou and Tianqing as parents, which has led to Tianbai's lack of attachment to his mother and no identification with his father's identity. At the same time, the triangular relationship between Jinshan, Judou, and Azure also puzzled Tianbai and could not allow him to complete the psychological transformation during the Oedipus complex period.
Jinshan took advantage of the absence of Judou and Tianqing, killing Tianbai. When he acted, Tianbai subconsciously yelled out "Father", Jinshan happily forgot to kill Tianbai, and he hugged Tianbai and cried bitterly.
Under Jinshan's instructions, Tianbai shouted "Mother" at Judou, Tianqing "Brother", and Jinshan "Father". The incomprehension of Ju Dou and Tian Qing's behavior forced Tian Bai to explore his own identity. This may be why Tianbai called Dad Jinshan.
Since Tianbai called Daddy Jinshan, he, like Jinshan, agreed with the hatred of Judou and Tianqing. There are two plots in the movie where Jinshan instigates Tianbai to do bad things. Since then, the hatred has planted seeds in Tianbai's heart.
In the first place, Judou came out of the Azure House in the morning, and when he looked up, he just met Tian Bai standing on the stairs of the second floor. Tian Bai was very small, only wearing a bellyband, but Xiao Tian Bai had hatred in his eyes. Staring at Ju Dou fiercely, trying to see through Ju Dou.
In the second place, Tian Qing and Ju Dou had a dispute in the house, and Tian Bai hit the door with a stone outside the house. Ju Dou came out of the house and saw Tian Bai hit the door, but Tian Bai did not stop, still hitting the door with a stone. Judou slapped Tianbai and slapped Tianbai. At this time, Jinshan sang the nursery rhyme that Tianbai sang to Tianbai when he was a child on the second floor, symbolizing Jinshan's victory.
Children's concept of right and wrong is not innate, it is gradually formed by the influence of the external environment and after a long period of time.
The three-year-old Tian Bai didn’t understand why he smashed the door. He went there only when his "father" Jinshan asked him to do so. So when Ju Dou found him, he didn’t mean to stop because he didn’t even know that the door was smashed. Incorrect.
Tianbai unintentionally pulled Jinshan into the water, watching Jinshan struggle in the water, Tianbai laughed. The person who instigated the hatred died, and the first resistance to fate was completed inadvertently.
After Jinshan's death, Judou and Tian Qing quarreled again in front of the mourning hall. Tian Bai was all in his eyes, but his face was expressionless.
Tianbai in childhood was supposed to be attached to his mother, but Judou only cared about dating on his own, ignoring the love for Tianbai. In Judou's eyes, she believed that time would heal everything and that the child could be self-taught without a teacher, but what she didn't expect was that she said "just wait for the child to grow up". The distorted character laid the groundwork for it.
3. Youth: the seeds of hatred erupt, and fight against the unfair destiny by killing the biological father
The eleven or twelve-year-old Tian Bai was still expressionless, and there was not a single line. Ju Dou handed the brush to Tian Bai and said, "Your brother bought you a new brush." Tian Bai turned his head and left.
Judou and Tianqing had a tryst in an abandoned cave and were seen by people in the same village. Witnesses wentssiping about the two of them everywhere. Tian Bai was chasing the rumored person with the pig-killing knife that Tian Qing used to rescue Ju Dou, which shows that Tian Bai is under tremendous pressure from public opinion. The self-esteem of this age child is so strong, but the body is completely shocked by everyone.
Tian Bai's hand was injured, and Tian Qing wanted to suck at him. Tian Bai vented all his resentment towards his neighbors on Tian Qing. Ju Dou angrily had a showdown with Tian Bai, telling him that Tian Bai was his biological father, but Tian Bai remained indifferent, and Tian Bai hated that he was Tian Qing's son.
Judou and Tianqing were depressed and couldn't sleep together every day, so they decided to be husband and wife again.
Tianbai looked for Judou and Tianqing everywhere, but later found them in the cellar, so Tianbai carried Judou out. Seeing the unconscious Ju Dou still yelling "Azure, Azure" in his mouth, Tianbai turned around and went back to memorize Azure.
At this point, you might think that there is still a little bit of humanity that has been wiped out. However, Tian Bai back Tian Qing did not come out to save him, but to kill him with his own hands. Tian Bai threw Tian Qing into the dyeing pool, picked up the wooden stick and smashed it at Tian Qing without hesitation. The red silk cloth fell off and flooded Tian Qing.
The seeds of hatred formed by instigation in childhood finally broke out at this moment. From the perspective of the Oedipus complex, Tianbai kills the nominal father Jinshan, is to obliterate hatred, kills his biological father, Tianqing, is to kill the weak and incompetent self in his bones.
If Tianbai killed Jinshan for the first time unconsciously, then killing his biological father Tianqing this time was a complete rebellion against fate.
The white world is quiet. He doesn't have to contradict who he is, because from then on he has only one identity-Judou's son.
Tian Bai's life is destined to be a tragedy, and he has no choice. Growing up in a family with no warmth, contradictions and hatred constantly tore Tian Bai's young heart, and after growing up, the outside world's criticism of his mother and his own life experience eventually led to Tian Bai's personality distortion.
Summarize:
A good movie is a mirror, projecting the viewer's heart and dissecting the viewer's subconsciousness. Yang Tianbai in "Ju Dou" has the biggest reference for us today, that is, it allows us to truly feel the important influence of parents on children.
In the movie, Judou told Tianqing many times that it would be fine when the child grows up. In Judou's concept, it seems that time can smooth everything out. But the fact is that childhood trauma will accompany a child's life. Some people come out. It is not that they forgive certain people and certain things, but "forget it."
Suhomlinski said in "Parent Education":
Whose childhood is shining by the sunshine of love, then they will create happiness for each other, and they will have special sensitivity and acceptance to the words of their parents, their kindness to them, their persuasion and advice, and their tenderness and warnings. ability.
I hope that everyone, father and mother, and us who will one day become parents, can understand this truth.
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