Women's Plays——Hatsumo in "Geisha" and Rufei in "Golden Branches Desire"

Sadye 2022-03-21 09:01:45

There are always women's plays.

From "sex and the city" to "desperate housewives", men have never had such a topic. Since the three Chinese actresses confirmed their roles, "Memoirs of a Geisha" has whetted people's appetite. Some Chinese people scold them for disregarding the dignity of the country and are willing to defect to Japanese culture; on the other hand, they are tempted by "geisha" and want to see how Japanese women are "pressed under men".

What the hell is a geisha? After checking the website, I found out that geisha (also known as geisha in Chinese) is a female worker engaged in performing arts in Japan. In this way, "geisha" is also a legitimate person. Michelle Yeoh said in the play, "Geishas are not prostitutes, we are not other people's wives, we sell our skills, not our bodies." But she also said that being a geisha is not to pursue our own goals, because we have nothing else choose. From this point of view, geishas and prostitutes are still the same, they can only be a professional, emotionless artist, unable to control their own destiny.

Among the characters in the play, my favorite is the first peach played by Gong Li. Hatsuma is not likeable, she is arrogant, vicious, and leaves no room for being a person; she is dissolute and has an affair with people in broad daylight. But she was pitiful again, and when she heard the man say "I don't want to sneak around like this anymore" when she ran away, her eyes were desperate. Hatsomo had everything a geisha could only dream of: beauty, money, and access to high society. But what she wanted touched the minefield of geisha. The so-called "people are in the rivers and lakes, can't help themselves", sometimes we have to hide our true thoughts and do things we don't want to do. Even if the vast majority of people do not feel this way, it is because these people have been paralyzed, have lost the direction of life, and become slaves to survival.

Hatsuma is the concubine in "Golden Branches Desire". We can think of Sayuri as Erchun or Yuying. Hatsomomo's suppression of Sayuri is just her means of survival, because in this context, only by choosing to defeat others can she stand up. The only way for geishas to defeat their opponents is to have the skills under the red lips and white faces. David Fincher believes that human nature is inherently evil, and when his "I", this evil force, jumps out, it must not be ignored. When "reason" overcomes "nature", she is a good person, and when she can't control herself, she becomes a bad person.

Tea magazine once used "The Evil of the Golden Branch" as a metaphor for office struggles, so why not "Geisha"? It's just that only the emperor won in this battle, and all the women were cannon fodder.

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Extended Reading
  • Susie 2022-04-24 07:01:05

    "Memoirs of a Geisha", a literary film. The film tells the life of a geisha and enables a certain kind of female culture that was popular in 14th century Japan. In Japan, "geisha" is a kind of escort industry that only sells art but not body. Because the word "prostitute" always reminds people of sex, it is changed to skill. There are two kinds of art they sell, one is the art of talent and color, and the other is the art of life. They began to learn dance, calligraphy, and qinpa from a young age. Behavior, gentle character, and beautiful appearance are the colors. Life is to show upbringing, etiquette, language ability, service ability. They are usually the accomplices of the upper class, political arena, and business tables, so their social status is not low. There are only less than 200 geisha in Japan now, because each geisha has to study for more than 6 years to become a skill, and the traditional tempering and strict rules make most women discouraged. Speaking of this movie, it's generally okay, the three heroines are all Chinese, maybe because Chinese women have a kind of charm in their bones, but the best acting is Chiyo, her smile can really light up this world.

  • Nestor 2022-03-24 09:01:41

    Beautifully shot, although the story is a bit loose. Also, seeing Ziyi so weak is always a bit playful, and I always feel that she is stubborn and strong.

Memoirs of a Geisha quotes

  • Mameha: [while teaching Sayuri] You cannot call yourself a truse geisha until you can stop a man in his tracks with a single look.

  • Mameha: [about the Baron losing the bidding] No man would bid so much for a thing he had already taken.