Course:ASIA355/2024/Dedication and Glory: Analysis of Collectivism in The Big Parade through the Lens of Individualism
Dedication and Glory: Analysis of Collectivism in The Big Parade through the Lens of Individualism
Based on Chen Kaige's film The Big Parade, released in 1986.
Group Members' Contributions
| Category | Contributors |
| Introduction | F D |
| Stories Behind the Film | F D |
| History of Reception | F D |
| Scholarly Literature Review | R T |
| Comparative Analysis | R T |
| Alternative Interpretation | R T |
| Conclusion | F D |
Introduction
The Big Parade is a film by fifth-generation Chinese director Chen Kaige, released in 1986 in mainland China. The main characters in the movie are: Airborne Troop Squad Leader Li Weicheng (portrayed by Wang Xueqi), Ceremonial Squad Instructor Sun Fang (portrayed by Sun Chun), Jiang Junbiao (portrayed by Lu Lei) Lv Chun(portrayed by Wu Ruofu), Liu Guoqiang(portrayed by Guan Qiang) Hao Xiaoyuan (portrayed by Kang Hua)
The thirty-fifth anniversary of the People's Republic of China military parade is approaching, airborne troops led by squad leader Li Weicheng to the training camp to participate in the parade squad training. Under the harsh training and examination of the parade squad, Liu Guoqiang leaves the squad without authorization because of his illness and extreme fatigue, and Hao Xiaoyuan receives the news of his mother's death. Meanwhile, Lv Chun receives a letter of rejection from the military school and intends to quit the parade training. Later, the characters' belief in participating in the parade is strengthened by Jiang Junbiao's speech when he quits the parade squad.
Chen Kaige's The Big Parade shows the audience the hard work and discipline of the parade team during training, but the stories of the main characters make the movie richer and more artistic. Sacrificing one's own interests for the sake of the community has been a virtue glorified in China for many years. This leads one to wonder whether the collective good must always take precedence over the individual good. This project will be based on the context of the film The Big Parade and its media critique, scholarly review, and a comparison of war films made in China in recent years to analyze the rationality of the spirit of collectivism promoted in the film in society from an individualistic perspective.
Stories Behind the Film
History of military parades in China：
The military parade has been divided into three stages since the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949. The first phase was held on October 1 every year from 1949 to 1959, and was held eleven times in total. After that, no parade was held for 24 consecutive years due to the Great Famine of 1960 and the Cultural Revolution.[1] The second phase was the 35th anniversary parade in 1984 during the Deng Xiaoping administration, which is the setting for this movie. With the economic boom that followed reform and opening up, the third phase began in 1999 with a military parade celebrating the anniversary of the People's Republic of China held every ten years. It is also interspersed with a parade held on September 3, 2015 to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the victory in the World Anti-Fascist War, and a parade held on July 1, 2021, to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China.[2]
About Zhang Yimou and Chen Kaige：
Zhang Yimou and Chen Kaige were alumni of the Beijing Film Academy. While Chen Kaige studied directing, Zhang Yimou chose to study photography. Their first collaboration was the 1984 film Yellow Earth[3]. Yellow Earth was named the greatest movie since the founding of the People of the Republic of China and marked the rise of China's fifth generation of directors.[4] Zhang Yimou's works are famous in the film industry for their magnificent scenes, and his films “Hero,[5]” “Curse of the Golden Flower,[6]” and the opening ceremony of the 2008 Beijing Olympics let the world know Zhang Yimou's ability to shoot and present large scenes. Chen Kaige has been recognized as China's most romantic director, [7]and his works specialize in expressing the nuances of his characters' inner worlds. Whether it's Cheng Dieyi in his movie Farewell My Concubine[8] or Ying Zheng in The Emperor and the Assassin,[9] It is not hard to feel the characters' inner struggles in a chaotic world in Chen Kaige’s work. Zhang Yimou and Chen Kaige each use their specialized abilities in The Big Parade to give the audience a rather large-scale scene of collective training and life in a military camp. It also presents the inner emotional expression of each character. The movie strikes a perfect balance between realistic and dramatic. However, after their second collaboration of The Big Parade, Zhang Yimou and Chen Kaige went their separate ways because they had their own artistic creativity.[4]
There is an interesting rumour that happened to Zhang Yimou during the filming of The Big Parade. In the summer of 1985, the crew of The Big Parade arrived at Wuhan, Hubei Province, near the Yingshan Airport. While Zhang Yimou and others were carrying the camera equipment. UFOs were spotted in the sky. According to Zhang Yimou, “As soon as I saw it, I knew it couldn't be a misjudgment because there was no object close to it in experience.” Seven people, including Zhang Yimou, witnessed the scene that night.[10]
Histories of the Film’s Reception
Unlike Chen Kaige's other movies, critics aren't enthusiastic about The Big Parade. In the famous Chinese movie review website “Douban,” 2,758 people gave it a rating of 6.8.[11] Most reviews focused on the collectivism in this movie. Some commented that the parade scenes presented in the movie were “strict and magnificent,” thus reflecting the discipline of the Chinese troops. [11]At the same time, some critics see the movie as a political propaganda film.[11] The scene in which the character Hao Xiaoyuan gives up attending his mother's funeral because of the military parade is considered unrealistic and inhumane. It is merely a way to glorify the sacrifice of personal interests for the sake of collectivism. However, other thinks Chen Kaige's blend of individualism makes this political propaganda movie with a certain degree of artistry.
Movie reviews in recent years have focused on the homosexual connotations of The Big Parade. Such reviews began when Chen Kaige mentioned Sheila Benson, a prominent film critic for the Los Angeles Daily News, in a 2017 speech. She thought that Chen Kaige's The Big Parade was a great gay movie. As such, reviews in recent years have focused their analysis on the film's implicit expression of same-sex camaraderie. [12]The most highly praised review suggests that the presence of shower scenes in the movie demonstrates sex, desire and emotion. They also thought that the scene in the movie where Sun Fang washes Jiang Junbiao’s feet was a sexual innuendo.
The famous Western movie review website IMDb gave this movie a 6.0 rating.[13] In a 1988 review[14], the New York Times wrote that the role of the squad leader in The Big Parade was different from the military leadership roles seen in the films Full Metal Jacket[15] and An Officer and a Gentleman[16]. Li Weichen(the squad leader) often thinks in terms of “Must a recruit who makes an error be punished?” and “Do I really understand my soldiers?” in a way that the military leader characters in the other two movies mentioned above would not. In addition, the article highly appreciated Zhang Yimou's photography skills and techniques; the original article reads, “It's the photography that lifts ''The Big Parade'' out of the rudely fashioned trench of its story. Mr. Zhang keeps finding new angles from which to dramatize the disciplined cooperation that the movie preaches. He gives us fields of helmets and boots, ranks of expressionless profiles, orderly patterns of trucks and rifles, a military band at the ready, a snappy mass salute.”[14]
The film won the Special Jury Prize at the 11th Montreal International Film Festival in 1987 and an award at the Turin Youth International Film Festival in the same year. Director Chen Kaige also won the “Future Film Director” award at the 17th Rotterdam Film Festival in the Netherlands in 1988 for his work on the film.[17]
Scholarly Literature Review
This piece will analyze and understand "The Big Parade" through the unique insights of two scholars. The first is a journal written by Zhang Jia-Xuan titled "The Big Parade by Chen Kaige." In his article, he argues that the film showcases the indomitable qualities of the Chinese people, especially the Chinese soldiers depicted in the film, and their spirit of collectivism that overcomes all difficulties, through the 35th-anniversary military parade of the founding of the People's Republic of China.[18] Zhang Jia-Xuan writes, "The Big Parade is not the story of an individual but of a collective or rather of the relationship between the individual and the collective. Like most recruits in the Chinese army, the soldiers in the small unit are largely taken from villages and have very little education, and only a few are high school graduates from the cities" .[18] This passage reveals that the participants in the parade selection come from different places and have different experiences and personalities. This implies that before the parade training, each person represents an individual with their own personal affairs and different understandings of the parade. The article then analyzes the behavior of different characters. "One of them (Hao Xiao-Yuan) does not even go back home to his mother's funeral for fear of not completing his training assignment".[18] Another example is, "and another (Lv Chun) even protests openly against the inhumaneness of this training" .[18] The article mentions the method used by the squad leader, Li Wei-Cheng, to solve this problem. Li Wei-Cheng and the military leaders instill the spirit of collectivism in everyone, and then each soldier finally overcomes their personal issues, resulting in the entire unit successfully completing the training .[18] Then the grand parade took place at Tiananmen Square. He believes that although each individual has their own sacrifices, the grand parade is of supreme glory, bringing a strong sense of national pride and reminding us of the humiliations endured over the past centur.[18] The second analysis comes from Song MingWei's "The Nation and the Individual in 'The Big Parade.'" Song MingWei believes that “even though the film is restricted by its subject matter, which brings about significant difficulties and complexities in expression, it also showcases more delicate and challenging political sensitivity and formal innovation.” [19]He argues that in the 1980s, individual values were closely linked with national power, and people always had a longing for order. [19]However, at the same time, there were always individuals with a rebellious impulse.[19] Song Mingwei quotes squad leader Li Wei-Cheng: “During the training process, each soldier marches 9,993 kilometers, equivalent to traveling from the northernmost to the southernmost part of China and back, all to ensure that they can march 96 steps perfectly in front of Tiananmen.”[19] By comparing the intensive training for the grand parade to the “Long March,” Li’s words succinctly and vividly summarize the political function and value of the grand parade. By contrast to Li Wei-Cheng with Lv Chun, who questions , “What are we doing all day long? We’re busy from dawn to dusk, but what are we busy with?” These questions reflect his individualism which forms a strong contrast. Song Mingwei believes that Lv Chun’s transformation throughout the film is due to the encouragement and warmth of this family-like collectivism group.[19] Song Mingwei highlights the character of Jiang Junbiao. Through the depiction of his physical injuries, his resilience as a soldier is emphasized.[19] Additionally, Jiang Junbiao’s tearful farewell speech before leaving the army accentuates his greatness to an extreme level. In his speech, he gives the old squad leader’s military medal to Lv Chun, hoping that Lv Chun can let go of his anger, dissatisfaction, and disappointment.[19] Overall, Song Mingwei and Zhang JiaXuan through detailed descriptions of the characters, also demonstrates the strong collectivism of Chinese soldiers and the importance of the concept of teamwork.
Comparative Analysis
The films will be compare and contrast are The Big Parade by Chen Kaige and Assembly by Feng Xiaogang. In terms of theme, both films touch on soldiers and war, though they are set in different time periods. By comparing these films, we can gain a deeper understanding of how different directors express the same theme in various ways. I believe the common theme in these two films is the impact of war on soldiers and the roles and significance of individuals within a collectivism group. These films offer different expressions of war film in different periods of Chinese history. Such a comparative analysis holds significant academic value for film researchers and practical importance for audiences in understanding and appreciating film art.
Similarities
- In terms of theme, both films explore the themes of war and soldiers, highlighting the soldiers' tenacious collective spirit. In "The Big Parade," director Chen Kaige expresses the strong collective consciousness of Chinese soldiers through their rigorous training and the grand, orderly, and spirited parade.[18] Similarly, in "Assembly," the soldiers are uncertain whether they heard the bugle call, but they ultimately agree that they did not hear it and continue to fight to the last moment on the battlefield. The messages and themes conveyed by The Big Parade and Assembly are consistent.
- In terms of character portrayal, both films depict the brutality of war and the bravery of soldiers. In The Big Parade, director Chen Kaige focuses more on the hardships endured by soldiers during training, showcasing their resilience and courage. The film also briefly describes the scenes of war, illustrating the cruelty of war similarly to Assembly. For instance, in Jiang Junbiao's farewell speech, we learn about the death of the squad leader. In Assembly, director Feng Xiaogang spends considerable time depicting the horrors and disasters of war, where only Gu Zidi survives. This scene resonates with Jiang Junbiao's survival, forming a similar echo.
- In terms of emotional expression through characters, both films have similarities. In The Big Parade, Li Weicheng gives Jiang Junbiao a high score, allowing him to stay in the team. Additionally, before Jiang Junbiao leaves the army, his conversation with Squad Leader Xiao reveals his reluctance to leave, and his moment of acceptance the reality and the sense of relief comes when he finally takes the cigarette. Similarly, Gu Zidi in Assembly shows much regret and reluctance regarding the sacrifices of his comrades, which drives his persistent search for information about his past teammates over the later years. In the end, when he learns the truth at the cemetery, he finds the truth and finally release himself. His reaction more or less resemble Junbiao's reaction. Therefore, in terms of emotional expression, both films share common ground.
Differences
- The historical contexts of the two films are different. The Big Parade, a film from 1986, depicts a military parade with strong political overtones, serving as a powerful political statement. Many details in this film are quite contemporary. In contrast, although Assembly was released in 2007, its content revolves around the Chinese Civil War. The settings, including where the soldiers live, are all based on the 1950s.
- The filming scenes of the two movies are also very different. The Big Parade primarily takes place in military training grounds and living quarters, with scenes such as soldiers climbing hills during training and resting in communal dormitories. In contrast, Assembly mainly depicts war scenes, such as soldiers carrying the wounded on stretchers on the battlefield, or intense gunfights amidst explosions. I would say Feng Xiaogang intensify those war scenes.
- The narrative structures of the two films are different. The main storyline of The Big Parade focuses on the soldiers' training, with a relatively loose and singular narrative structure, lacking tightly interconnected plot points. However, in Assembly, the narrative pace is fast and tight. It swiftly moves from the civil war to Gu Zidi's persistent search for his comrades' remained bodies, and then to the Korean War where he loses his eye. This series of depictions is faster-paced compared to The Big Parade.
- Conclusion By comparing The Big Parade and Assembly, we observe that although both films explore the theme of war and soldiers, they differ in historical context, directorial style, and narrative structure. This comparative analysis helps us understand how different directors interpret the same theme in various ways, reflecting the evolution of Chinese cinema's portrayal of war across different periods.
Alternative Interpretation
First, Zhang Jiaxuan’s interpretation will be highly mentioned in this piece. He basically indicates that Chinese people, especially soldiers, will have a strong spirit of collectivism and perseverance, to overcome any possible and impossible difficulties.[18] He further points that believes that although each individual has their own sacrifices, the grand parade is of supreme glory, bringing a strong sense of national pride and reminding us of the humiliations endured over the past century.[18] Then the two scenes get picked from the film will challenge and reinforce these ideas, one shot comes from the beginning and the other is from ending.
In the beginning of the film, there is an overhead shot depicting soldiers preparing for the parade. This overhead shot can reveal spatial relationships between visual elements that aren't as clear from eye-level, where is all the soldiers in this particular scene. In this scene, the soldiers are lined up neatly and orderly in formations.[18] This overhead shot is also a long take, suggesting that director Chen Kaige wanted to capture each formation and every single soldier within the camera's frame completely. From this scene, we can see that individualism and collectivism can coexist without conflict. The overall performance of the collective improves through better individual performances.
The lighting in this scene uses low key lighting, which we can see through the black and white colors and shadows. With the grayish lighting, Chen Kaige aims to convey the solemnity and seriousness required for such an important ceremony as the parade.
In stark contrast to this scene is the ending scene of the film. The scene transitions from countless soldiers' faces to the image of a single soldier standing in the sunset, and we couldn’t really see his face. In this scene, due to the brightness of the sun, it can be considered high key lighting, which creates a strong contrast with the opening scene. The soldier’s face is dark and unrecognizable, so he could be anyone—anyone willing to contribute to the country's development and prosperity. The film also features some members who were eliminated from the list, such as Jiang Junbiao, who had physical limitations and have to give up on attending the parade. However, we know that even though they couldn’t participate in the parade, their contributions were significant. Therefore, Chen Kaige uses this dark, unrecognizable face to tell us that anyone who makes a contribution for the country, no matter more or less, has been participated in the true parade. Even if they cannot be part of the real formations, their spirit has already reached the parade stage.
Conclusion
Chen Kaige's The Big Parade is the most popular topic in the Chinese film industry during the military parade of the People's Republic of China every ten years. Both the training process in the first half of the movie and the grand military parade at the end of the movie show the spirit and courage of the Chinese nation to the world. The most controversial part of the movie is the collectivism it presents. To this day, there are still many who believe that marching in highly organized parades is unnecessary formalism, and that the harsh training process is physically and mentally destructive to the individual soldier. Based on the collection and analysis of information from various sources, we can conclude that individualism and collectivism are not actually in conflict. Collective interests are the sum of individual interests, and society cannot function without the participation of individuals. Sometimes the individual can only be of greater value when he or she participates in the collective. As the movie says, participating in a military parade means glory, and glory is what every soldier values most. Chen Kaige's movies mostly focus on exploring the inner world of the characters, and this movie uses the individual perspective of the soldiers to find the meaning of the collective, connecting the individual to the country. Although this is Chen Kaige's second film, the whole movie presents a very realistic training environment while focusing on portraying the characters' inner world. This movie is recommended for those interested in Chinese military parades and those curious about Chen Kaige's unique cinematic art.
References
</references>
- ↑ "1960年至1983年为什么没有国庆阅兵(Why there were No National Day Parades from 1960 to 1983)". 中华人民共和国中央政府. August 27, 2009.
- ↑ "中国人民解放军大阅兵(The Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA)Big Parade)". Baidu Baike. Retrieved August 3, 2024. Check date values in:
|date=(help) - ↑ "黄土地(Yellow Earth)". Baidu Baike. Retrieved August 3, 2024. Check date values in:
|date=(help) - ↑ 4.0 4.1 "张艺谋陈凯歌：古稀少年，复归于真". Xinhua Net. Oct 12, 2023.
- ↑ "英雄（Hero）". Baidu Baike. Retrieved August 3, 2024. Check date values in:
|date=(help) - ↑ "满城尽带黄金甲（Curse of the Golden Flower）". Baidu Baike. Retrieved August 3, 2024. Check date values in:
|date=(help) - ↑ "陈凯歌：在顺流和逆流中企图保持自我的完整". Zhongxin Net. December 20, 2017.
- ↑ "霸王别姬（Farewell My Concubine）". Baidu Baike. Retrieved August 3, 2024. Check date values in:
|date=(help) - ↑ "荆轲刺秦王（The Emperor And The Assassin）". Baidu Baike. Retrieved August 3, 2024. Check date values in:
|date=(help) - ↑ "张艺谋自己描述的偶遇"飞碟" 1985年夏，陈凯歌的《大阅兵》". SOHU. March 13, 2023.
|first=missing|last=(help) - ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 "大阅兵(The Big Parade)". Douban. Retrieved August 3, 2024. Check date values in:
|date=(help) - ↑ "《大阅兵》曾被评Gay片 连导演陈凯歌都被说服了". Sina. December 7, 2017.
- ↑ "The Big Parade". IMDb. Retrieved August 3, 2024. Check date values in:
|date=(help) - ↑ 14.0 14.1 Goodman, Walter (March 15, 1988). "Review/Film; 'Big Parade,' Celebration By the Chinese Military". The New York Times.
- ↑ "Full Metal Jacket". Wikipedia. Retrieved August 3, 2024. Check date values in:
|date=(help) - ↑ "An Officer and a Gentleman". Wikipedia. Retrieved August 3, 2024. Check date values in:
|date=(help) - ↑ "大阅兵(The Big Parade)". Baidu Baike. Retrieved August 3, 2024. Check date values in:
|date=(help) - ↑ 18.0 18.1 18.2 18.3 18.4 18.5 18.6 18.7 18.8 18.9 Zhang, JiaXuan (Oct 1989). "Review: The Big Parade by Chen Kaige". Film Quarterly. 43: 57–59 – via JSTOR.
- ↑ 19.0 19.1 19.2 19.3 19.4 19.5 19.6 宋, 明炜 (2012). "《大阅兵》中的国家与个人". 上海文化. 3: 46–60 – via 上海文化.