'Memoirs of a small minded Dumb*rse'
章
子怡 (Zhang Ziyi) is undoubtedly one of China's greatest cinema assets.
She is young, talented, and has stared in such domestic epics as 英雄
(Hero) and 十面埋伏 (Ambushes from all sides. Also known as 'House of
Flying Daggers'). She has even broken into the notoriously fickle halls
of Hollywood, with a role in the Smash Hit 'Rush Hour 2', where she
stared alongside Jackie Chan, one of China's other great film exports.
So,
you would think that she would be hailed as a hero, and showered in
adulation by her fellow Chinese, for winning the coveted lead role in
one of the most eagerly anticipated movies of 2005. No, quite the
opposite in fact.
Instead of being congratulated, Zhang has been
called 'Shameless' and denounced as a traitor by many Chinese. Why?
because of acted outside her race, by playing a Japanese, when she
accepted the role of 小百合/さゆり(Sayuri), the lead character in the film
adaptation of Arthur Golden's controversial novel 'Memoirs of a Geisha'.
In
a remarkable show of small mindedness, China's chat rooms and bulletin
boards have, this month, been overflowing with criticism of Zhang. With
many Chinese complaining that it was wrong for a Chinese to play the
role of a Japanese, and denouncing her for taking part in a small
number of 'intimate' scenes with Japanese actor Wanatabe Ken. Which
some Chinese referred to as being 'shameful, not just because her
'interaction' was with a Japanese, but also because it went against the
polite fiction, that exists in China, that Chinese women 'do not do
that kind of thing'.
Different people, Same Mindset
Unfortunately,
criticism of the choice of Zhang for the lead in 'Memoirs' has not been
limited to China, with similar controversies arising in Japan. Where a
number of people have expressed disappointment that a foreigner, though
not specifically a Chinese, had been selected to play the role of such
an evocative Japanese figure, with some critics voicing that the role
should have been reserved for a Japanese, and that the choice of non
Japanese actress, to play a Japanese institution, was a poor one.
Complaints
from Japan, where feelings in regards to Sino-Japanese issues are
understandably not so heated as they are in China, however, appear to
be more muted, and largely limited to a smaller section of society.
Though they are no less small minded.
Shallow Arguments from Stupid People.
Fortunately
for Zhang, and the wider film industry, critics of her role as the
Geisha 小百合/さゆり (Sayuri) have not had the monopoly on criticism, and
have themselves been criticized by Hollywood insiders and China
watchers alike, as being shortsighted, racist, and of failing to
understand 'the basic concept of acting'.
In defense of Zhang
and her role, the actor 鞏俐 (Gong Li), a fellow Chinese who also stared
in 'Geisha', decried Zhang's critics, both those in China and Japan,
for complaining over something so shallow as the nationality of an
actor.
In her defense of Zhang, Gong stood firmly by the principle that 'a role in a movie is the character that is presented to the audience, and not the actor who played it',
and issued a strong reminder to audiences that cinema has a long
standing history of diversity, and would have seen many great
performances lost to the world if directors been as closed minded as
Zhang's critics.
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"Think
of all the amazing performances that would be lost. Meryl Streep, as a
Polish woman in `Sophie's Choice'. Russell Crowe, as an American in
`The Insider'. Ralph Fiennes as a German in `Schindler's List'. Vivien
Leigh, as an American in `Gone With the Wind'. Sir Anthony Hopkins ,as
an American president in `Nixon'"
鞏俐 (Gong Li), Actress |
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Zhang also received a robust defense
from the renowned master coach Chang Li, a senior teacher at 中央戏剧学院
(the Central Academy of Drama) in Beijing, who taught the young actor
for four years.
Chang pronounced that, as an actress, Zhang
should be free to take on any role that she saw fit, without fear of
being criticized if that role did not match up to some esoteric
standard set by observers in regards to who can or can't play who in a
film.
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"The criticism is unjustified. Zhang has the right to take any role she wants"
Chang Li, 中央戏剧学院 (Central Academy of Drama), Beijing |
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Chang also took time out to scold
fellow Chinese for failing to recognize the prestige that Zhang has
earned in winning such a coveted role, and the ground that she has set
to help others to break out of the typecasting that has beset many
Chinese actors.
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"The
Chinese people should be proud of her for getting the recognition she
is receiving. Do you see Japanese audiences getting angry when a
Japanese actress plays a Chinese character?"
Chang Li |
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Others have, at least in jest, also commented that it was a pleasant surprise that Hollywood picked an Asian to play 小百合/さゆり
(Sayuri). A tongue in cheek reference to films such as 'The Conqueror',
a Hollywood epic depicting of the life of Genghis Khan that was
released in 1956, where most of the the films Asian lead characters
were played by Whites and Hispanics (including John Wayne and Pedro
Armendáriz) wearing makeup.
Other Complaints
While
most of the complaints over Geisha have been shallow in nature, and are
typified by the bickering over the nationality of the lead role,
other's have gone deeper, and have more substance. Including the
accusation that the production was written 'by an American, for
Americans' and without a proper understanding of, or sensitivity to,
Japanese; leading it to incorrectly portrayed Geisha as being similar
to 'hostesses' in western bars, and into failing to correct some of the
myths and misconceptions created by the book on which the film was
based.
In this light, the film's crew and script writers were
also criticized for 'an overly liberal attitude' towards the
sensitivities surrounding both the portrayal of Japanese traditions,
and their choice of a Chinese actress to play such an evocative
Japanese role. With critics saying that their actions showed a blatant
lack of understanding of both China and Japan, and of the conflicted
national dynamic that exists between these two Asian neighbors because
of Japan's bloodsoaked invasion of China during the first half of the
Twentieth Century.
Critics of the production also accusing
Hollywood of being purposfully 'blind' to cultural issues in the name
of diversity, and of perpetuating the myth that 'all Asians are
basically the same, because they look the same'; a fallacy that could
be considered equal to the statement that “The presidents of America and France are both white, therefore they must think alike”.
Breaking the Mold, or setting the Standard?
Despite
the complaints, most of which appear to emanate from traditionalists
and ignorant nationalist agitators on both sides, Zhang's performance
has been well received by many, including members of Japan's Geisha
community, who saw nothing wrong with a Chinese playing the role of
小百合/さゆり (Sayuri), even if they did have issues with some elements of
the film's script.
In touching gesture, and one far removed from
any criticism of her or her role, Zhang is reported to have received a
number of high quality antique Kimono, and a letter of gratitude, as a
gift from a former Japanese Geisha, who congratulated her on bringing
this evocative topic to life.
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