Beware, evil landlords everywhere, especially on the first of the month…. Our reluctant heroine/Wu Qionghua, tied to a pillar, struggles furiously to free herself. The Red Detachment of Women is pretty awesome cinematically as far as propaganda films go, ... More than half the class talked, and they covered an impressive range of topcis and themes—I will be trying this format in the near future. Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email. Hong critiques Wu Qionghua for her ridiculously emotional behavior, unworthy of the warrior she must strive to become. Everyone in the audience knows that the People’s Republic of China is about to prevail. Lyrics for The Red Detachment Of Women by Du Jinfang. The people and the rebel soldiers rejoice: a women’s revolutionary cell – the Red Detachment – has been created. : BG E12/375 (IISH collection) More? This ballet means to enlighten us to the fact that class issues, not personal romantic distractions, are what really matter in life. At the sound of a gunshot at midnight, the women’s brigade will strike and annihilate the landlord and all his kind. Red Detachment is one of the most significant works of the Cultural Revolution within the People's Republic of China. Educated by Hong Changqing, … Feminists around the world praised him a lot due to this line. Although they were limited in number, there were in fact more than eight. In the case of Detachment, these scenes are contrasted with the elite, who are depicted as a classic “bad guys.” An interesting example to highlight how the Red Army is portrayed, when Wu Qinghua enters the camp and falls down, the entire army physically moves down to prevent her from falling; while this is perhaps an exaggeration in analysis due to this being a ballet performance it still shows how the “ideology” is supposed to come through. She must leave her ego, her past, and her pains aside. A poor peasant girl, she has been singled out by the Evil Landlord/Nan Batian as one juicy and strong enough to be sold into slavery at a good price. Red Star was a communist publication created by the Red Women's Detachment, consisting of six issues released between March 1970 and October 1971. Unlike Spring in a Small Town, there is no lusting between characters, all emotion is focused towards the greater good. If, as W. J. T. Mitchell and others have suggested, “all media are mixed media,” 34 then The Red Detachment of Women was exactly that in overdrive—and long before it became a “revolutionary dance drama.” He disguises himself as a wealthy businessman residing abroad and comes to her rescue. It challenges the conventional way we have structured and told stories again and again and again in epics, cinema, poems, novels, opera, ballet – all media, indeed — since the beginning of time. View credits, reviews, tracks and shop for the Vinyl release of 红色娘子军 = The Red Detachment Of Women (Selections) on Discogs. The themes in The Red Detachment Of Women are simple, and the story itself is a classic good versus evil tale, only with the fledgling Chinese Communist Party as protagonists. Red Detachment of Women (ballet), a Chinese ballet (based on the 1961 film) which premiered in 1964. The people and the rebel soldiers rejoice: a women’s revolutionary cell – the Red Detachment – has been created. The Red Detachment of Women is based on a real story that happened during the 30s where a military regiment made up of young communist women fights and wins against a rich and conservative governor. The film displays the distinct flavor of Hainan Island, and the theme song The Army Song of The Red Detachment of Women is not only a march but also an aria, which is melodious and sweet-sounding, and is still circulated and sung today. The Red Detachment of Women (1970) Filed under: China, Cultural Revolution, Film, Jiang Qing, Material culture/art & design, Music, Popular culture, Propaganda — amyjaneb @ 8:34 pm . They all have communist or revolutionary themes. "The Red Detachment of Women" is a political ballet, where women are liberated by joining the People's Liberation Army. The ballet was choreographed just prior to the Cultural Revolution and its mix of Western ballet, folk and classical Chinese dance, and contemporary political message made it a model for the new Chinese ballet. For instance, the Goddess is a representation of the economic, social, and political changes in the country during the Republic China period. The Red Detachment of Women, a feature film directed by Xie Jin, topped the list of fine screen works on women. At the time of this writing, the film can be seen in its entirety on “The Internet Archive”, There are also various clips of the film on YouTube. The women's detachment remembers the martyred Hong Changqing in the Peking opera film The Red Detachment of Women (Hongse niangzi jun, 1972). The Red Detachment of Women was one of just eight model theatrical pieces approved for performance during the Cultural Revolution. Hong Changqing/the Officer and Xiao Pang/the Messenger stumble upon the shattered Wu Qionghua. A scene from the ballet film from the heights of the Cultural Revolution. Why can’t dance – even in toe shoes — be about brotherhood instead? Mao has a famous slogan “women hold up half the sky”. Finally, the film Farewell my Concubine depicts the Chinese Nothing could possibly go wrong. This is contrasted with the landlord from the beginning of the film who imprisoned women who owed him debt, and the “tyrant’s” lair, where women were subjected to male rule. The Red Army tries to squeeze the enemy and cut off its supply lines. The Red Detachment of Women. Major Numbers: 1. Although the film did have this positive portrayal of women as agents of change, the “hero” of the film who was made a martyr towards the end is a male character. Articles in Red Star advocate for communist revolution to bring about women's liberation and focus on themes of violent revolution, welfare, and birth control. (chinaculture.org January 19, 2004) But the young woman on the right-hand side of the poster, the one wearing the rebel cap, stares at the world of ballet with steely eyes. Trouvez les Red Detachment Of Women images et les photos d’actualités parfaites sur Getty Images. Qiong Hua is a slave girl of Nan Batian, a big landlord in Yelinzhai Village on Hainan Island. They can only offer one solution: to join in their crusade. The uniform of the Red Detachment – hot pants, bare legs, bobby-socks thrust into pointe shoes – while certainly intended as macha, provided a rare moment of regime-sanctioned cheesecake in most serious times. It was produced during the Cultural Revolution in China, which itself made quite an impact on the Western Left (and particularly in the French Left). The Red Detachment of Women. Post was not sent - check your email addresses! All photos by Mark Gambino. She now understands that she must fight not against HER landlord, but against ALL landlords. In the 1960’s and 1970’s, Swan Lake and the rest disappeared from the national repertoire in China, and only a handful of radical ballets, including this one, got to be performed unto exhaustion. When the Evil Landlord’s Henchman/Lao Si tries to ready her for market…she escapes. She mimes/tells them about her miserable life. Choisissez parmi des contenus premium Red Detachment Of Women de la plus haute qualité. Feb 6, 2018 - Designer unknown (佚名) 1971 The Red Detachment of Women (1 of 2) Hongse niangzijun (红色娘子军) Call nr. How long has it been since you read a book or watched a movie that didn’t talk about love? But we should take a look before we lade it onto the trash-heap of totalitarian-era kitsch. Pas de deux at the Paris Opera Ballet : Baby Can YOU drive my car? Requiring a full corps de ballet, a large orchestra and even a vocal group, The Red Detachment has all the trappings of traditional Western ballet and is the headline show in Arts Centre Melbourne’s Asia TOPA festival running until April. The one featured here was performed in the revolutionary ballet entitled, "Red Detachment of Women." It is one of the representative films directed by Xie Jin in his early period. When the Evil Landlord’s minions attack a recently liberated zone, the entire village heeds the call to arms and heads off to fight for everyone’s freedom. Her hands are so fragile that I cannot help but hold them lightly. The movie was released in 1961 in China and directed by Xie Jin. As one big happy family, the peasants and the Red Army Soldiers, share their joy. Qinghua is released from the chain, and in an unguarded moment of Lao Si, Qinghua kicks him who loses his balance and falls. Their stylized training exercises remind us that ballet requires as much rigorous discipline as any “masculine” endeavor. Heroines under Mao’s communist theatre challenged the traditional stereotyped women. She joins the Red Detachment of Women and becomes a heroic fighter, finally taking over the position of commander. You could see the same scenery in posters produced by artist collectives and distributed all over the world. This period-piece documents an attempt by brilliant dancers trained in the classical tradition to keep the “decadent” art they loved alive during an era when the powers that be had deemed ballet pointless and worthy of extinction. But increasingly, Chinese social and national themes came to the fore, most famously in the agitprop Red Detachment of Women (1964), which was made at the suggestion of … Criticisms of “binary contrasts” and oversimplification aside, this makes for a plot device that highlights class struggle, and more importantly: the role of women in that struggle. Francendanse : Les premiers seront les derniers, Excelsior de Salvo Lombardo : potache indigeste. You’ve seen the poster umpteen times in the Paris metro by now: the Swan Queen and a uniformed Passionaria facing off, their respective hindlegs raised up and delicately curved (a pose inspired by Giambologna’s Renaissance bronze of Hermes…the figure’s attitude was then adopted by Louis XIV’s dancing court at Versailles as the epitome of an elegantly poised position). Why are artists perpetually fixated upon our bourgeois obsession with love? Peasants and soldiers and audience now must join in singing “The March to Victory.”, Commentaires fermés sur China’s glorious red detachment of women (Plot Summary), Tagué Ballet National de Chine, Le détachement féminin rouge, National Ballet of China, Red Detachment of women, Théâtre du Châtelet. The film (and ballet) follows a poor peasant named Wu Qinghua who goes from being imprisoned by her landlord for being in debt through her escape and journey to become part of the Red Army. The action takes place during the Chinese Civil War. She joins the women’s military corps and returns with them to heroically defeat and kill the landowner and his allies. Their stylized training exercises remind us that ballet requires as much rigorous discipline as any “masculine” endeavor. Similarly, the Red Detachment of Women epitomizes China during the socialist era. As mentioned above, The Red Detachment of Women, tells the story of a slave girl Wu Qinghua. From her, and Madame Mao’s, point of view swans and ballerinas – from Leda to Odette/Odile – have always been silly geese, an easy metaphor for eligible/available/pliable young women. Two innocent-looking men cross the stage. THE RED DETACHMENT OF WOMEN From Hainan to World Stage. Only then can she become an effective instrument of “the people.”. As newly appointed commissar of her unit, Hong welcomes our fervent heroine to the “Detachment” and gives her a gun. When she stumbles upon her former tormentor she cannot resist this chance to try out her new gun. It was produced during the Cultural Revolution in China, which itself made quite an impact on the Western Left (and particularly in the French Left). The Red Detachment of Women (紅色娘子軍) is one of the most famous Chinese ballet that took to its rise during the Cultural Revolution in China. Unfortunately, this particular ballet is now about as “mod” as the Beatles. Director: Jie Fu, Wenzhan Pan Qinghua, daughter of a poor peasant, is chained to a column. Red Detachment of Women may refer to: The Red Detachment of Women (1961 film), a film directed by Xie Jin, based on a novel and well-known Chinese revolutionary themes. The Red Detachment of Women is a film adaptation (or rather filmed version of) of a Chinese ballet from the mid 1960s. Not only does she miss her mark and thus allow the evil landlord to flee, but by letting her gun go off she has prematurely given the signal to attack. Bookmark the permalink. Pas de deuxo… This entry was posted in movies and tagged Chinese film, movies, The Red Detachment of Women. While evil has not been wiped off of the face of the earth tonight, at least the rebels manage to seize the landlord’s hoard of grain. Patrick Dupond (1959-2021) : portrait en maître de cérémonie. Collectively constructed and composed in Mao’s China of 1964, the Red Detachment of Women is supposed to provide answers to these questions. The Red Detachment of Women (1970 film), a filmed performance of the ballet. In the dungeon of the despotic landlord, Nan Batian (literally the Tyrant of the South), are imprisoned his tenants who are unable to pay their exorbitant taxes. While this is all through the lens of the Red Army (and thus the Party) as a whole, it demonstrates the interconnectedness of the two struggles, or at least an attempt to connect the two struggles in this context. Be the first to add the lyrics and earn points But Wu, unfortunately, totally messes up. I’ve been neglecting this blog recently. Hong verifies her account. This ballet IS a face-off. “The Red Detachment of Women” was created base on the archetype of the all-female battalion and the film strongly promoted the theme that women can also serve as soldiers and do revolutions. They redistribute it immediately to the poor. Sous les pavés, la plage! Wong How Man Hainan. With its epic themes of victimhood and revenge, and its cast of gravity-defying, rifle-toting, flag-flying, stern-faced ballerinas, The Red Detachment of Women is a song-and-dance spectacle of a scale and type rarely seen on the Australian stage. This is reminiscent of classic “Stalinist” films such as Circus (1936) where “joy” is part of every day life and how that every day life relates to the state. SCENE THREE, nightfall, at the Evil Landlord’s estate: Hong, disguised as a rich merchant, has crashed Nan Batian’s birthday festivities. Qinghua manages to escape while other two inmates hold Lao Si to the ground. The scenes that depict the Red Army are usually filled with upbeat music and show a joyful cadre willing to fight for the cause. Throughout the film, she receives training from the Red Army as they prepare to assault the landlord class’ stronghold. When the skies open and a violent storm erupts, the Evil Landlord and his minions flee, convinced the girl is dead. Mainly because my final year has crept up on me, and the ensuing panic has caused me to devote a little more time to actually writing-up my damn thesis! Hong, trying to protect his unit, is wounded and captured. While this makes the film a bit more complicated in terms of portrayal of gender, the film itself still stands as an example of linking the struggle against property and the struggle for women’s liberation (which at the time of this film was an ongoing struggle). Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube. Iconic scene of the Red Detachment lead dancer. [The original cast actually underwent weeks of military training in order to lose their “SwanLake-y” softness). Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email. He pretends to buy Qiong Hua to be his slave, saves her from the abyss of sufferings, and instructs her to join the red detachment of women. Finally I look at history in the eyes, and hold history in my hands. Choisissez parmi des contenus premium China Central Ballet de la plus haute qualité. As one of the eight model operas that dominated the national stage during the revolution, the ballet depicts the struggle as well as the determination of an all female army to fight for communism. At the outset, Qiong Hua joins the revolutionary rank to settle her personal grudge. Throughout the film, women are portrayed as a fighting force, from their training to actual combat (where they take leadership roles as well). But this ballet (and it certainly is one) has evolved into a nostalgic totem for an older generation for a rather poignant reason. Weak women become strong women in military uniforms, but the cherry trees still bloom in the background. The Red Detachment of Women is a film adaptation (or rather filmed version of) of a Chinese ballet from the mid 1960s. Create a free website or blog at WordPress.com. This story was known to all during the period of the Cultural Revolution and was performed across China, adapted to local theatrical forms using a host of different Chinese dialects. Trouvez les China Central Ballet images et les photos d’actualités parfaites sur Getty Images. A Chaillot, Scènes d’Italie : Compagnie Aterballetto #DonJuanToo, Ballet de l’Opéra: l’art du passe-partout. (TOPA stands for Triennial of Performing Arts.) Qinghua escapes from the prison of the 'Tyrant of the South,' and is assisted by Hong Changqing, the Communist Party representative attached to the new women's company of the local communist forces. Qionghua takes over for Hong and humbly agrees to become Party Commissar. Wu Qionghua arrives and denounces the crimes of her evil landlord. He was in charge of following movie transposition of model operas like The Legend of the Red Lantern, Red Detachment of Women, etc. She doesn’t get that far into the forest and the Evil Landlord Nan’s henchmen knock her out. Choreographed by Li Chengxiang, Jiang Zuhui and Wang Xixian, “The Red Detachment of Women” is both spectacular (as a relic of Communist kitsch) and scary (for pretty much the same reason). Hong Changqing is the Party representative of a red detachment of women. This, then, is what true love is about: community. Figures from The Red Detachment of Women can be seen in two sets of papercuts in the Ashmolean collection (EA2008.37.b). She has transformed herself into Hong’s best comrade-in-arms. Hong lectures the female division about the importance of discipline, of self-control, a lesson our ever less reluctant heroine takes to heart. SCENE SIX, dawn, at the landlord’s estate: But so does the Evil Landlord (much less heroically). A Chinese revolutionary song. Lao Si comes with the order of Nan Batian to sell Qinghua. sur China’s glorious red detachment of women (Plot Summary), La Dame aux Camélias : « Cheveux au vent », China’s glorious red detachment of women (Plot Summary). It won the Best Feature Film Prize at the First Hundred Flowers Awards in 1962. But they are RED ARMY WARRIORS in disguise. The "eight model plays" (Template:Zh-sp) were the only operas and ballets that were permitted during the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution in China (1966-1976). Theses female characters fought for women’s … Why can’t we reshape dance to serve the revolution? Upon our bourgeois obsession with love focused towards the greater good reluctant Qionghua..., are what really matter in life she must leave her ego, her past, and her aside!: Jie Fu, Wenzhan Pan a Chinese revolutionary song to enlighten us to fact. Entry was posted in movies and tagged Chinese film, she receives training from the Detachment... 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