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movies. I did not know whether to weep or laugh when I was faced
with questions like that, due to that fact that they did not even know
what the reality is in China but already have their own opinions.
More surprising, some Asian women who are the tragic victims in
the films are not even played by real Asian women. For instance, as
the example from the book, Kwans counterpart is the Good
Chinese Girl, played by Miyoshi Umeki (388), but Miyoshi Umeko is
Japanese rather than Chinese. Even though the cultures in Asia are
similar, there are still differences among different countries. For me,
it is disrespectful behavior to mix different cultures because it will
misguide the public impression of two different cultures.
Personally, I think Hollywood film makers just create those Asian
characters according to their own active imaginations because their
main purpose is to mold a distinctive Asian character which seldom
appears in American society. Thus, the unusual characters can
generate the public attention and people will be interested in
watching the movies. The goal of the movie producing companies is
to earn money without thinking whether or not they created the
correct image of other cultures and what the potential influences
could be after people watch a movie.
Movies should not only portray the veridical qualities of other
cultures, but also disseminate positive values. For example, in his
chapter, Forrest Gump: A Subversive Movie, Aeon J. Skoble says that
[Forrest Gump] won six Academy Awards (including Best Picture
and Best Actor for Tom Hanks)-so the film is clearly an influential
social and cultural item (410). It is not only popular in America but
also famous in China. I watched this movie when I was in high
school with all my classmates. I have to admit that it is a good
movie for some reasons, such as the plot is dynamic and the actors
performed well. I was encouraged by this movie at first because I
felt it was so unbelievable and exciting that a person with a
disability achieves huge success. Nevertheless, when I discussed
the reasons why Forrest Gump could become a national hero and a
millionaire with my friends, we could only conclude one reasonhe
is nice and just lucky, or I should say he is really lucky. I agree with
Skobles opinions. Would Forrest still succeed if he did not have
divine fiat () when he is running or if his shrimp boat did not
survive from the hurricane? I do admire Forrests courage that he
did not abandon his friends in the war. In reality, many soldiers did
not leave their friends behind during the war either, but how many
of them won the Medal of Honor or even met with the president?
How many of them eventually achieved the same success as Forrest
did in the movie?
Forrest Gump is like a fairy tale movie that totally ignores social
dynamics. I am still confused why our high teachers asked us learn
from this movie. What can I learn from it except being nice or
waiting for the fortune come to me? I studied more than 15 hours a
day when I was in high school just to go to college, and there were
many students who studied harder than me but only few of them
got through the college entrance examination. However, it is