Series Site
"This May, to commemorate Asian-American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, Spectacle Theater is proud to present the first installment of HALF THE SKY, a new series examining the evolving depictions of, and cultural attitudes towards, the role of women in Chinese society during the early years of the Chinese film industry.
"Following the end of China’s dynastic era and the founding of republican China in 1912, cinema had exploded in popularity throughout the country. It was not until the 1930s, however, that studios, filmmakers, and film performers began to realize the medium’s massive potential for social and political messaging. Throughout the 1930s and 40s, cinema became an invaluable tool in disseminating progressive ideologies among the mases, in what became known as the “Golden Age” of China’s leftist cinema movement.
"Arguably, there was no greater aspect of Chinese society where these shifting perspectives were more pronounced than concerning the role of women. Historically, Chinese society had operated on a conservative model of gender roles, in which a woman’s ostensible purpose was to strive to be a “virtuous wife and good mother” (贤妻良母)— A model that was effectively continued under China’s Nationalist government, which promoted the virtues of marital monogamy and child rearing while cracking down on vices such as prostitution and gambling.
"Many of the creative voices working within China’s film industry, however, saw another story: One in which education and moral character were more important to good citizenship than tradition for tradition’s sake. Filmmakers such as Sun Yu, Wu Yonggang, and Cai Chusheng began to incorporate these ideas directly into their work, crafting female-centric stories that expanded beyond archetypal gender roles, and instead focused on the woman workers, artists, farmers, athletes, soldiers, warriors, wives, and mothers who were as integral to modern society as their male counterparts. China’s leftist cinema movement ultimately helped revolutionize the role of women in Chinese society, reinforcing the government’s obligations towards gender equality that, within a few short decades, would culminate in Mao Zedong’s famous 1968 pronouncement that, 'Women hold up half the sky.'" —Spectacle