Patriarchy in fargo and raise
Patriarchy in fargo and raiseExplore the relationship between women's roles and patriarchal society in Raise the Red Lantern and Fargo.
For many years from our history, women's rights have always been a contraversial topic. History has shown the world to be primarily a male-dominated society, where a woman's role is often dictated by a man. In the movies Raise the Red Lantern and Fargo, both movies dictate a society where the dominant sex is male. In Raise the Red Lantern , the women are concubines who (seemingly) have no say in what the master wants or does not want. In Fargo, the opposite seems true, as Frances McDormand plays the only woman in the movie who has intelligence: Officer Margie Gundersson. Yimou's film showcases a different kind of intelligence: a shrewd, cunning intelligence that is utilized in order to retain power over the master.
Raise the Red Lantern gives western society a everyday look at the fourth wife of a rich landowner, Songlian (Gong Li). Forced to marry against her will by her sickly mother, Songlian initially despises her new surroundings: a small, enclosed manor filled with traditional rules and ritual with which she is unfamiliar with. Although she has been to University, education means nothing here; her entire world becomes that of the small compound cut off from the rest of society. Yimou's portrayal of a patriarchal society is evident through his use of mise-en-scene comprimising of uniform, hard-angled lines, consisting of rectangles and squares. The use of framing in various scenes depicts an environment where escape is impossible. Also, the use of the camera is often restricted emphasizing the lack of freedom the women have. The camera stays in one postion during scenes, hardly ever tracking to follow an action or person. This filming style mirrors the strict tradional, expressionless society trapped in this neverending ritual. Inside this cold, uninviting setting, the only people whom Songlian is allowed to see are her husband, his family and their servants. Despite the bright colors adorning the inside of Songlian's walls, she finds her home to be a lonely, cheerless place.
In almost all the scenes in this movie involving the master, Yimou intentionally chooses not to reveal the Master's face; he remains a symbolic figurehead of the power that men control. For this reason, almost all the scenes in this movie consists of imagery of women. Intentionally masking the master's face makes the viewer see him as having less importance than the wives, as they are the main focus of the film. The master's role consists of upholding tradition and enforcing strict rules, which the women are forced to live by. Although they are "wives" in name, their role as wives are different then those often perceived in western society, as in Fargo for example. Rather than cook and clean, the women all have...
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