Essay on The Joy Luck Club
In the movie The Joy Luck Club the director Wayne Wang uses techniques to portray the film to make the themes and issues come across more appealing to the viewer. The three scenes that stood out are the ones where Lindo’s mother is speaking to the matchmaker and mother in law about giving her daughter away to be married at the age of 15, the scene where Ying Ying is in Lena’s apartment also known as the tiger scene and the last scene is Junes reunion with her abandoned twin sisters in China. These three scenes are all different in the way they are explored with different themes and issues by the way they are directed.
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Lindo’s family was poverty stricken, as daughters were seen as worthless her mother summoned the matchmaker to make a match for her daughter. As soon as Lindo enters the frame she is walking alone, showing her independence the camera follows Lindo with a panning shot. When Lindo enters the frame she is holding a red kite symbolising prosperity as well as the ability for freedom with no limitations. As Lindo walks in on the meeting her mother is having with the matchmaker and her future mother in law she steps up onto a rock, which creates a sense of power at the same time Lindo shows them that she wont be restricted once being married off. The long shot of the meeting shows no emotion, the way Wayne Wang has seated the three women is reminiscent of a battle as the mother in law and matchmaker are facing the mother as if the mother is unsure with her decision to give Lindo away, the door way in the background of the scene shows there is a new beginning once stepping inside the darkness of the room showing the unknown and mystery with the light showing a sense of direction. There is a medium shot of Lindo and she is fiddling with her kite but at the same time holding on tightly this represents her fear of being restricted of her prosperity and freedom as she throws the kite away in a later frame it shows her understanding of her arranged marriage by the matchmaker when doing this it shows her loss of opportunities as she knows she is trapped.
The tones that are projected from Lindo and her mother is fear of rejection, Lindo’s mother is concerned with Lindo’s acceptance by her future family for the reason that she is openhandedly given Lindo off to be married for a better opportunity at life, and being accepted into the house hold is a big ordeal to a mother as she has promised Lindo would be a good and obedient daughter in law. Lindo’s concern for fear of rejection is somewhat different to that of her mothers because she wants to be accepted only because she has no other option and to be accepted is better than not being accepted at all. Whilst Lindo’s mother is having slight regrets by her facial expressions during a close up of her face she would also be excited for Lindo as she is having the opportunity to live with a wealthy family.
In the scene where Ying Ying is in Lena’s apartment the darkness of the shadows creates a sense of mystery, throughout the scene Ying Ying is talking bout the tiger, Wayne Wang has played with the shadows using the vertical blinds as a shadow on Ying Ying causing her to look like the tiger as she walks over to the bed with her hands grasped together showing she is harmless, whilst walking over to the bed she is accompanied by a panning shot. As Lena enters the room through the door, it is a mystery to the viewer at first, as you cannot see who is at the door but as Lena enters the room there is a sharp close up of her face showing concern for her mother as she is unaware of her mother distress for her marriage to Harold. The wooden pylons in the room symbolise the strength needing to hold up the house, this is like Lena and Harold’s marriage it looks good from the outside but on the inside it doesn’t appear the same, also the lopsidedness of the house is somewhat identical to Lena’s marriage. Throughout the scene there is a lot of medium angle shot of Ying Ying with a lot of shadow positioned on her face and body to perhaps create a sense of mystery or a barrier.
Throughout the scene music is being played sympathetically to the tone of the scene, which was anxiety and concern for Lena, as she doesn’t want Lena’s marriage to turn out as hers did. During the scene almost all of it consists of dark and dull scenes this adds to the final modification of the tone.
The final scene is where June goes to China for a reunion with her twin sisters that her mother Suyuan abandoned during the war in China when her babies were born. June never had a full understanding or acceptance of her mother’s choice to leave the twins along the roadside. Lindo organised for June to go to China and meet the twins and inform them about the death of their mother. June goes to China by boat the first frame we observe in this scene is the sharp close up of swan feather followed by a slow panning shot going up toward June’s face this shot shows the strong link between June and the swan feather. After panning up there is a sharp close up of June at eye level this frame is positioned there for a while to show June’s excitement of meeting her twin sisters. As the boat docks into China there is a long shot of the boat showing the crowd and the different surroundings, as June walks off the boat she is accompanied by a low angle medium panning shot. When June looks for her sisters through the crowd she is lead by a dolly shot whilst the camera is proceeding with a dolly shot June is in a medium shot this shows her surrounding as well as her emotions. As June first sets sight of the twins she stands a reasonable distance away from the twins there is a long shot of the twins then followed by a close up of June’s face showing her joyous experience with her first encounter with the twins. When June and the twins come together there is a high angled shot of the twins and June representing no emotions at this time. Whilst June tells the twins of their mother’s death there is a sharp close up of her face showing sympathy and sorrow, the twins accept June with a hug this frame is shot through a high angled shot after they hug the camera slowly proceeds with tracking out in a slight upward direction.
The tone of this scene was somewhat different to the others as this one dealt with the justification of why Suyuan couldn’t make it to China, June was afraid that her sisters wouldn’t accept her she thought perhaps she may be rejected, it also deals with the anxiety June went through to preparing herself to tell the twins bout the death of her mother, it also is a joyous scene in that it is a happy event. Throughout the scene there is sympathetic music being played which gives the viewer an understanding it is a sad but joyous event.
In conclusion all three scenes explored different themes and issues but were all completed effectively. Without Wayne Wang’s techniques the film may have been a lot different since the film techniques gave the film its appealing characteristics. The different camera shots, angles, movements and focuses made the film a lot more satisfying for the viewer.
Lindo’s family was poverty stricken, as daughters were seen as worthless her mother summoned the matchmaker to make a match for her daughter. As soon as Lindo enters the frame she is walking alone, showing her independence the camera follows Lindo with a panning shot. When Lindo enters the frame she is holding a red kite symbolising prosperity as well as the ability for freedom with no limitations. As Lindo walks in on the meeting her mother is having with the matchmaker and her future mother in law she steps up onto a rock, which creates a sense of power at the same time Lindo shows them that she wont be restricted once being married off. The long shot of the meeting shows no emotion, the way Wayne Wang has seated the three women is reminiscent of a battle as the mother in law and matchmaker are facing the mother as if the mother is unsure with her decision to give Lindo away, the door way in the background of the scene shows there is a new beginning once stepping inside the darkness of the room showing the unknown and mystery with the light showing a sense of direction. There is a medium shot of Lindo and she is fiddling with her kite but at the same time holding on tightly this represents her fear of being restricted of her prosperity and freedom as she throws the kite away in a later frame it shows her understanding of her arranged marriage by the matchmaker when doing this it shows her loss of opportunities as she knows she is trapped.
The tones that are projected from Lindo and her mother is fear of rejection, Lindo’s mother is concerned with Lindo’s acceptance by her future family for the reason that she is openhandedly given Lindo off to be married for a better opportunity at life, and being accepted into the house hold is a big ordeal to a mother as she has promised Lindo would be a good and obedient daughter in law. Lindo’s concern for fear of rejection is somewhat different to that of her mothers because she wants to be accepted only because she has no other option and to be accepted is better than not being accepted at all. Whilst Lindo’s mother is having slight regrets by her facial expressions during a close up of her face she would also be excited for Lindo as she is having the opportunity to live with a wealthy family.
In the scene where Ying Ying is in Lena’s apartment the darkness of the shadows creates a sense of mystery, throughout the scene Ying Ying is talking bout the tiger, Wayne Wang has played with the shadows using the vertical blinds as a shadow on Ying Ying causing her to look like the tiger as she walks over to the bed with her hands grasped together showing she is harmless, whilst walking over to the bed she is accompanied by a panning shot. As Lena enters the room through the door, it is a mystery to the viewer at first, as you cannot see who is at the door but as Lena enters the room there is a sharp close up of her face showing concern for her mother as she is unaware of her mother distress for her marriage to Harold. The wooden pylons in the room symbolise the strength needing to hold up the house, this is like Lena and Harold’s marriage it looks good from the outside but on the inside it doesn’t appear the same, also the lopsidedness of the house is somewhat identical to Lena’s marriage. Throughout the scene there is a lot of medium angle shot of Ying Ying with a lot of shadow positioned on her face and body to perhaps create a sense of mystery or a barrier.
Throughout the scene music is being played sympathetically to the tone of the scene, which was anxiety and concern for Lena, as she doesn’t want Lena’s marriage to turn out as hers did. During the scene almost all of it consists of dark and dull scenes this adds to the final modification of the tone.
The final scene is where June goes to China for a reunion with her twin sisters that her mother Suyuan abandoned during the war in China when her babies were born. June never had a full understanding or acceptance of her mother’s choice to leave the twins along the roadside. Lindo organised for June to go to China and meet the twins and inform them about the death of their mother. June goes to China by boat the first frame we observe in this scene is the sharp close up of swan feather followed by a slow panning shot going up toward June’s face this shot shows the strong link between June and the swan feather. After panning up there is a sharp close up of June at eye level this frame is positioned there for a while to show June’s excitement of meeting her twin sisters. As the boat docks into China there is a long shot of the boat showing the crowd and the different surroundings, as June walks off the boat she is accompanied by a low angle medium panning shot. When June looks for her sisters through the crowd she is lead by a dolly shot whilst the camera is proceeding with a dolly shot June is in a medium shot this shows her surrounding as well as her emotions. As June first sets sight of the twins she stands a reasonable distance away from the twins there is a long shot of the twins then followed by a close up of June’s face showing her joyous experience with her first encounter with the twins. When June and the twins come together there is a high angled shot of the twins and June representing no emotions at this time. Whilst June tells the twins of their mother’s death there is a sharp close up of her face showing sympathy and sorrow, the twins accept June with a hug this frame is shot through a high angled shot after they hug the camera slowly proceeds with tracking out in a slight upward direction.
The tone of this scene was somewhat different to the others as this one dealt with the justification of why Suyuan couldn’t make it to China, June was afraid that her sisters wouldn’t accept her she thought perhaps she may be rejected, it also deals with the anxiety June went through to preparing herself to tell the twins bout the death of her mother, it also is a joyous scene in that it is a happy event. Throughout the scene there is sympathetic music being played which gives the viewer an understanding it is a sad but joyous event.
In conclusion all three scenes explored different themes and issues but were all completed effectively. Without Wayne Wang’s techniques the film may have been a lot different since the film techniques gave the film its appealing characteristics. The different camera shots, angles, movements and focuses made the film a lot more satisfying for the viewer.
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Warning!!! All free online essays, sample essays and essay examples on The Joy Luck Club topics are plagiarized and cannot be completely used in your school, college or university education.
If you need a custom essay, dissertation, thesis, term paper or research paper on your topic, EffectivePapers.com will write your papers from scratch. We work with experienced PhD and Master's freelance writers to help you with writing any academic papers in any subject! We guarantee each customer great quality and no plagiarism!
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Warning!!! All free online essays, sample essays and essay examples on The Joy Luck Club topics are plagiarized and cannot be completely used in your school, college or university education.
If you need a custom essay, dissertation, thesis, term paper or research paper on your topic, EffectivePapers.com will write your papers from scratch. We work with experienced PhD and Master's freelance writers to help you with writing any academic papers in any subject! We guarantee each customer great quality and no plagiarism!
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