I’m definitely not qualified to state conclusively how offensive or authentic Capra’s film may be at depicting Chinese culture during the early 20th Century, though I wouldn’t be surprised to hear a few voices stridently declaring it to be mostly the former description. It’s actually quite understandable that contemporary corporate studio management has conveniently avoided releasing the film on DVD in North America, though I really wish they would reconsider their decision.
While the film includes a few moments which I thought could be viewed as mildly offensive and requires Nils Asther to appear in “yellow-face,” the film is far more fascinating for the cultural and religious tug-of-war that’s going on within the narrative. Plus, while he takes a fairly impartial position throughout, Capra is unexpectedly bleak and severe when it comes to examining the struggle over which character gets to claim the moral high-ground.
The film seems to have achieved some small degree of notoriety within film history for a dream sequence in which Barbara Stanwyck’s character – an American missionary named Megan Davis – has a rather subdued, though still overtly sexual fantasy about her captor – the mysteriously beguiling Chinese warlord named General Yen. The sequence is kind of hilarious on one level, due mostly to its outdated imagery, but also kind of audacious upon further scrutiny, considering the same subject matter would likely be carefully circumvented in any current mainstream movie.
Unfortunately the striking sexual circumstances within the dream sequence serve as sort of a distraction from some of the more revealing details of Capra’s filmmaking. While the initially pleasant dream sequence becomes abruptly interrupted by a barbaric Asian man, cloaked in ancient Chinese clothing, breaking through Megan’s bedroom door in order to lecherously overwhelm her, the innocent American women is suddenly saved by a masked man, who is noticeably dressed in western apparel. Even before Megan’s saviour rips off his mask to reveal himself and passionately embrace her, it’s obvious from the outset of the sequence that both of the Chinese men involved within Megan’s fantasy are in fact polar opposite perceptions of General Yen that are battling for prominence within Megan’s mind. At this point, the filmmakers are clearly confronting the fact that Megan, the film’s surrogate for American society, can only comprehend her subjugator through Western conventions and imagery, unable to overcome the general impression of foreign societies as comparatively inhumane and crude, and thus remaining imprisoned within the traditional Western concept of Eastern cultures.
While the costume choices may appear to be a small detail within the fantasy sequence, Capra continues to use his character’s wardrobe choices to reveal alterations within their mentality, adaptation to their surroundings, and acceptance of a foreign culture previously perceived to be frightening. In fact, during the film’s final moments, as Megan and General Yen finally share a truly tragic and considered embrace, Capra offers his audience a direct contrast to the carnal implications of prior dream sequence, with both his central characters now enveloped in traditional Chinese attire and sadly resigned to the realities of the world that surrounds them.
As an aside, I continue to be astounded by how many great movies Barbara Stanwyck was involved in during her career. Stanwyck has always been a captivating screen presence, but in contrast to the worldly women she’s become famous for portraying, with The Bitter Tea of General Yen her beauty feels startlingly chaste, while her personality seems astonishingly naive. Yet, Stanwyck makes certain the character is entirely understandable, while a lesser actress would undoubtedly made Megan Davis utterly frustrating.
by Chiranjit Goswami | Source: PVR/Turner Classic Movies
30 Jun 2008 5:08 PM | Submit Comment
