What Is Mao's Last Dancer

Words: 612

Pages: 3

Open Document

Mao’s Last Dancer
Mao’s Last Dancer was directed by Bruce Beresford and produced in 2009. The film is a biography and is for audiences from teens to adults. Mao’s Last Dancer is a dramatic romance movie. Mao’s Last Dancer is set throughout China and the United States of America. The film is based upon Li Cunxin’s life and shows anything is possible if you work for it.
The film begins in Houston Texas in 1981; Li Cunxin is greeted at the airport by many excited fans. Li is staying with Houston Ballet teacher Ben Stevenson for three months. Li finds it hard to fit into the American way of life and thinks of what his life back in China was like. Li’s flashbacks show how badly the young children were treated in China and how important Chairman Mao is to the Chinese people. As time goes by Li begins to like it in America and makes some tough decisions that China does not agree with. …show more content…
He is taken away from his family at a young age which in turn drives him to work harder. Li is very caring and helpful which makes him likeable to the audience. Ben Stevenson, played by Bruce Greenwood, is an upper-class character. Ben is very expressive in what he wears and how he acts. Throughout the film, Ben helps Li to become a known star.
Throughout the film the viewer sees the characters wearing a Chairman Mao badge; this shows that Chairman Mao is a very symbolic code in the film and that the Chinese people worship him. Images of Chairman Mao are seen throughout the film hanging in many homes and businesses. The Chinese ballet company where Mao danced were not permitted to dance the traditional style of ballet, always having to be revolutionary in style. Other symbolic codes throughout the film include the use of Cherry Blossom trees, Chinese style clothing and traditional language spoken in

Mao's Last Dancer

Mao’s Last Dancer Mao’s Last Dancer is a film about the journey of Li Cunxin, a Chinese dancer that went from rural poverty to the top of ballet and then defected from his country. Li’s journey from rural poverty in the Shangdong province of China to success in Houston ballet is presented through the use of film conventions, techniques and narrative elements. These codes present and contrast the differences of Eastern and Western culture and of Capitalism and Communism. Appreciation of the film…

Words 984 - Pages 4

Maos Last Dancer

Li Cunxin, author of Mao’s Last Dancer, once said, “In order to fly you have to be free”. Throughout Mao’s Last Dancer, Cunxin describes his struggle to find this freedom in Communist China in the late 1900’s. However, growing up in the impoverished village of Qingdao with six other brothers was burdensome and his fate looked no better than becoming a farm laborer (3). Despite these adversities, Li overcame unthinkable tasks to become a world-renowned dancer. For Li, getting there was not simple…

Words 732 - Pages 3

Government Corruption In 'Mao's Last Dancer'

beliefs about fundamental aspects of reality that ground and influence all one's perceiving, thinking, knowing, and doing”. My personal set-of-beliefs is due to my upbringing, my environment and the media. Within the scope of this task, the novel Mao’s Last Dancer has also contributed to the strengthening of my political worldview…

Words 1484 - Pages 6

Research OB Essay examples

foreign occupation. After World War II, the Communists under MAO Zedong established a dictatorship that, while ensuring China's sovereignty, imposed strict controls over everyday life and cost the lives of tens of millions of people. After 1978, Mao's successor DENG Xiaoping gradually introduced market-oriented reforms and decentralized economic decision making. Output quadrupled in the next 20 years and China now has the world's second largest GDP. Political controls remain tight even while economic…

Words 4987 - Pages 20

Essay about American Classical Orchestra

stunned to see his wife alive. She swoons upon seeing him. He rushes off to fetch some water to revive her. Enrico arrives in the meantime. Costanza, in her delirium, thinks he is Gernando and harshly reviles him. He amazes her with the story of what really happened. Upon Gernando’s return, she apologizes for accusing him wrongly and for mis-educating her sister, and they are happily re-united. Enrico asks for Silvia’s hand in marriage and the two couples rejoice, first singly, then together…

Words 3194 - Pages 13

The Importance Of Belonging

HSC Subject Guide Belonging 2009 HSC: Area of Study – English - related material English HSC 2009 - 2012 is Belonging. What does belonging mean? From the Oxford Dictionary and Thesaurus: belong, verb, 1) to be rightly put into a particular position or class; 2) fit or be acceptable in a particular place or environment; 3) belong to be a member of; 4) belong to be the property or possession of. Belonging, noun, affiliation, acceptance, association, attachment, integration, closeness, rapport,…

Words 4133 - Pages 17