Gender Issues In Ang Lee Films
The issues around gender attract tremendous commentary from sociologists and other interested players. In popular media, this subject receives significant attention from actors, authors, poets, and other artists interested in addressing feminism, gender dysphoria, sexuality, and other related issues. Ang Lee incorporates this theme in his two films The Wedding Banquet (1993) and Eat Drink Man Woman (1994). In these films, he places female characters at the center of the plot due to the role of this gender in taking forward this discourse. Additionally, he raises emerging gender issues in his work to help discuss patriarchy, women empowerment, patriarchy, and the changing social culture. By doing so, he creates commendable works that appeal to the emotions of different audiences. Concisely, Lee posits that the Chinese perspective on gender roles has shifted from the tradition as women acquire leadership positions both in the domestic place and in the professional world. In addition, he positions homosexuality as an emerging controversial issue that is prevalent among Chinese society albeit with vehement opposition from the community.
The Wedding Banquet (1993) is a film centered on homosexuality, homophobia, and a typical Chinese traditional family setup. The protagonist, Wai-Tung, is the son of Mr. and Mrs. Gao, an old couple from China who desire to see their son marry a wealthy woman. Meanwhile, Wai-Tung has entered into a homosexual relationship with Simon. To live the wishes of his parents, Simon and Wai-Tung hire a dating service to look for a female match for the latter according to the wishes of his family. However, the two give unrealistic demands to deliberately miss a desirable partner for Wai-Tung. The only match that comes up from this effort does not have two doctorate degrees and, therefore, she is disqualified from the search. Finally, Wai-Tung begins a relationship with a poor woman whom she dates and plans for a wedding with.
Wai-Tung’s parents arrive in Manhattan from Taiwan to grace the wedding of their son. They carry expensive gifts since they think that the bride is a wealthy woman from a reputable family. To their dismay, the woman is a penniless girl that lives off Wai-Tung income. In the wedding banquet, Wai-Tung introduces Simon as his landlord. Later after the banquet, Wai-Tung and his newly wedded wife engage in a post-nuptial affair and the latter conceives. This frustrates Simon who begins a fight with Wai-Tung. The latter informs his mother that Simon is indeed his lover, but the two decide not to tell Mr. Gao, who is recovering from a stroke. However, Mr. Gao knows the truth after the fight and decided to confront Simon about the issue. Simon confesses and receives the blessing of his father-in-law. Simon also buries the hatchet with Wei-Wei and agrees to her plea to be a second father to Wai-Tung’s baby.
In Eat Drink Man Woman (1994) Ang Lee narrates the story of Mr. Zhu and his three daughters. Zhu is a widower who is a retired senior chef. He cooks for his daughters and he engages them in advisory talks. The eldest daughter, Jia-Jen, is a chemistry teacher at a local school. The second daughter, Ji-Chien, holds a top position in an airline company. The youngest daughter, Jia-Ning, is a college student but works a part-time job. In one of the many dinners that the family eats together, the girls tell their father their dreams and progress in their respective jobs. For instance, Jia-Chien reveals that she will be moving to Amsterdam to get a promotion. She also notifies his family that she will be acquiring her apartment and moving from her father’s house.
A significant proportion of this work is dedicated to love, romance, and relationship. The director shows how the three daughters and their father interact with people who would become their spouses. For instance, Ang Lee shows how the warm interactions between Jia-Jen and her school coach develop into a romantic relationship. Jia-Chien meets a colleague at work and the two become romantically involved. This relationship does not see the light of day as she learns that his lover broke her sister’s heart in college. The youngest of the daughters falls in love with her friend’s lover after he complains of the dissatisfaction he is getting in his relationship. Their father loves and marries a divorced woman after the intervention of her mother. The film ends as the new couple begins living together while the daughters delve into other social and personal affairs.
The role of the father in the two films explicates how patriarchal the Taiwanese society is. Taiwan seceded from China, but the nation retained the traditional Chinese customs. It means, therefore, that the events in the movies are representative of Chinese customs. Mr. Gao pesters his son to get married and propel the family traditions. He feels obliged as the custodian of the family traditions to pass them down to his son. According to Mengjie Zhou, The Wedding Banquet (1993) “upholds and celebrates the legitimacy of the traditional Confucius patriarchal system whereas it validates the underlying homophobic ideology” (626).
In the traditional Confucian system, it was the duty of every man to pass down the family name to avoid shame. Begetting an heir was a sign of pride as a man partook in expanding the genetic pool of a family (Dilley 36). By courting a fellow man, Wai-Tung goes against this core family value. He knows that he could not get a child with Simon but he decides to follow his desires regardless of how his parents would perceive it. In a way, Wai-Tung lives by his traditions by impregnating Wei Wei and siring a son.
Mr. Gao represents a cohort of men with strong opposition to homosexuality. In other words, he depicts the link between patriarchy and homophobia as Diefendorf and Bridges argue. According to these sociologists, data from numerous surveys show a gendered pattern of homophobia. Over time, men have given harsher sentiments on homosexuality, with a majority of them showing blatant opposition to gayism and lesbianism (Diefendorf and Bridges 1266). Gayism, for instance, reduces the masculinity of one or both men by eliminating the power imbalance that gives the man dominion over a woman in a marriage.
In Eat Drink Man Woman (1994), Ang Lee reflects the same patriarchal ideology but fails to show its power over the three rebellious daughters. Admittedly, the three women are well educated and represent one of the aspirations of a transformative egalitarian society. Since its cessation from Mainland China, Taiwan has espoused democratic ideals as a compensatory measure against global isolation (Brysk 840). The country exudes soft power strength as exemplified by its early adoption of women's rights. Lee’s projection of women's power in Eat Drink Man Woman (1994) is perhaps a deliberate move to communicate this political and social stance. Mengjie Zhou argues that in contrast to The Wedding Banquet (1993), this film deconstructs the gender discourse through the actions of the three daughters and the crumbling patriarchal figure represented by their father (Zhou 626).
Madame Ling, Mr. Zhu’s mother-in-law, represents the Taiwanese diaspora and its impact on the democratization of Taiwan. Her opinions exhibit the role of occidental values in the transformation of gender inequality in the traditional Taiwanese community. Indeed, “a cohesive yet adaptive civil society with an extensive diaspora facilitated and was reinforced by democratization” (Brysk 840). Jia-Chien’s education allows her to work in a Western country, meaning that gender equality and women empowerment open Taiwan to the international space. This equality is responsible for the various social development activities depicted in the movie like remarrying of Mr. Zhou after the death of his wife and the upward social mobility notable in the lives of Jia-Ning, Jia-Chien, and Jia-Jen.
In conclusion, Eat Drink Man Woman (1994) and The Wedding Banquet address gender issues such as homosexuality, patriarchy, women empowerment, and egalitarian transformation of Taiwanese society. The director, Ang Lee, uses characters that take up special roles in the films to depict the gender conflict and its resolution through education, democratization, and compromise by various representatives of successive generations. The role of the Taiwanese diaspora in America helps to cultivate egalitarian values and harmonize the emerging social issues with the traditions. Truly, the films are catchy, attractive, and evidence of a critical social issue addressed through popular culture.
Final Remarks
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