Love in the Buff, a film talks about Chun Jiao (Miriam Yeung) and Shang youyou (Yang Mi) fall in love with the same Hong Kong man, Chi Ming (Shawn Yu). The representation of Chun Jiao and Shang youyou present the differences between Hong Kong woman and mainland woman clearly.
Chun Jiao, a manger of Sephora who is an optimistic woman with kindhearted, brave in love relationship and she is Chi Ming’s ex. When she met Chi Ming in Beijing after they broke up and knew he is in a relationship with a Beijing woman, Shang youyou, Chun Jiao did not beg Chi Ming to get back to her even they still loves each other so much. On the contrary, Chun Jiao takes the active role to make decision for Chi Ming and decide to leave him. During the communication between Chi Ming and Chun Jiao, Chun Jiao’s gesture and tone are always straightforward and optimistic. In this film, Chun Jiao is representing Hong Kong women are tough, optimistic, sincere and independent.
Shang youyou, a flight attendant who is charming and has a lovely personality. She is skinny, tall, pretty and has larger breasted than Chun Jiao. She speaks in a seductive tone and knows how to flirt with Chi Ming well. When she knew Chi Ming still loves Chun Jiao, she begs him not to leave her with tears. These reveals mainland women are relatively more submissive, seductive, dependent and prettier than Hong Kong women.
In Love in the Buff, it portrays a typical image of Hong Kong women and mainland women. In its narrative, it talks more inner beauty of Hong Kong women and outer beauty of mainland women. In fact, Hong Kong men are said to view dailumei as less demanding, gentler and more caring and considered them are prettier, taller, fairer skinned, and larger breasted than Hong Kong women. (Constable, p.171) To Hong Kong men, mainland women are more attractive to them, but they might not think mainland women are better than Hong Kong women due to the news coverage. From the mass media, the cultural identities of Hong Kong women and mainland women have already established and stored in people’s mind. Love in the Puff is only simply reinforces the publicly feeling of in-group pride and out-group contempt. Besides, the identity boundary of Hong Kong women and mainland women are structured ideologically in hierarchies and inequalities. As Mayfair Mei-Hui Yang stated that the word mainland suggests economic backwardness and quest for monetary gain, while Hong Kong this word means international and world financial centre. (McMillin, p.99) Therefore, being a Hong Kong woman is always more superior than a mainland woman.
References:
Constable, Nicole. "Women's Agency and the Gendered Geography of Marriage." Romance on a Global Stage: Pen Pals, Virtual Ethnography, and "mail-order" Marriages. Berkeley: University of California, 2003. 145-74.
Hershatter, Gail. "National Modernity." Women in China's Long Twentieth Century. Berkeley: Global, Area, and International Archive, 2007. 79-106.
"Love in the Buff." Love in the Buff Media Asia Films. 19 Apr. 2012.
McMillin, Divya C. "Media as Postcolonial Saivor." International Media Studies. Malden, MA: Blackwell Pub., 2007. 66-100.
Yang, Mayfair Mei-hui. "The Seduction." Spaces of Their Own: Women's Public Sphere in Transnational China. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota, 1999. 278-307.
Lavin, Lau Hiu Laam
A nicely written review uncovering the interaction between gender, culture and power. The observation and analysis on stereotypes (between men and women, local and Mainland) are sharp and illustrative, which reflects the role of media in reinforcing some commonly held beliefs.
ReplyDeleteHowever, I wonder if the binary oppositions between the “inner beauty” of Hong Kong women and “outer beauty” of mainland women really serve well in this context. The Mainland lady, Youyou, is being constantly praised by different parties throughout the film, not just on her appearance but also some “inner qualities” she possessed. Though the film does re-assert a kind of in-group pride, it doesn’t condemn the outsiders as “bad” or “evil”. In fact both mainland characters (Youyou and Sam) are “too good to be true” (Chi Ming has mentioned in the film that Youyou is just “too perfect”)!