Projects about Chinese Female Director Li Yu
Li Yu is a Chinese director. Many of her works focus on feminism. My project involves three of her films.
As a Chinese female, I can realize that Chinese feminism is in a state of positive development. More and more people are beginning to pay attention to women's living conditions and social status. I think this is a social situation that deserves attention. Film, as an art form integrated into the lives of the public, influences the public's thinking in a subtle way. Since the 1980s, female films have appeared in China. I noticed that as a minority group among directors, Chinese female directors pay more attention to women's issues. So, I want to use my projects, "Chinese Director Li Yu and Chinese Feminism from Her Perspective," to study how Chinese female directors express feminism and advocate for women's social status and social rights.
Presentation
Li Yu: Fish and Elephant 2001
The story follows the elephant keeper in the Beijing Zoo who maintains an aquarium of fish in her home (hence the two-animal title), and her lesbian lover, a fabric saleswoman in an outdoor market. Her relationship is tested, however, when her recently divorced mother returns to town in the hope of setting her daughter up in marriage. Further complicating matters is one of Xiaoqun's ex-lovers also returning to her life with the law in pursuit.
Video Essay
Chinese female director Li yu and her feminism film: Lost In Beijing
A young married woman, Liu Pingguo , works in a massage parlor for sleazy Lin Dong and his infertile wife, Wang Mei . One night, Lin finds Liu drunk and rapes her, while her window-washer husband, An Kun , helplessly watches. Furious, An attacks Lin's car and tries to blackmail him. When Liu discovers she's pregnant, the two couples come to an agreement: money for Liu if the child is Lin's, and nothing but custody if An is the father.
