Final Paper on Raise the Red Lantern. Research Paper

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FINAL PAPER ON RAISE THE RED LANTERN
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Reflection Paper 2
Raise the Red Lanterns is a Chinese movie which was directed by Zhang Yimou and produced in 1991. Its setting reflects majorly the Warlord Era in which the practice of concubinary was common. It stars Gong Li as Songlian who acts as a nineteen-year-old girl who is among the few educated women in the land. After her father's death, Songlian's stepmother forces her to get married to Master Chen, a rich old man in the Chen genealogy. After getting married, she realizes that she is the fourth wife, being preceded by the other three. Among these were Yuru, who was of almost the same age as the master of the house. Zhou Yun was the second wife who immediately befriended Songlian when she arrived in the place, while the third wife was Meishan, a former singer of Opera music.
Being the fourth wife or third concubine and also new at that time, Songlian gets richly treatment which includes foot massages, best food menu, and red lanterns lit in her room every night. She enjoys the moments and the regular visit by her husband almost every night. Later, Songlian realizes that the same treatment is usually given to all other concubines whenever the master visits them at night. She also realizes that the master only allows the red lanterns to be lit in the house of the concubine that he plans to spend the night with. Another realization was that there was a deep form of jealousy and competition that the women exercised in their bid to attract and maintain their husbands. Due to these factors, Songlian joins in the competition, an event that leaves her insane. This essay assesses the different factors that led Songlian to willingly or forcefully participate in the 'games' that led to her eventual victimization.
Having been married into a rich family, Songlian willingly accepted her situation and decided to be part of the family. Although she was an educated girl who had gone even to college, she delighted in the soft and richly treatments that she received the moment she arrived in her matrimonial home. The more they treated her well, the more she found contentment and relaxation so that when the master ordered the servants to cease concentrating on her, she was already in a state where she could have done anything to reinstate her former glory. Therefore, when she realizes that her husband’s attention must be vied for and earned, she willingly joins the game. As a result, she feigns to be pregnant. However, when Yan’er, her maidservant, finds some bloodstained underclothes in Songlian’s room, she reports that her master had just experienced her menstruation periods, a situation that makes Songlian to get banned from receiving visitations from her husband.
The life of Songlian drastically changes when she finds herself in a big house full of secrets and rules. Even as she struggles to find her place in the house and battling if she can accept it, the maze of architecture stands for the general unawareness of how inferior the woman is. Her life is of even less value as shown by the small room that the second concubine is hanged to death. Songlian's...