The World of Women

koan · Post by **koan** » Tue Dec 12, 2006 6:06 am

There is a film called Raise The Red Lantern that matured my vision of the world around me, as a woman. For whatever reasons, be they historical or a part of female nature, women manipulate the people around them in a different way then men do. Yes, this is a generalisation but one that I've found more true than not.

In the film, the women are wives of the master of the each with their own 'house' within it. We never see the man's face as the story is not about him, it is about how these women structure their hierarchy within their closed environment. The lanterns symbolise who is in favour. It is the object of competition. None of the women actually care about being most loved by the master, they care about showing the other women that they are the favourite.

Along with the prestige comes the foot massage. The massage is given with little rattle type hammers that echo throughout the household. Every night as the woman for whom the lanterns were raised receives her special treatment, the others are made keenly aware that the favour is not in their house. At one point, the heroine gets sick of the games and decides that she doesn't want to play anymore. She shuns the master and feels nothing but contempt at the rattling of the hammers. But, before long, she realises that her whole world is being shaped by the whims of the person in favour and as long as she refuses to play the game she will always live under their rule.

As the film progresses it is revealed that the woman that seems to be the kind one and the one that seems to be the aggressive are actually the opposite of how they were perceived. As they all struggle to survive the games, tragedy befalls those we care about and the winner of the game is left sitting with a smile on her face that even she knows has become meaningless.

The film ends with the knowledge that none of the things any of the women went through will ever change the game. The best we can do is decide how we will play it.

The film deals strictly with the world of the wives. No man's face is seen on camera. Though larger parallels can be drawn to society in general I've always carried the powerful memory of this film as a reminder of how much is at play between people whether they realise it or not. As in the film there are true friendships and then there are those that are manipulative illusions. Some are strong, some are weak some lose their strength and some stand steadfast. If I look to my upbringing I can see that most of what I rebelled against was the idea of how I should conduct myself, as a woman, in society. If I look around me, I can see the multitude of "game theories" at play, whether the woman is conscious of it or not. I wonder how men perceive the world of women and how much, if at all, they really understand it.

RedGlitter · Post by **RedGlitter** » Tue Dec 12, 2006 6:12 am

Wow, great post!

I haven't seen this film but I will look for it. Your description, Koan, makes me want to check it out.

I can relate to this. I can see it around me. I try to avoid "women games" but every now and then, I can get bogged down in them. I too would like to see a man's take on this and I'd like to know why men don't seem to have this trouble- or do they and it just isn't recognized by women?

koan · Post by **koan** » Tue Dec 12, 2006 6:26 am

RedGlitter;483671 wrote: I too would like to see a man's take on this and I'd like to know why men don't seem to have this trouble- or do they and it just isn't recognized by women?

That is what I'm keen to find out. I hope the men of FG take over this thread.

buttercup · Post by **buttercup** » Tue Dec 12, 2006 6:43 am

doubt they will koan, busy dealing with the multitude of male game theories without trying to understand ours as well :-6

Is it a sub title film, chinese maybe? i seen one that examined the relationships between mothers & daughters over a few generations, think you would enjoy it but damned if i can remember the name of it, something to do with a swan feather

buttercup · Post by **buttercup** » Tue Dec 12, 2006 6:51 am

I remembered, joy luck club

RedGlitter · Post by **RedGlitter** » Tue Dec 12, 2006 6:53 am

That was an excellent book. :-6

koan · Post by **koan** » Tue Dec 12, 2006 7:01 am

I haven't read the Joy Luck Club. The name always bothered me. Guess I'll have to try it out.

Red Lantern is a subtitled film. It's like a Chinese Ingmar Bergman film.

I hope the men take a break from their role playing to contribute here. I'd love to see a partner thread called "The World of Men"