Movie Analysis Paper on The Joy Luck Club
Movie Analysis Paper
Psychology of Prejudice
The movie I selected is “The Joy Luck Club” that illustrates the gap and the misunderstanding between foreign-born mothers from China and their American-born daughters who are ignorant of their culture, life, morals, and ways. Jing-mei, the main character in the film, has taken her mother, Suyuan’s place playing mahjong in a weekly gathering that her deceased mother had organized in China and revived in San Francisco- The Joy Luck Club. The club’s other members- auntie Lindo, Ying-ying, and An-mei are three of her mother’s oldest friends and fellow immigrants. The movie, which was filmed after the success of the book by Amy Tan, alternates viewpoints from each set of mother-daughter’s story, in which each recalls the relationship with their own mothers. Following that, the daughters- Waverly, Jing-mei, Lena, and Rose, relate their recollections of their childhood relationships with their mothers. As they grow up, they narrate the troubles in their marriages and careers. The daughters’ search for solutions inevitably brings them back to their relationships with the older generation. Once I went over the movie list on the guideline, I instantly knew that I was going to choose this movie as the name popped up. The Joy Luck Club has always been one of my favorite books in my teenage years. I was first introduced to the book version by my English tutor in 7th grade, and found it fascinating as it reflects the similarity the movie has between my family and myself. My family emigrated from Taiwan to the U.S. when I was 9-years-old, so that partly made me an Asian American who can speak a decent amount of Chinese. Grewing up, I was aware of the clash between the two opposing cultures of the East and West as I interacted with friends from the American culture and parents from the Chinese culture. As I read the book, I can strongly relate the stories to my own personal experiences, like acting as “obedient daughter” by
Psychology of Prejudice
The movie I selected is “The Joy Luck Club” that illustrates the gap and the misunderstanding between foreign-born mothers from China and their American-born daughters who are ignorant of their culture, life, morals, and ways. Jing-mei, the main character in the film, has taken her mother, Suyuan’s place playing mahjong in a weekly gathering that her deceased mother had organized in China and revived in San Francisco- The Joy Luck Club. The club’s other members- auntie Lindo, Ying-ying, and An-mei are three of her mother’s oldest friends and fellow immigrants. The movie, which was filmed after the success of the book by Amy Tan, alternates viewpoints from each set of mother-daughter’s story, in which each recalls the relationship with their own mothers. Following that, the daughters- Waverly, Jing-mei, Lena, and Rose, relate their recollections of their childhood relationships with their mothers. As they grow up, they narrate the troubles in their marriages and careers. The daughters’ search for solutions inevitably brings them back to their relationships with the older generation. Once I went over the movie list on the guideline, I instantly knew that I was going to choose this movie as the name popped up. The Joy Luck Club has always been one of my favorite books in my teenage years. I was first introduced to the book version by my English tutor in 7th grade, and found it fascinating as it reflects the similarity the movie has between my family and myself. My family emigrated from Taiwan to the U.S. when I was 9-years-old, so that partly made me an Asian American who can speak a decent amount of Chinese. Grewing up, I was aware of the clash between the two opposing cultures of the East and West as I interacted with friends from the American culture and parents from the Chinese culture. As I read the book, I can strongly relate the stories to my own personal experiences, like acting as “obedient daughter” by