‘Memoirs of a Geisha,’ the coming of age story of a young Japanese woman who at nine-years-old is sold into slavery to learn the life of a geisha is based on the bestselling novel by American author Arthur Golden and has been nominated for seven Oscars including Best Art Direction, Cinematography and Costume Design and stars China’s biggest stars, Ms. Ziyi Zhang, Ms. Michelle Yeoh and Ms. Li Gong as the three most beautiful courtesans.
Some simply find it “a bit quirky” that a film that depicts a historical Japan would be starring Chinese while others pay no mind whatsoever. The Chinese government last weekend determined that “such cross-dressing may be potentially inflammatory” and fear that the casting of the three Chinese actresses as glorified prostitutes may revive resentment over the horrific sexual abuse suffered by thousands of Chinese women during the occupation of WWII.
Since WWII when Japan occupied China and committed atrocities such as the massacre of 300,000 Chinese including women and children, relations between China and Japan have been complicated. Last year tensions increased for the first time in decades when the Japanese government approved the publication of a history textbook that the Chinese believe minimizes the war crimes committed against their people. China and their people have yet to forgive the actions of Japan’s military and believe that Japan has not as of yet atoned for their brutal occupation of China. In fact in April of 2005 the Chinese took to the streets in protest over Japan’s wartime aggression and tension remains high still today.
In America going to the movies is part of our culture; no matter how many video stores pop up there will always be movie buffs and those movie lovers who insist on experiencing the cinema experience. I am one of those Americans. There are many movies that are so big they must be experienced on the “big screen” for full affect. Titanic, Star Wars and, in my humble opinion, Memoirs of a Geisha should be experienced in this same way.
The Chinese do love their movies, but with cinema houses being a luxury not all communities can afford and the government’s strict quota system allowing for only about 15 American films per year to reach the big screen, Hollywood films are not a huge part of Chinese cinema. But with more and more demand for American films the people have found their way of circumventing the system, it’s called the DVD and it’s in huge demand. Such huge demand in fact that law enforcement has difficulty preventing the distribution of pirated DVDs. They are available for purchase everywhere, including your neighborhood flower shops and fruit stands where DVDs are set out in plain site to draw in consumers.
That’s right, the people of China will be enjoying Memoirs of a Geisha despite the political ban. In fact, Memoirs has been available on DVD in China for weeks in very high quality via the pirated DVD. January through March is always the very best time to buy pirated DVDs in China – which is how the majority enjoy movies – because the films vying for nomination are sent to all voting members of the academy, the international press in Hollywood and elsewhere and end up being immediately copied and placed on the Chinese blackmarket.