Seventeenth. The Goddess by Wu Yonggang (1934)

The Goddess (1934)
Director: Wu Yonggang

For this film, I watched with my friends Pei Shan and Xiao Ting! This is the conversation that we had after watching the film. We didn't really like it a lot maybe because it's a silent film. But this is my second glimpse of Ruan Lingyu and this was the third last film she acted in before she died in 1935.


Me: So how you all feel about the movie?

Xiaoting: mmm… I guess it was quite boring.

Me: yeah I think it was quite boring too. The story is kind of cliché about how a single woman tries to give the best for her son against all odds.

Peishan: But I think right… we cannot forget this is actually done in 1934!

Xiaoting: Yeah, the theme of having prostitutes in the past in China is something that is not very glorious.

Me: Yet the director actually named this film the goddess…

Peishan: By right the goddess in the past refers to someone who is pure and filled with love. But this time what we see is a prostitute that is often looked down by the society.

Xiaoting: Then I guess the director really does have an open mind at that point of time because these kind of undying love for her child is often… erm overlooked by everyone in China…

Me: Maybe it was sort of an autobiography of himself and that’s how he wants to repay his mum… or like pay a tribute to her as he appreciates her benevolent love!

Peishan: Haha.. maybe.. I think Ruan Lingyu is really pretty…

Xiaoting: Yeah… during that time she really has a lot of elegance!

Me: I hate the fat fat guy that treats her like she’s his property. Like some ‘jikopeh’ know!

Peishan: Err.. in the film he actually is a ‘jikopeh’ haha.

Me: Oh yeah, that explains. But I’m quite sure that during that time I would have hated these kind of men in China who think they are so big because they have power and money and because they are guys. But then again, if I were to be in that era, I would have conformed to the society’s standards.

Peishan: Her life must be damn hard...from the way she looks and how tired she gets after every night We should give credit to this film because it is done such a long time ago!
Peishan: Yeah I think so too, the part where she is with her son is so soothing. It kind of brought to me that she really loves him a lot.

Xiaoting: Well, I bet your mother loves you as much.

Peishan: I am grateful for that… (:

Me: Me too! But I almost fell asleep while watching the film hahah. Oops.

Peishan: The review says that in China at that time she is actually portrayed as an independent woman because of that kind of strong determination that she has. Well, we wouldn’t know what had happened to her husband. But in the film she wasn’t well-liked by many people right…

Xiaoting: Yeah kind of, you can see it from other people’s expression when they look at her. It looks like they are disgusted with her but some do look like they pity her because of her status and her son.

Me: Well, even for us, in our society if we just look at a prostitute there are some kind of stereotypes that appear in our minds, like those negative kind, but we’ll never know if they are actually working to support their own children.

[1] Wu Yonggang – Shen nü / The Goddess (1934). Retrieved on 29 April 2011 from http://somewordsandplaces.wordpress.com/2009/05/12/wu-yonggang-shen-nu-the-goddess-1934/