A Study On Chinese And American Feminist Culture From The Images In The Movies Of The Color Purple And Raise The Red Lantern

This thesis attempts to bring forth two different feminist cultures in America and China through two feminist movies The Color Purple and Raise the Red Lantern.Female culture is a special form of human culture, referring to a cultural phenomenon which links to female characteristics. It mainly includes the unique female modes of activities, that is, natural activities, social activities, and spiritual activities—as well as material wealth and spiritual products which are created by and relied on by these special activities modes. Female culture is one of the signs which are different from male culture, having the characteristics of life culture, emotional culture and individual culture. Feminism originated from the humanism in the 18^th century and the Industrial Revolution in the 19^th century, which refers to the movement for political, social, and educational equality of women with men. Feminism is a critique of patriarchy which is a system of male authority oppressing women through its social, political, and economic institutions, as well as emancipation to women.Patriarchy means men dominate women in society in general. It implies that men hold power in all the important institutions of society and that women are deprived of access of such power. In patriarchal society, both Chinese and American women bear double oppression physically and mentally. Sisterhood, sometimes called sorority, includes the idea and experience of female bonding, and the self-affirmation and identity discovered in a women-centered vision and definition of womanhood. It is characterized by the pursuit with women-centered values, aims and objectives. In the two movies, different sisterhood and different feminist cultures lead to different fate of female images.The thesis consists of six chapters. The first chapter simply introduces the whole structure of the thesis. The second chapter gives an overview of culture and film, feminist film and feminism. The third chapter briefly introduces the background and plots of the two movies. The fourth chapter states and compares the different lives of female images in patriarchal society in the two movies. The fifth chapter presents different sisterhood between female images in the two movies. The last chapter makes a conclusion and indicates the approaches to women's liberation.