Choose 1 from 3 topics below Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Choose 1 from 3 topics below - Essay Example Released in 1937 and directed by Yuan Muzhi, Street Angel is one such Chinese film that shows the society’s gender roles. According to the films, girls are vulnerable groups who must always live in a specific manner and in the guidance of a family. The two sisters, Xiao Hong and  Xiao Yun flee the war in in North Eastern parts of China to Shanghai. Girls are always more likely to suffer massive loses in cases of war among other types of conflicts. The same is the case in the film since the girls have to flee their hometown in order to avoid brutal murder in the wars. The developers of the film portray the vulnerability of the two girls from the beginning of the film where the girls cannot survive in the war torn areas in the North Eastern parts of the country and must therefore flee. The film shows that among those fleeing are women and children. Women and children belong to the same category owing to their vulnerability and defenseless nature especially in cases of such militarized conflicts. They must therefore seek refuge in safe parts of the country. The fact that gender roles are cultural features of a society implies that the roles are as dynamic as cultural and social values are. Cultures change with time and this often influences the gender roles in the society, which must always conform to the prevailing values. Wars are social features that epitome the internal or external conflicts in a society. During wars, people disregard the social and cultural values since they seek to resolve their conflicts after which they will create new social structures. The film begins with a war in North Eastern part of China. The war creates mayhem in which causes deaths of children and rape of women and girls. Such basic occurrences expose women and children to an unfamiliar harshness. This validates the need for the two vulnerable