On “Pushing Hands” from the Intercultural Perspective

1、On “Pushing Hands from the Intercultural PerspectiveLiu+Wei【Abstract】Inthispaper，IamgoingtoanalyzetheconflictsandproblemsthatareshowninAngLeesfilmPushingHandsfromtheperspectiveofinterculturalcommunication.Thisfilmrevealsthattheremaybenotperfectequalitybetweencultures；however，thereisgreatpossibilityt

2、hatthetwoculturesdevelopfromconflictstofusionwithself-adjustmentandmoremutualunderstandingbetweencultures.【Keywords】intercultural；conflicts；fusion1.AnIntroductionoftheFilmThefilmPushingHandstellsthestoriesinthefamilies，betweenthetraditionaloldparentsandtheirwesternizedoffspring.ItisaboutanelderlyChi

3、neseman，Mr.Chu，aconservativeChinesefromBeijingimmigratingtotheunitedstate，afterhisretirementtolivewithhisson，Americandaughter-in-lawMartha，andgrandsoninNewYork.However，becauseofthedeeplanguageandculturalgap，bothheandMarthawereunwillingtolearnothersnativelanguageandaccepttheirrespectivelifestyle；some

4、frictionsweregraduallyemergedbetweenthemduringhisstayinAmerica.Moreover，ithasexploreddeeplytheissuesofinterculturalandgenerationalconflicts，whichbecomethebackboneofthefilmworks.2.InevitableCulturalConflictsWhentheEastMeetstheWest2.1TheConflictsinMaterialCulturesWhenpeoplefromdifferentculturalbackgro

5、undscomeacrossandcommunicate，theirdifferencesareobviousandeasilycauseconflictsbetweenfamilymembers.Inthefilm“PushingHands，Martha，thewhitedaughter-in-lawbecamebadtemperedforthesmallnessofthehouse，especiallywhentheoldMr.Chuscomingtoliveindisturbsherregularpaceoflife.Soherfriend，arealestatebaronsvisits

6、eemedtobringaperfectsolution.ItisnothardtoseethattherealproblemforMarthaiscompletelynottheoldMr.Chusunexpectedcomingwhichlookslikemakingherlifesobadevenlikeamess；onthecontrary，itisjustthatsheisnotreadyenoughtoshareaplace，orinotherwords，justthesameworkroomwithanoldman.Sonothingisbetterthananewandbigg

7、erhouse.However，fromthedialogue，weknowtheoldMr.ChussonAlexopposestothisidea.Why？Theapparentreasonistheshortofmoney.Butinfactasthedialoguegoes，wegettoknowoneofthemainreasonsisnotthelackofmoney.AndwecanseethatfromAlexsnegativecommentsonLinda.“FromMaoistrevolutionarytorealestatebaron，ifthereisonethingw

8、orsethanacommunist，itisanex-communistwhohasbecomeacapitalist.Sheisnotdoingusabigfavor，buttryingtosellusahouseagain.Sothethingthatreallymattersisthat，inaChinesewayofthinking，Alexbelievedthattheonlydifferenceforhisfathersmovinginistheyneedonemorebedroomfortheoldman；thewholeplaceisreallybigenoughforthe

9、familytolive.Tobuyanewoneisnotanecessity，butrathersortofawasteofmoneyandanotherwayofluxurylife.ThisincidentmakesusrealizethateventhoughAlexhaslivedintheUnitedStatesforsolong，andhislifeiscompletelyAmerican-styled，somethinginhismindisstillsoChinese，deepandrooted.HisAmericanwifescomplaintistrulyunderst

10、andable，butnotsoreasonableinAlexstraditionalopinion.2.2TheConflictsinIdeologicalCulturesLanguageisalwaysthefirstbarriertocrossintermsofculturalcommunication.Atthesametime，wecanfeelthathowwoefulitshouldbetoliveinaperfectstrangelandorplacewithoutknowingitslanguageatall.AnditiswhathappenstotheoldMr.Chu

11、.HeknowsnoEnglish，andhisallwhitedaughter-in-lawMarthaknowsnoChinese，sothereisnodialogueatallbetweenthetwoimportantfamilymembers.Thebeginningof“PushingHands，7minutesandnotawordissaid.Suchasilentbeginningcreatesincrediblystuffyatmosphere.Thehousethefilmcharactersliveinisabigoneandseemssoniceandcomfort

12、able.Butthesilencemakesthelovelyhouseabitcoolandalackofwarmthorvitality.“God，heisreallygettingyoudownMartha'sfriendsurprisedathowupsetanddepressedshelookslike.Whatmakesthingsworseisherhusband，Alex'nounderstandingofherpoorfeelingsandthedispleasureeventuallyturnstheireasytalkintoaquarrelbetwee

13、nthemixedcoupleandthenacompletedisappointmentofeachother.Unliketheyoung，thattheagedcometoAmericaandlivewiththechildrenusuallyforashelterandcannotadaptthemselvestoabrandnewenvironmentquicklyenough.Languageisthefirsttoughissuetheyareconfronted.Thesilencecausedbylanguagesenhancestheculturalriftbetweent

14、hefamilymembers.Andmoreproblemsinlifearedriftedfromthedeadlysilence.3.TheCulturalFusionintheDelicatelyHarmoniousFamily3.1MutualAcceptanceandUnderstandingintheFamilyInthisfilm，culturalandgenerationaldifferencesarefoundinmanytinydetailsandtheconflictsaresosevereandsometimesturnouttobeunsolved.Itisstri

15、kingthatduringdinner，MarthaandJeremyuseforkstoeatwhileoldMr.ChuandAlexusechopsticks.WhenoldMr.ChuteachesTaiChi，moststudentswearnoshoesparticularlydesignedforpracticingKungFubuttheNikeshoes.AndwhenMr.ChuandMrs.Chentalkinthecommunitycenter，behindtheoldmanisanAmericanflagwhilebehindMrs.ChenisapieceofCh

16、inesecalligraphy.WeiTungusesafraudmarriagetokeephislieandcheatparents.ThesilentwartakesplacebetweenMarthaandhisChinesefather-in-law.Suchsubtledisplaysofculturaldifferencesareclear.ThesimilarhappyendinginPushingHandsisthateveryonewasmuchhappierthanbefore.Alexboughtanewhouse，muchbiggerthantheoldone.Ev

17、enMartha，theAmericandaughter-in-lawlearnedtoaccepttheChinesetraditionalfather，whichissymbolizedbyherdecoratingtheguestroomforhimandaskingthequestionifhewouldevervisit.AndshelearnedtocooktheChinesedish“springrollandbecameinterestedintheChinesecultureandstartedtowriteanewnovelaboutafatherbroughtoverto

18、workontherailroad.3.2TheRealizationofCulturalFusionThedemonstrationsoftheconflictsbetweeneasternandwesternculturesinthepushinghandsarereallyvividandincisive.BecausegreatlyinfluencedbytheWestcultures，theyounggenerationismucheasiertobeacceptedbythemainstreamofAmerica.DeeplyrootedintheChinesetraditiona

19、lcultures，thegrowingmissingforthehomelandandthelanguageproblemsputthemintoadilemma.Ontheonehand，thedominantlanguageandculturetrytopressonthedominatedpeople，especiallythenewcomersintheland.Ontheotherhand，thedominantculturesrefusetoacceptthedominatedpeople.Insuchrestrictions，thepressuresarenotonlyfrom

20、thelanguagebutfromtheunequalinterculturalcommunication.Problemsandconflictsbecomenaturallyinevitable.Theoldimmigrantsareforcedtomediatebetweentwocultures.So，alifeinChinatownfortheconvenienceofthelanguageandthefamiliaritieswithChinesetraditionsisalmosttheonlywayavailabletheycouldescapefromtheAmerican

21、mainstream.IntheFancilyTrilogy，AngLeedemonstratestheconfusionsoftheoldChineseimmigrantsvividlythrougholdMr.Chu'sencounters.However，AngLeemakeshisexplosioninthepossibilityofgettingaccesstothemainstreamculture.ManyoldChinesetraditionalculturescannotfitwesternculturealongwithdevelopmentofmodernsoci

22、ety.Modifyingtheoldandfatuousandabsorbingessenceisthemostimportantmission.Forinstance，inChinatown，inanoisyactivitycommunitycentre，oncefullofsightareoldpeopleplayingmahjongdayafterdaywithnospecialpurposebuttokilltime.Itwasawaytoescapefromrealityandself-relief.Butattheendwhatweseeisthehilariousandpros

23、peroussceneofpeoplepracticingTaiChihereandthere.WeevennoticeafewwhiteAmericansscatteredamongthem.4.ConclusionCulturesareanindispensablepartofsociety.Culturespresenthugediversityaroundtheworld.Asoneofthemostimportantfactorsofcommunication，thedifferencesofculturesareboundtocausevariousproblemsandevenc

24、onflicts.Theworldisgettingsmaller，andtheculturalcommunicationisbecomingmorefrequentthaneverbefore.Thereforeissuesaboutculturalcommunicationhaveneverattractedsomuchattentionastoday.WiththefurtheropeningpoliciesinChina，wehavelearntmoreabouttheworldandalsoneedtobeacceptedbytheworld.Interactionsbetweennationsforceustoholdanacceptableattitudetowardsdifferences.Win-winandmutualbenefi