The Scent of Green Papaya revolves around the life of a Vietnamese girl named Mui. The movie is placed in 1950s, but later jumps to 1960s. Although this is a movie that can be predominately focused on the Vietnamese people, it is also a love story. At the beginning of the movie she leaves her mother, sister and village to work for a wealthy Vietnamese family as a servant. Mui learns that the master has left the family three times with all of the money, yet each time her returns he is accepted back. This portrays the power of men over women in Vietnam during this time. The men control everything in the household, and the wives, although not servants, are treated similar to them. In the beginning scenes, the women are seen doing all of the household chores such as cooking and cleaning, while the men play their instruments. This distinguishes the the gender roles of Vietnam in which women are left to the house while men are left to themselves.
Another aspect that is quickly noticed in the movie is the lack of noise. There are very few conversations through out the movie, yet there are sounds of nature, birds, crickets and wind, that resonate throughout. This could symbolize the Vietnamese' simplicity and connection to nature. Being in a tropical environment with few buildings and technology, there is nothing to connect to but nature. This allows them to lead a life of simplicity and peace.
A third major symbol seen in the movie pertains to the scene in which the master's son lights a candle and pours wax over the ants. This could be seen as the murder of the Vietnamese people during the war. The boy shows little emotion which could be seen as the American's nonchalant attitude toward the war. In the movie, the master is constantly reminded of the curfew which allows the viewer to know it is wartime.
In the last scene of the movie, Mui and her master Khuyen end up falling in love. Khuyen was engaged to another Vietnamese women but the engagement was broken off. In most cultures like these marriages are arranged, but Khuyen breaks the conventional bonds and falls for Mui. In the last few lines Mui speaks of a cherry tree and even though it under goes many changes it still remains a cherry tree. I feel this symbolizes Mui and the many changes she has undergone throughout the movie. She has gone from being a servant to the wife of a wealth off Vietnamese man, but she is still Mui.
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The Scent of Green Papaya revolves around the life of a Vietnamese girl named Mui. The movie is placed in the early1950s, but later jumps to 1960s. Although this is a movie that can be predominately focused on the Vietnamese people, it is also a love story. At the beginning of the movie she leaves her mother, sister and village to work for a wealthy Vietnamese family as a servant. Mui learns that the master has left the family three times and takes all of family’s money with him. His wife is left to support the family with the profits from her small fabric store. This shows how hard the Vietnamese women worked, while many of their husbands did nothing. Although the master abandons the family each time he returns he is accepted back into the home without being questioned. This portrays the power of men over women in Vietnam during this time. The men control everything in the household, and the wives, although not servants are treated with the same amount of respect as a servant would be given. In the beginning scenes, the women are seen doing all of the household chores such as cooking and cleaning, while the men play their instruments. This distinguishes the gender roles of Vietnam in which women are left to the house while men are left to themselves.
ReplyDeleteAnother aspect that is quickly noticed in the movie is the lack of noise. There are very few conversations throughout the movie, yet there are sounds of nature, birds, crickets and wind, that resonate throughout. This could symbolize the Vietnamese' simplicity and connection to nature. Being in a tropical environment with few buildings and technology, there is nothing to connect to but nature. Another reason for the lack of noise and simplicity of their lives could be a result of their religion. Many Vietnamese people follow the Buddhist religion which highlights the importance of mind, body, and soul. Buddhists follow the Noble 8 Fold Path which consists of ideas such as right effort and right mindfulness. In the case of right mindfulness man is supposed to put himself away from the greed and stress that the outside world brings. In this movie it is evident that peace of mind, self thought, and reflection are more important and more meaningful than the chaos brought through talking and noise.
A third major symbol seen in the movie pertains to the scene in which the master's son lights a candle and pours wax over the ants. This could be seen as the murder of the Vietnamese people during the war. The boy shows little emotion which could be seen as the American's nonchalant attitude toward the war. In addition to this, the master is constantly warned of the curfew. The curfew allows the viewer to realize it is wartime, but at the same time it shows how much control the Americans had over the Vietnamese society. The Americans imposed this curfew even though it was not their government or land.
In the last scene of the movie, Mui and her master Khuyen end up falling in love. Khuyen was engaged to another Vietnamese women but the engagement was called off. In most Asian cultures prearranged marriages are a norm, but in this movie Khuyen breaks the conventional bonds and falls for Mui. In the last few lines Mui speaks of a cherry tree which can represent two things-Mui or the country of Vietnam. A cherry tree may go through many phases such as growing buds, blossoming, bearing fruit, and death; however, in the end it still remains a cherry tree. This could symbolize Mui and the many changes she undergoes throughout the movie. She has gone from being a servant to the wife of a wealthy Vietnamese man, yet remains as the woman Mui. The cherry tree could also be seen as a symbol of Vietnam. The Vietnam War destroyed the lives of millions of people, and destroyed a beautiful land, but after everything that had occurred it still remained Vietnam.