In the movie, Raising the Red Lantern, Chinese culture in the early twentieth century was portrayed very well. The film depicted the male dominance of the culture in general, highlighting the massive dependence upon men in marital situations. Most of the time, men chose who they would marry, how many times they would marry, and whether or not their wives would survive to see the next ones come along. The union in the movie was no exception; the “Master,” as he was known by his four wives, was a very powerful man who, nightly, decided which wife he would go to bed with. Women were sorely looked down upon, being considered inferior in every way to the men of the Chinese culture.

If a woman was caught cheating on her husband, she was left at the mercy, or lack thereof, of her husband. As was the case

America does, however, still rely heavily on the male gender. When was the last time a woman even bothered to run for President? Never (drop-outs don’t count!!). Even if she had, it could almost be guaranteed that she would have lost the race to lead our nation to new heights based on not her leadership qualities and background as a stolid politician, but on the fact that she is a woman. Why is that still the case in a nation that preaches equality to all and a united nation under God? It is still the case because nobody is willing to take a chance, jumping into the fray, to move outside the mold of generations past and create a new shape for the future.

Hopefully, one day America will be in the shape to truthfully proclaim equality to all, but as of now, it’s just not the case. Perhaps we could learn lessons from the mistakes of other cultures, such a

Some topics in this essay:
China Women, Lantern Chinese, Modern America, Culture China, male dominance, woman’s job, chinese culture,