'Lust, Caution' stirs debate on sex and politics

时间：2007-12-05 08:29:34

（单词翻译:单击）

Dec.5 - A month after its release in the Chinese mainland, Ang Lee's award-winning film "Lust1, Caution" has been a permanent subject of debate for its explicit2 sexual content - or lack of it - and for its political undertones.

 

Containing bold sex scenes, the Venice Film Festival's Golden Lion winner for Best Picture had to be cut by seven sexually explicit minutes.

 

Unfazed, Chinese filmgoers have ensured the film has been a big hit on the mainland, with box office sales surpassing more than 100 million yuan (US$13.3 million) in just over two weeks.

 

Some were left unsatisfied by the deleted sex scenes, choosing to download the film from the Internet and, in some cases, traveling from southern Guangdong province to Hong Kong specifically to watch the steamy sections.

 

In online forums3, the movie ignited a new round of debate about the adoption4 of a film rating system in China. One critic said, "The true meaning of the film's screening in the Chinese mainland lies in renewing the debate of the rating system."

 

In 2001, Wang Xingdong, movie director, and a member of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, was one of the first to call for a film rating system, but over the subsequent six years, the idea has only remained on the lips of some senior officials of the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television (SARFT).

 

After watching the censored5 version of "Lust, Caution", Dong Yanbin, a doctoral student in Beijing, filed a lawsuit6 against SARFT as well as UME, the cinema showing the film, for infringing7 upon his "consumer rights", according to local media reports.

 

UME had violated the audience's "fair trade rights," while SARFT had infringed8 upon "society's public interest" by failing to implement9 a rating system that would allow adults to see the film, Dong said.

 

While most of the world is debating the explicit sex scenes, some critics have focused on the politically charged nature of the film.

 

Set in 1940s' Shanghai during the Japanese invasion, "Lust, Caution", based on a short story by Chinese novelist Eileen Chang, depicts10 a sexually charged relationship between an undercover female student activist11 and a Japanese-allied intelligence chief.

 

"The most striking part of the film is not sex, but politics," Yau Lop Poon, editor-in-chief of the Hong Kong-based Yazhou Zhoukan (Asian Weekly), wrote in the newspaper.

 

The film demonstrated "Chinese grief", depicting12 to a world audience a tragic13 period in history in which hundreds of millions of Chinese lived under the Japanese invasion, Yau wrote.

 

However, some critics and cultural experts lambasted the film in live debates organized by Beijing-based academic website "Utopia" for its negative political connotations, said Fan Jinggang, the website's manager.

 

"It is a political movie full of political metaphors14 ... it is an insult to virtuous15 Chinese women," said movie director Zhou Guojin in comments published on the website.

 

Zhu Dongli, a research fellow with an academy affiliated16 to China's Cultural Ministry17, was quoted on the website as saying, "the film is an insult to the Chinese nation ... it is hard to imagine the Israelis making a similar film".

 

In an open letter posted online, seven Beijing-based university students labeled the film an "obscene poison", accusing it of "degrading Chinese women martyears into prostitutes and worshipping pro-Japanese traitors18".

 
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点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 lust N8rz1     
n.性(淫)欲；渴(欲)望；vi.对…有强烈的欲望
参考例句：
  • He was filled with lust for power.他内心充满了对权力的渴望。
  • Sensing the explorer's lust for gold, the chief wisely presented gold ornaments as gifts.酋长觉察出探险者们垂涎黄金的欲念，就聪明地把金饰品作为礼物赠送给他们。
2 explicit IhFzc     
adj.详述的，明确的；坦率的；显然的
参考例句：
  • She was quite explicit about why she left.她对自己离去的原因直言不讳。
  • He avoids the explicit answer to us.他避免给我们明确的回答。
3 forums 68daf8bdc8755fe8f4859024b3054fb8     
讨论会； 座谈会； 广播专题讲话节目； 集会的公共场所( forum的名词复数 )； 论坛，讨论会，专题讨论节目； 法庭
参考例句：
  • A few of the forums were being closely monitored by the administrators. 有些论坛被管理员严密监控。
  • It can cast a dark cloud over these forums. 它将是的论坛上空布满乌云。
4 adoption UK7yu     
n.采用，采纳，通过；收养
参考例句：
  • An adoption agency had sent the boys to two different families.一个收养机构把他们送给两个不同的家庭。
  • The adoption of this policy would relieve them of a tremendous burden.采取这一政策会给他们解除一个巨大的负担。
5 censored 5660261bf7fc03555e8d0f27b09dc6e5     
受审查的，被删剪的
参考例句：
  • The news reports had been heavily censored . 这些新闻报道已被大幅删剪。
  • The military-backed government has heavily censored the news. 有军方撑腰的政府对新闻进行了严格审查。
6 lawsuit A14xy     
n.诉讼，控诉
参考例句：
  • They threatened him with a lawsuit.他们以诉讼威逼他。
  • He was perpetually involving himself in this long lawsuit.他使自己无休止地卷入这场长时间的诉讼。
7 infringing 9830a3397dcc37350ee4c468f7bfe45a     
v.违反（规章等）( infringe的现在分词 )；侵犯（某人的权利）；侵害（某人的自由、权益等）
参考例句：
  • The material can be copied without infringing copyright. 这份材料可以复制，不会侵犯版权。
  • The media is accused of infringing on people's privacy. 人们指责媒体侵犯了大家的隐私。 来自《简明英汉词典》
8 infringed dcbf74ba9f59f98b16436456ca618de0     
v.违反（规章等）( infringe的过去式和过去分词 )；侵犯（某人的权利）；侵害（某人的自由、权益等）
参考例句：
  • Wherever the troops went, they never infringed on the people's interests. 大军过处，秋毫无犯。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
  • He was arrested on a charge of having infringed the Election Law. 他因被指控触犯选举法而被拘捕。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
9 implement WcdzG     
n.(pl.)工具，器具；vt.实行，实施，执行
参考例句：
  • Don't undertake a project unless you can implement it.不要承担一项计划，除非你能完成这项计划。
  • The best implement for digging a garden is a spade.在花园里挖土的最好工具是铁锹。
10 depicts fd8ee09c0b2264bb6b44abf7282d37f6     
描绘，描画( depict的第三人称单数 )； 描述
参考例句：
  • The book vividly depicts French society of the 1930s. 这本书生动地描绘了20 世纪30 年代的法国社会。
  • He depicts the sordid and vulgar sides of life exclusively. 他只描写人生肮脏和庸俗的一面。
11 activist gyAzO     
n.活动分子，积极分子
参考例句：
  • He's been a trade union activist for many years.多年来他一直是工会的积极分子。
  • He is a social activist in our factory.他是我厂的社会活动积极分子。
12 depicting eaa7ce0ad4790aefd480461532dd76e4     
描绘，描画( depict的现在分词 )； 描述
参考例句：
  • a painting depicting the Virgin and Child 一幅描绘童贞马利亚和圣子耶稣的画
  • The movie depicting the battles and bloodshed is bound to strike home. 这部描写战斗和流血牺牲的影片一定会取得预期效果。
13 tragic inaw2     
adj.悲剧的，悲剧性的，悲惨的
参考例句：
  • The effect of the pollution on the beaches is absolutely tragic.污染海滩后果可悲。
  • Charles was a man doomed to tragic issues.查理是个注定不得善终的人。
14 metaphors 83e73a88f6ce7dc55e75641ff9fe3c41     
隐喻( metaphor的名词复数 )
参考例句：
  • I can only represent it to you by metaphors. 我只能用隐喻来向你描述它。
  • Thus, She's an angel and He's a lion in battle are metaphors. 因此她是天使，他是雄狮都是比喻说法。
15 virtuous upCyI     
adj.有品德的，善良的，贞洁的，有效力的
参考例句：
  • She was such a virtuous woman that everybody respected her.她是个有道德的女性，人人都尊敬她。
  • My uncle is always proud of having a virtuous wife.叔叔一直为娶到一位贤德的妻子而骄傲。
16 affiliated 78057fb733c9c93ffbdc5f0ed15ef458     
adj. 附属的, 有关连的
参考例句：
  • The hospital is affiliated with the local university. 这家医院附属于当地大学。
  • All affiliated members can vote. 所有隶属成员都有投票权。
17 ministry kD5x2     
n.(政府的)部；牧师
参考例句：
  • They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
  • We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。
18 traitors 123f90461d74091a96637955d14a1401     
卖国贼( traitor的名词复数 )； 叛徒； 背叛者； 背信弃义的人
参考例句：
  • Traitors are held in infamy. 叛徒为人所不齿。
  • Traitors have always been treated with contempt. 叛徒永被人们唾弃。

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