Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon Essay

Li Ang’s “The lost Garden” and Ang Lee’s “Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon” are both stories with love as a central theme, both these works however touch on more than just that. Gender issues are addressed in both works; while they may differ in representation both show the inner workings of the male and female roles in Asian culture. With a strong patriarchal figure in Li Ang’s novel, compared to the strong female charters in Ang Lee’s film. The use of class systems is also represented in both works. An example being the contrast of the newly rich construction developers, versus the prestigious families that date back centuries. Even though they are based in different times, tradition and culture is a central theme to both the movie and book. While they may have different Positions on the issues of gender and class, they both describe the parting of old tradition and the Influence modern culture has on them. My goal in this paper is to compare and contrast the gender and class conflicts that arise in these two works, and how they describe Asian culture at that time. …show more content…
Li and Yu belong to the “fighter” class, an independent and moral group of people. Jen Yu however belongs to the upper aristocratic class, known by established families that go back generations and control using money. She is being forced to marry another upper class man to further gain family prowess. Where in “the bride’s incorporation into her husband’s family are recurring elements” (Chin 22). She rebels and attempts to join the “fighter” class. She wants to be free form the traditional inner class duties she is expected to preform. This subject of independence and freedom from “tradition” is a key aspect in the movie. On top of that it is expected for classes to marry within those same classes. Jen Yu again breaks this custom by running off with a bandit of the lower