Useless Film Analysis

The film Useless by Jia Zhang-ke is a film like nothing I have ever seen before. The film is one in which Zhang-ke explores the many realities of Chinese culture; the culture that the Chinese receive from elsewhere, the culture that has been created by the exploitation of the working class, and Chinese culture from the perspective of the outsider (the viewer). By exploring three features of the clothing industry in China, Jia delicately explores the monetary and imaginative options of not just factory workers, tailors and clothing designers, but his own issues as an independent filmmaker contending with the struggles of, maintaining personal relations, gaining fame through his art and personal expression. Jia Zhang-ke made the documentary to …show more content…
In the film, Jia shows Chinese culture as one that is very involved in transnational culture. The Chinese consumption of high end objects and fashion was a theme that was present in the film. The Chinese whether being rich or not, invested in the practice of commodity fetishism. The film showed the culture of China being one where people are obsessed with the idea of what these items mean in western culture. The Chinese in the film were infatuated with trying to emulate western culture at any cost. Which is the reason that there have been so many fake brands that circulate in China and make these people feel as if they are worth more than the other people. A great example of commodity fetishism in this movie is when they cut to the scene of the women talking in the clothing store. They talk about how each different brand represents a different type of person and how they associate the brand with a certain type of person. China, from the film seemed to be a place in which the consumers are absolutely distracted by brand and commodity rather than functionality. Globalization of not only commodities but also values has made China no different from western …show more content…
The film shows how factories treat their workers, and the daily struggle that the workers must go through to provide for their homes. The workers of China are exploited by the industry and made to work in terrible conditions just to survive. Jia captures a moment of the workers having to hop a fence to get into the cafeteria for lunch, an example of the many struggles these workers go through. The irony of the exploitation in this piece is the quote provided by Ma Ke about her quest for connection with creating her products. Ma Ke claimed that everything that she produces, she has a connection with. However, Ma Ke has no part in creating the clothes, so how could she possibly have a personal connection with the product. The workers are asked to be willingly exploited and not hold value in the product, because they receive nothing from it. The workers are exploited because when Ma Ke goes to fashion week and is shown in the spotlight for being a great creator, nobody recognizes the true creators, which are the workers that work for hours every day on these products that give Ma Ke fame. This is the case in which, I claim that the film makes American and European viewers feel as if we are accomplices to the exploitation. We are the ones that hold Ma Ke in great value for being the “creator” and completely forget