User:Carberau/Li Shuangshuang (film)

Li Shuangshuang
Li Shuangshuang (李双双 Lǐ Shuāngshuang) is a 1962 Chinese comedy film written by Li Zhun and directed by Lu Ren. Filmed and set during The Great Leap Forward, it focuses on a peasant (Li Shuangshuang) who is married to a man (Sun Xiwang). Sun Xiwang is an old-fashioned man and he struggles to understand the changing social circumstances of the era. Unlike her husband, Li Shuangshuang is a model member of society who condemns the laziness and corruption of other members of the commune. Shuangshuang, sick of staying at home and working on domestic labor, leads the commune to take part in the progress of The Great Leap Forward.

The story of Li Shuangshuang first appeared in The People's Literature in 1960. After becoming a huge success amongst China’s citizens it was made into a movie. The story was next adapted into a comic strip so it could be easily enjoyed by all. This form of replicating the same story into multiple mediums was common during the early Mao Period. Films like Li Shuangshuang were produced with the goal of “assist[ing] with current political, social, and economic campaigns. For education as much as entertainment, these films presented model characters in model situations”. Thus the film contributed to a series of shameless propaganda promoting an idealized version of what life could be like in a commune.

The film garnered huge success winning the second Hundred Flowers Award for best feature film in 1963 from a countrywide spectator vote. Lead Actress Zhang Ruifang was also awarded the Hundred Flowers Award for Best Actress for her performance.

Plot
The movie begins with Sun Xiwan, bragging to his friends about how his wife obeys him. The other men admire her skills and their happy marriage. However, when they arrive at their house Xiwan learns his wife is quarrelling with another neighbor. Li Shuangshuang accuses the neighbor of stealing from the commune while being lazy at work. Xiwan tries to break up their fight but Shuangshuang only leaves after she has made her point.

In the next scene Li shuangshuang and the other village girls discuss the progress the commune is making. When they find out that the commune is in need of more laborers they insist they can help out, however, they are turned away since women can’t do heavy labor. The next day they go and work in the fields anyway. This upsets Sun Xiwan who is left at home to make his own dinner and care for their child. When Shuangshuang returns Xiwan has done none of the domestic work claiming that it is a woman's responsibility. They get into a fight and Shuangshuang kicks him out of the house.

While he is gone Shuanshuang and the other women conspire to create a system that works better for the collective. They believe women aren't farming or building because of the non-standardized working system. They decide to write down their solution and hang their advice in the village. The advice is received well and a village meeting is held to discuss the points Li Shuangshuang made. During the village meeting it is decided that more work will be given more pay. They then realize they will need a work point scorer. Sun Xiwang is nominated for the role, however he declines saying that he cannot do accounting. Li Shuangshuan counters him claiming he can and he taught her how. The commune decides to offer her the role instead, but her husband, embarrassed, insists he can do it better. Ultimately it is decided that both Sun Xiwang and a village girl Guiyang will take the position.

However, villagers begin to abuse the system, performing poor work quickly for more points. Li Shuangshuang is appalled by the corruption. After she learns that her husband has also been abusing the point system she reports his misdeeds to the commune. Because of her honesty she is appointed a role as cadre for the commune. When She returns Sun Xiwang threatens to leave if she does not stay in line and mind her own business. Li Shuangshuang tells him to go and he leaves. Li Shuangshuang then critiques council members who have been taking advantage of the system. Her remarks result in members accepting only the work points they earn.

While Xiwang is away from home one of the older village members advises him to return to his wife. At first he is resistant, however, after watching Li Shuangshuang and all the women happily working the fields he realizes the error of his ways. Xiwang returns home and they are happy again. However he admits to witnessing his friend taking advantage of the commune. Xiwang didn’t have the courage to rebuke his actions. Shuangshuang cries and leaves to report the crime to the party. This time Xiwang beats her to it and scolds his friend who finally sees the error of his ways. Thus the movie ends happily.

Historical Context
The film was released during the Mao era at the end of The Great Leap Forward. During this time mobilizing women to work for collective tasks was central to the party's efforts to raise agricultural production. Before this point rural communities often faced difficulties surviving the harvest season with enough to eat. The Great Leap Forward intended to change that by merging production units into vast communes. Communes in the countryside were so large they could include up to several hundred thousand people. Consequently many of the rural men left their villages to accomplish infrastructure projects far from their hometown. With so many of the men away rural communities were faced with an extreme labor shortage. Thus the party mobilized rural women to take action and accomplish the agricultural work that had historically been left to the men.

Exemplary workers could be selected as labor models where their good deeds would be publicized and touted as a way of motivating other women to mobilize and work hard for their commune. In addition to being talented laborers they had to maintain the domestic sphere as well. Li Shuangshuang illustrates a perfect example of what is expected of women during this time period. However, she differs from traditional labor models in one key way, she was not free from scandal. Traditional labor models had to be well liked by everyone in their community and free from any kind of gossip or impropriety.

Chinese Cinema
The CCP has had a long history of utilizing film as a way to disseminate propaganda throughout the nation. As early as 1950 the government created a quota system to ensure that the content of film productions aligned with the parties current concerns. By 1953 the distribution of “rural feature films '' that would cater to the peasant population became a top priority of government policymakers. Thus “stories about agricultural successes in agriculture and industry” were promoted during The Great Leap Forward.