LifeFloating

495200718 Janine495200770 Edison495200782 Cathy

Floating Life

Joe496200698 Constance496200727DaphneTine

Outline• Background Introduction• Characters Analysis

– Sisters– Parents– Young Brothers– Brother

• Cinematography• Setting • Symbolic Meaning• Conclusion• Questions

IntroductionIntroductionConstance

Hong Kong

• Hong Kong was a dependent territory of the United Kingdom from 1842-1997

• Colonial Flag of Hong Kong, Used in the Past

• Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) After 1997

1984 Sino-British Joint Declaration

• Marked the end of British rule

• Transfer of sovereignty of Hong Kong to Chinese rule -The Handover/Reunification (1st July 1997)

The Hong Kong Mass Migration Wave1980s and 1990s

• 1984 Sino-British Joint Declaration – Prompted immigration of the Hong Kongers

• Reluctance of being ruled by the Communist party

• Past experiences of political unrest in China caused fear

• Tiananmen Square protestof 1989 (六四事件 ) in Beijing triggered mass migration in the 1990s

Destinations

• Hong Kong citizens would not be granted British citizenship

• Canada, USA, Australia

• Central Richmond of British Columbia, Canada ("Little Hong Kong“)

• Vancouver, Toronto, Sydney, Melbourne, Auckland, San Francisco and Singapore.

Number of Emigrants

• 250,000 to one million people

• 1988-1994 peak years of outflow: about 55,000 people/year

Synopsis• Floating Life is an Australian-produced drama about the experiences of a Hong Kong

family, who emigrates to Sydney a year before the handover.

Their eldest daughter Yen lives in Munich with her German husband.

Ma and Pa Chan move to Australia with their two adolescent sons to live with their second daughter (Bing) and her husband.

Bing is demanding towards her parents and younger brothers. She insists that the two boys speak English only and makes sure her parents understand the dangers in Australia.Their eldest son, Gar

Min (the family playboy) remains in Hong Kong to wait for his is immigration papers.

Structure of the Movie

• House in Australia • A house without trees• A house in turmoil• House in Germany • House in Hong Kong• A House in China

Theme: Chinese Diaspora

Family Tree

Family Tree

Mr. Chan

Mrs. Chan

Michael Yen

Mui Mui

Cheung

Bing

David

Gar Ming

Yue Chao

Apple Sandi

1m son

Characters Analysis

SistersCharacters Analysis

SistersJanine

Eldest sister: Yen Chan

• Married to a German: Michael• Personality:

- caring- brave- pious- soft-hearted- puts her family in priority

Yen Chan• Discontentment :

- regrets not being able to take care of her

parents- lack of identity- can’t speak fluent German- Cantonese is not Chinese

Yen Chan• Trying hard to get used to the life in Germany

- having a German friend accompany Mui Mui home- confronts with a Neo-Nazi at the mall- irony: still believes in feng-sui

• Psychosomatic symptom- itchiness from the paint

symbol of missing her parents in Australia

Second sister: Bing Chan

• Successful businesswoman• Married to an ex-astronaut: Ah-Cheung• Personality:

- repressive- bossy- controlling

• Cause of her negative personality:- isolation and loneliness

Bing Chan• “The House without Trees”

- scared of a mouse- seals the ceiling with tape

symbol of her repression- a love affair with the clerk from the

restaurant, David but kicked him out symbol of her control

Bing Chan

• “The House in Australia”- trying too hard to help her family members to

get used to Australia controlling their food, education and manner irony: her family members are tired and

scared all the time• “The House in Turmoil”

- neglects anyone who turn their back on her

Bing Chan

• Discontentment:- being alone for 7 years- a love affair with David

- over-controlling of her family members- workaholic- depression

• Walking out of depression:- the mother’s prayer

Differences between Yen & Bing

Yen Bing

Tries to blend in Germany

Reluctant to accept everything in Australia

Communicates with the two brothers

Militarily controls the two brothers

staying close to her rootsEx. feng-sui

rejecting the roots of her own cultureEx. praying to the ancestors burn down the house

Cares about her nationality

Thinks of the family as refugees

Quarrel between Yen & Bing

• Bing thinks of the family as extra burden- none of her parents or her brothers

understand her reasons- Yen and Gar Ming are not around to help- wants Yen to take them to Germany- descendants are useless, they won’t look

after you when you’re old

Characters Analysis

ParentsCharacters Analysis

ParentsCathy

Mr. Chan and Mrs. Chan• Personalities: optimistic, positive• Adjusting to the life in Australia while

preserving Chinese traditions• Emotional changes from the beginning

to the end• Their attitude toward the ancestors • Image of a traditional Chinese mother• Irony: Mr. Chan met his friend• The disappearance of traditions

Characters Analysis

BrothersCharacters Analysis

BrothersJoe

• First impression of Australia reminded Chau of horror movies.

• Yue and Chau help parents defy Bing’s rule and go out for a walk.

• They dream about going back to Hong Kong.• First likes Australia for the girls and sports. –

relates to the place in their own ways.• Both want to be taller. – struggle to fit in as

Asians.• In the house, under parents protection and

slight indulgence to pocket money and smokes, against Bing’s rule.

Observation

Park Scene• Feels peaceful when Big sister takes them to

the park• Both have doubts when asked how Bing

treats mom and dad.• Chau doubtfully “repeats” they need to learn

from 2nd sister to be independent, especially when they are Asians.

• Yue (older brother) is more braver to stand against Bing. Chao (younger brother) is softer and sympathetic.

• Yet both are afraid of Bing.

• Two brothers are used as battling chips by Bing against their parents.

• Yue ran away, even though he was also very scared.

• Chao stayed out of sympathy for and fear of Bing. But later also moved in with parents and was more comfortable there.

Youngest Asian Immigrants

• Fastest and least painful to adapt– Yue & Chau began to associate with and like Australia

through their own ways: girls and sports– Struggles as Asians in a white society

• Want to grow taller < struggle of Asian physique

• Still maintain Chinese filial piety– Did not give in to Bing’s proposition of a deal for its

benefits.Still went to live with parents.

• Yue did not give in; Chao only stayed out of sympathy for Bing.

while adapting to new environment, one never forgets his/her Asian roots.

Characters Analysis

Gar MingEdison

A House in HK: Gar Ming

Loneliness & AnxietyThe leading causes of Gar Ming’s erotic

life

1. The only one of the Chans in the Homeland2. Anxious about the future (1997) or life in Australia3. A stockbroker interesting in stock---money, material life

To deal with 1+2+3 sexual pleasure= seek for three-minute satisfaction = three-minute relief & comfort

Self-indulgence in love affairUncertaintyReason why he is afraid of making a

commitment

✗ Bring Sandi to Australia✗ Have a baby and go to Vancouver with Apple

✗ Answer Yen’s question: Go to Australia or not?

✔Agree with the Abortion

To deal with the uncertainty Having Love affair Responsibility

Turning Point

The Exhumation & Abortionreveals the indispensable family bond

1. Ancestors’ hard effort to settle down (“sit well”)2. Parents’ love is real, while love games provide only emptiness

1 & 2 are undeniable

Turning PointThe fetusMakes him think of his parents

1. The quick cease of the fetus: life is vulnerable

2. Once a life is born, the family bond exists forever.

3. sudden existence of the fetus

VS. his parents’ long struggling

Realization

1. A life is born to die: immortal life2. Uncertainty of life: when will it end?3. How much does it hurt to lose a family3. Certainty of family love. 4. Love is all about spiritual things.

Burden of family= responsibility = no more loneliness = no more reliance on sexual pleasure

CinematographyCinematography

Daphne

Structure

• Spatial framework represented by houses at different locations

• Plot of immigration supported by Chan family’s “orbit” around the different countries

• House (motif)– Isolates and contains inhabitants– National/cultural differences felt by immigrants

House in Australia

House in Germany

House in Hong Kong

House in turmoil

House in China

House without trees

A big House

Colors

• Australia hard-lighting, bleached, overexposed

• Germany blue tones, cold, bleak

• Hong Kong warm tones, yellow light

• Australia– Wide open

spaces, deserted streets

– Affective, dispositional break of immigration

– Shield from light (fear, anxiety)

– Stark whiteness of the house

• Germany– Emotional

displacement– Cold, hard,

lack of warmth

– Inside the house: initially in orange hues, but gradually shifts to blue tones

• Hong Kong– Home– Fully lit,

colorful, – Busy city

setting, crowdedness, suffocation

– Yolky yellowness could also suggest illness

• Lighting– Contrast of

shadow vs. light– Melancholia,

fear, distress are all discussed in the dark

– Extreme brightness: untouchable

– Coordinated color: normalcy, reality

• Space– Contrasts between

emptiness vs. crowdedness

– Ariel view emotional loss or distance, fragility of human existence

– Stills freezes passing of time

SettingSettingTina

• Australia• Location: suburban

area in Sydney

• Germany• Time: winter

Symbolic MeaningSymbolic Meaning

Tina

Image of Beach

• At the beach, the three brothers talk about the future life.

Image of Mui Mui’s House

• “mom said that after I grow up, I will live with grandpa, grandma, aunt, uncle, baby, mama, and papa.”

• “We will be with each other happily”

Image of the Lotus Pond• Mr. Chan wants to build the lotus pond.• There’s lotus pond in the back of

Chinese house.• The lotuses are blossoming.

• Resource:http://bbs0.poco.cn/topic-htx-fid-18-tid-5301307-ump-1-m-0-p-0.shtml

ConclusionConclusionTina

The film reveals the hardships the family encounters in their immigrant life. (e.g. whether to preserve Chinese culture or not, inability to find their “home”, etc) In real life, not every one can adjust to immigrant life. In the film, the parents are willing to adapt to western culture, but they keep their Chinese heritage as well. Thus, the film has a happy ending as they realize home is with the family. Thus, the film has happy ending that the family find their “home” eventually.

QuestionsTina

Questions

1. What does the title mean?

2. If you were Bing, how would you treat the parents?

Works Cited• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Floating_Life• http://www.allmovie.com/work/136202

LifeFloatingFloating Life

Thanks for you attention