Comments on: The Flowers of War (Nanjing War Movie) http://asianliving.me/the-flowers-of-war Asian Living Lifestyle Blog by Ben Sat, 25 Apr 2015 17:36:00 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.9.8 By: Anonymous http://asianliving.me/the-flowers-of-war/comment-page-1#comment-305 Tue, 02 Apr 2013 14:18:00 +0000 http://asianliving.me/?p=1744#comment-305 Hi Kay,
I think Flowers of War is out of cinemas by now. You could easily find it online for free. Try watching it on Letv in the mainland: http://www.letv.com/ptv/pplay/45816/1.html ]]> By: Kay BuymyBook Rutherford http://asianliving.me/the-flowers-of-war/comment-page-1#comment-304 Tue, 02 Apr 2013 13:37:00 +0000 http://asianliving.me/?p=1744#comment-304 where could i see the flowers of war i hangzhou from april 4-8th (i live in xiasha just outside of hangzhou). thanks for helping me out. will need directions (metro?) as well. thanks, kay ]]> By: Anonymous http://asianliving.me/the-flowers-of-war/comment-page-1#comment-272 Tue, 03 Apr 2012 01:32:00 +0000 http://asianliving.me/?p=1744#comment-272 Thanks Leah, you make an interesting point about rallying a country but I don’t think this kind of action is uncommon. In the US the government is trying to find ways to create a “man on the moon” proposition in order to rally the country. Maybe 9/11 was a the most recent rally cry, but that event was nothing like the rape of nanking. 

You make a comment at the end about foreigners needing to think critically and avoid making bad comparisons. I’m guessing that’s directed towards my post, which is fine. It’s easy for us to criticize from the outside looking in. I think they deal with these issues in their own way and it’s not for me to preach to my girlfriend, or other chinese, about how they should deal with their past. I could just tell her to “buck up, sissy pants” but I’m thinking that might come off badly… At any rate, it was just a movie.

]]> By: guest http://asianliving.me/the-flowers-of-war/comment-page-1#comment-271 Sun, 01 Apr 2012 05:11:00 +0000 http://asianliving.me/?p=1744#comment-271 I don’t think hatred is excusable, ever. I understand why Chinese hate the Japanese, and the Japanese should absolutely apologize fully and publicly for it. But this gov’t is using the event as a rallying point for cultural identity/social stability. It has got to stop relying on WWII as a way to unify this country. You can’t live with your head in the past…it gives Chinese ppl a rather skewed view in that they seem to think they have suffered more, suffered worse, etc. 

The Japanese don’t deal with this the way the Germans do. German Chancellor Willy Brandt got to his knees in front of Jewish memorial and bowed his head. “German guilt” is a well-known phrase, German schoolchildren are required to learn about the Holocaust and hate groups are illegal– whereas the Japanese have not responded in kind. Their textbooks are rewritten; many students have no knowledge of the Nanjing incident or the *many other relatively similar incidents* in the Phillippines, in Singapore, in Korea, etc. There has been no public moment of apology from Tokyo that compares with what Brandt did for Germany.

The movie was okay. Chinese directors have a sort of slapstick style that is popular here, but will seem dated to most Americans–this is simply a matter of taste. However, as many movies do, it stretched the truth when it came to history. The defense of Nanking was poorly thought out, and the Kuomintang’s scorched earth strategy was largely responsible for both the destruction of the city as well as the number of civilians left within. Absolutely nothing excuses the behavior of the Japanese, but neither is anything in war black and white. I sympathize completely with China on this issue, but this country has got to stop seeing itself as the perpetual victim and move forward in building a nation from within–one that doesn’t need to link its identity to World War II or Japan.

It is important for foreigners in China to think critically and be alert to bad comparisons. 

 

]]> By: Ben Piscopo http://asianliving.me/the-flowers-of-war/comment-page-1#comment-263 Sun, 05 Feb 2012 13:33:00 +0000 http://asianliving.me/?p=1744#comment-263 Thanks for your comments Ruth. I think the Japanese deal with it like how the Germans deal with their past. It’s obviously something to be ashamed of, taught to younger generations, and then never repeated. 

Hope you enjoy your stay in China! Please contact me with any questions :)

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