When I first received this double-tape set for review, I was
excited, since it promised to be loaded with "entirely original archives
and motion pictures." The videos do not disappoint in this area. Footage
in Part 1 from late Qing through the 20s, 30s, and 40s, much of which I had
not seen previously, tells the story of the "time of troubles" quiteeloquently.
A consistent return to the theme of the "jaws of time" (Karl Marx)
is also an effective method of showing the contradictions between internal
and external pressures for fundamental change in China. For example,
reference to the warlords as "front men for the foreigners" reflects the
awful state of China's domestic situation as well as the direct
responsibility of foreigners (the West, Russia, and Japan) for much of this.
The videos fall down in Part 2, largely from lack of attention to a
careful chronology. Whereas in Part 1, the story flowed quite smoothly, in
Part 2, especially in the sections on the 1950s and 1960s, many incidents
are presented out of order. This is rather frustrating for anyone who
knows the historical sequence, and it could be very confusing for any
students who were expected to learn about this period through the video.
For example, discussion about the cooperative movement of the early
1950s uses language more relevant to the Great Leap Forward (GLF) of
1958-1961. Then, when presenting the story of the GLF, there is reference
to Mao having been criticized and being forced to give up some power,
though the timing of this is not part of the story.
Even more enervating is the placement of the Hundred Flowers
Movement and the Anti-Rightist Campaign, both of which happen or begin in
1957, after the events of the Great Leap Forward. They are discussed as
if they were responses to the GLF, rather than as campaigns which
preceded, even set the stage for, the Great Leap. One laughable sequence
refers to the Anti-Rightist Campaign, which began in 1957 under the
leadership of Deng Xiaoping, as a "campaign against right-handed people."
Then, suddenly the viewer is presented with film of the first
nuclear weapon test in China. Though this event took place in 1964, the
narrator does not mention this, but rather goes on to describe the 1958
attacks on the Offshore Islands (near Taiwan) and the 1959 suppression in
Tibet. It just doesn't fit.
Another example shows Mao's famous July 1966 swim in the Yangzi
River as following the August 1966 kick-off rallies for the Great
Proletarian Cultural Revolution and after references to the end of the
Cultural Revolution. This just doesn't make sense.
Once the video gets past this period, it improves greatly. The
treatment of the "Open Policy" of the 1980s and the drastic changes of the
1990s are very informative and present a clear picture of the current
issues for China Yellow, China Blue.
One final note: for the specialist, the uneven and inconsistent
transliteration and pronunciation through both videos will be ratherbothersome.
