The King of Masks is a 1996 film set in a rural Chinese village. It details an unadorned life of an elderly man named Wang who is a street performer. His only companion was a pet monkey, and he badly needed a male heir to bequeath his Sichuan opera techniques.
Buddhism is deeply entrenched in the Chinese society as represented in the movie. Members of the society esteem boys over girls. This explains Wang’s preference for a boy as a benefactor to his vast skills in performing arts. Thus he adopted Gou, a small boy, who rejuvenated his zeal in life. His zest was, however, short-lived as he discovered that Gou was not a boy but an impersonator.
The exasperation he suffered after his wife had abandoned him was exacerbated. As a result, he developed strong indifference towards the girl, forcing Gou to flee. When she came back later, she delighted Wang shortly by bringing along a boy child. It, however, landed the elderly man in trouble because the child’s wealthy parents pressed charges leading to his death sentence.
The King of Masks is a mythical film that dexterously recapitulates itself into the modern world by enacting and recreating the subjugation of women in a patriarchal world. This essay will analyze the various themes presented in the film. The theme of women’s subjugation is recurrent in the movie. The filmmakers intricately reveal how men sidelined women to the periphery of social and economic life.
It goes further to suggest how the society and women in particular can harness the Miao-shan myth, an integral part of Buddhism, to empower themselves socially. Unlike other religions, Buddhism provides for women participation in the religious life of the society, subtly and expressly. The filmmakers, therefore, challenge women to take advantage of the Miao-shan myth to empower themselves culturally and economically.
This is the aim the filmmakers intended to reach through the film, allowing Wang to bequeath his skills to a woman. Traditionally, Chinese culture did not allow women to learn the face-changing techniques that performers used in opera. By training a woman exclusive male art, Wang tacitly passed across the need for relooking Confucianism and appreciating its role in women’s social empowerment.
The theme of religion is also evident in the film. Buddhism is widely practiced in Chinese society. Filiality is the bedrock of the religion, and the society esteems those who sacrifice for the others. Religion scholars aver that the reason Miao-shan is dominant in Buddhist myth is her selflessness, especially in the way she offered her life for her father.
The King of Masks borrows some themes from this myth to show that equal treatment of women is rooted in the teachings of Buddhism. In spite of being hierarchical, Buddhism scorns at any form of authoritarianism. In fact, reciprocity, as espoused in the Miao-shan myth, is highly valued. Respect to elders is inspired not by virtue of age as they must earn it.
The old are not to despise the young; their success is to attract commensurate adornment. The film directors recreated and enacted the Miao-shan myth through the story of Gou Wa. When Wang discovered that she was a girl not a boy, he showed his indifference to her. He dissuaded her from calling him “grandpa” and instead asked her to call him “boss”.
She pleaded with the man not to sell her, but when she finally left, she came back with a son. It is noteworthy that her departure made Wang pensive. Such a mood suggests that he still loved her in despite her deceit. Wang was very delighted by the gift she brought with her, a son, but also saddened by Gou’s sudden departure. This is a manifestation of filial love as espoused by Confucianism.
The theme of sacrifice and love is also intertwined in religion. Gou’s love to Wang is illustrated by her strong desire to atone for her deceit. She lied to the man that she was a boy, and when he discovered the truth, she was ready to bring him a son to amend for her wrongdoing. Her intention was simple and pure – to please her stepfather, no matter the cost.
Further, she had the moral rectitude and love to visit Wang who was about to face a hangman. She went there in spite of the danger it portended for her. She stole the boy child for Wang and was ready to take responsibility for that. In an act of reciprocity, the king was not angry with her. Instead, he declared that the predicament was an act of Karma.
He felt that his life had not been particularly decent and right, and he was merely suffering repercussions for his misdeeds. He asked Gou to perform a ritual performed exclusively by men. By so doing, Wang recognized Gou as an equal to a man. They shared a deep love for each other in spite of the indifference that characterized the realization that their relationship blossomed out of deceit.
In China, just like in India, women are not as valued as men are. The society does not greet the birth of a woman with the same enthusiasm as that of a boy. Gou’s gender issue is acute. She, therefore, decided to impersonate a boy to escape the auction. When Wang realized this, he set to sell Gou. In an ironic twist of event, a son he wanted so much as an heir landed Wang in prison, and Gou, a girl, saved him.
This is an indictment of the society’s perception of women. Gou stood by Wang, going against the conventional wisdom that women ultimately abandon the family they were born. Gou learnt skills traditional reserved for men and performed burning of spirit money, Chinese ritual. Her triumph was a repudiation of a cultural system that subordinated women to the periphery of the social life. 1
The movie, the King of Mask is set in the 1930’s Chinese society. Wang, the main hero, is a street performer, an art highly valued by the society then. However, this did not diminish his sense of emptiness caused by the lack of a son. Traditionally, his skills were reserve of a male heir. He bought Gou, unaware that Gou was a girl, and trained her the art of street performance.
It turned out that Gou was not a boy but an impersonator. He changed his attitude towards her and decided to sell2 her. Later, the girl delighted him when he brought a son. In an unpredicted twist of events, the boy caused Wang a lot of troubles.
The despised Gou, displaying her readiness for sacrifice and responsibility, stood by Wang through his worst moments. In essence, the filmmakers criticize the unfounded pervading perception of women as inferior to men. The film is a classic recapitulation of Chinese myths into the modern world.
Bibliography
Stone, Alan. Movies and the Moral Adventure of Life. Cambridge, Mass: MIT Press, 2007.
Footnotes
1 Alan Stone. Movies and the Moral Adventure of Life. Cambridge, Mass: MIT Press, 2007. 23-24.
2Ibid.,26.