Where the Wind of Change Blows: Cultural Revolution in China Portrayed in “Hibiscus Town” Introduction: Hibiscus Town through the Lens of a Foreigner. Summary A seemingly simple movie, Hibiscus Town tells a story of a young woman named Hu Yuyin. She has a nice family, a successful small business and the support of her trusted friends, Li Mangeng and Director Gu. However, her idyllic life breaks into shards after the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution erupts and she and her husband decide to give their money to a friend to hide it. As soon as the so-called “friend” reveals hem to the Revolutionary Committee, Hu recognized as an unreasonably rich peasant, who has obviously earned her money by fraud. Hu manages to escape; soon she returns to find out that her house is confiscated, her business is shut down, and her husband commits a suicide in despair. Hu takes a job of a street sweeper; soon she meets her old friend, Qin Shutian, and they become attached to each other greatly very soon. They decide to marry and have a child; however, they quickly learn that the Party does not allow them to marry. After arranging a wedding secretly, they get caught, and are sentenced to prison. Several years after the Cultural Revolution, the couple, having served their sentences, reunites to become a family and start a small business. Social and Historical Dimensions of Hibiscus Town: Social Justice, Feminism and Struggle for Independence Combined While the movie may be seen as a typical drama spiced with a pinch of social issues, some of its elements are not quite typical of a romantic drama. Therefore, it can be assumed that there is more to the social themes of the movie than meets the eye. The social environment: semblance of equality While the issue concerning the unfair treatment of the owners of small business, as well as the dictatorship of Mao Zedong and his party might be too on the nose in the Hibiscus Town , the social problems of the Chinese society of the time still seem to have been outlined in a fairly realistic manner. The problem concerning equality and fair treatment of every single citizen in China is also rendered magnificently in some of the more subtle scenes, including the conversation between the lead character and her arch nemesis right after the new laws had been passed: “We’re launching a new movement… We’re inquiring into each household’s political and economic situation” ( Hibiscus Town 00:30:46). The subtlety of the new governmental methods is truly stunning: “You need to be completely honest with the Work Section, just as with the Party” ( Hibiscus Town 00:31:04). The despair of the lead character, her feeling completely trapped, is captured amazingly in this shot; though she barely says a word, she is clearly overwhelmed with emotions. The calm, composed and triumphant manner in which her opponent watches her reaction, in its turn, also shows that the entire concept of social equality and fair treatment of people in the era of the Socialist regime of Mao Zedong was hardly plausible, to say the least. The historical environment: the wind of change The movie director has used a variety of ways to rip the veil of decorum off of the post-revolutionary Chinese society apart from the character interacti