Ruan Lingyu
The story is allegedly based on the talented actress Ai Xia who committed suicide under the dual pressure of survival and spirit of being the spotlight. The director Cai Chusheng was deeply affected by her death and realized that Ai Xia's life and death is of great social significance. He hoped to make a movie based on her story to educate the female population that suicide is not the solution. As a make-up version of Ai Xia's tragic fate, the actress Ruan Lingyu starred as the main protagonist in "New Women". The protagonist in the story has been abandoned by her oppressive patriarchal family to start an independent life as a writer. She wrote the autobiographical novel "The Tomb of Love." However, it was impossible for her to escape the fate of suicide as in reality, females were mere playthings of male desires and a gimmick in the commercial operation of the publishing industry. The film has caused an uproar due to the violation of the patriarchal society before its release. A rebellious new woman's echo-like record of self-destruction seems to show quite clearly the fragile collusion between women and the society. In addition to the message that the film conveys, the death of Ruan Lingyu after a month of the film's premiere is regarded as a female tragedy under the commercial and star system, which illustrates the tragic impact of the new woman and patriarchal/male culture. It is also a reflection of the conflict between left-wing movies and the right-wing newspapers. Interestingly, this conflict did not damage the reputation of the director of the film, Cai Chusheng, but ultimately sacrificed the reputation and life of actress Ruan Lingyu. The film "New Women" is now closely linked to the death of Ruan Lingyu, as a symbol of the dangers of mass media and female objectivity in the film industry.