MovieChat Forums > Tang shan da di zhen (2010) Discussion > Was the daughter molested by her foster ...

Was the daughter molested by her foster father?

posted 12 years ago by beijingpearl2003
14 replies | jump to latest

This may be a disturbing question, but I was uncomfortable with some of the scenes with the adoptive soldier father and the little girl/teenager. Now, I've seen a LOT of Chinese movies, and I think where these situations occur, many Chinese films choose to deal with them with subtlety and tact; here, it seemed to me that it was definitely implied.His readiness to go to her bedroom and give her a head message when she awakened from the bad dream, the foster mother's reaction-as if she sort of knew something wrong was going on but didn't want to confront it outright.The daughter not wanting to go on the trip with him. Her discomfort with his just showing up in her dorm room. Also, when they were observing her as a child, prior to their choosing her to adopt, the father kept mentioning how pretty she was, that she could be an actress, and the foster mother had to fight to hold the child--it all just struck me as uncomfortable and weird.

Another aspect of this strange relationship was the symbolism of it all: how the PLA were supposed to be Mao's heroes and yet, how they took advantage of the people--it was all a big show in the movie: the mourning over Mao's death, the pageantry of the people hailing the Army as heroes....and yet, there was the fact that Mao had his country so closed off from the world that he actually refused international aid after this horrible disaster. I don't know for sure, but it seems to me there is a hidden message with this. As to the little girl and the foster father, the clues were there but not in any kind of obvious way. Something just did not feel right at ALL. I've lived in China for years and had the chance to observe parent/child relationships there and sure, there are some cultural differences...but not enough to explain the discomfort and vague creepiness of the foster father's relationship with the girl OR the mother's reactions.

[–] 12 years ago

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[–] beijingpearl2003 12 years ago

Uh, thanks? Seriously, though, the concerns and viewpoint were honestly given. I read a lot of Chinese history, both ancient and modern, and I have seen a certain symbolic vein run through certain films--if you didn't know about the history you would tend to miss it. The question of molestation seems a fair one to me because it was clear that *something* about the relationship with the adoptive father was making the girl uncomfortable and there were just too many clues presented (albeit in a subtle way) for the viewer to miss. In reading through the external reviews I saw that one reviewer picked up on a their unsettling relationship right away, and was gratified I was not "seeing things" as it were. I've worked with abuse victims and the way the girl was reacting to the adoptive father, the mother's actions and other clues mentioned, well, it all brought these thoughts into focus.

Let me say now I loved the movie! No problem there. It was far better than I thought it would be (which I only say because much of what is left to the Netlix streaming customer is second rate), and I was completely engaged in the drama and family situations; it definitely sent me to the library to read up more on the event. However, in reading through the message board I saw nobody mention this--to me--obvious question of sexual misconduct and wondered why---which is why I introduced the thread.

[–] SkulloNinja 12 years ago

In my honest opinion, no, I don't think that the soldier dude molested his adoptive daughter.

I think all the "subtle" clues were put there just to keep us guessing. I have faith that the father loved his adopted daughter just like his own hence the "inappropriateness". He truly believed her to be his own.

I didn't really pick up on the daughter being uncomfortable except for the scene where the father showed up at her college dorm. She was uncomfortable 'coz she was getting intimate with her boyfriend! Lol and he shows up unannounced.

She was even able to have a heart felt conversation with her adoptive dad. So bottom line is, if any abuse did occur, there would be feelings of anger. And she probably would have just run away. I think the "uncomfortability" that you picked up on was due to her being adopted. She felt awkward with both the adoptive parents iirc.

My 2 cents.

[–] beijingpearl2003 12 years ago

Just finished the book called "Heaven Cracks, Earth Shakes" by James Palmer, the only book I've found on the Tangshan earthquake. Near the end he talks about the movie and wanted to pull up this quote, " The movie only hinted at a subplot made somewhat more explicit in the original text: the adoptive father of the rescued girl develops a sexual attraction to his new daughter. That the nurturing PLA family, which acts in the movie as a symbol of the national conscience and government care for the survivors, might also be a source of emotional trauma was not something mainstream audiences were quite ready for."

In other words, the original plot contains this idea but the Chinese were not ready to recognize the strength of this political symbolism--you should read up on how the earthquake was handled and the time frame as well, especially as it happened around the death of Mao (Palmer's book is very good, btw)--but the film producers did see fit to leave clues of what was really going on for those who were open-eyed enough. The adoptive mother's reaction alone was enough for me, but there were other things.

The reason I emphasize this part of the movie is that I am fascinated by the political situation in China and the amount of white-washing that goes on in public statements about government activities still. Since before the Tiananmen Square killings,the Chinese public has had mixed feelings about the military--we won't mention the Xinjiang Muslims or the Tibetans!--and I think the film makers chose to leave in just enough of a hint of such a horrible situation for those viewers who would see that different levels of opinion were addressed here.

As for the "feelings of anger" if abuse occurred, or that she would have run away--well, having worked with victims of abuse you begin to understand their feelings of being trapped--where would this girl go? She had lost everything in the quake and she was supposed to feel grateful that she was adopted. Abuse happens in every country, every level of society, and it is more likely, especially in China, that even if the girl was actually sexually molested, or even, say, fawned over and menaced with the idea of his sexual interest, she would have stayed with the family. She was in a difficult situation from the beginning. Her gratitude would have burdened her this way, and, like many young women, she would have waited until she had a 'valid' reason to leave home and live on her own at college--where the dad also intruded. Finally, she let herself get pregnant (yes, condoms were readily available, and certainly abortions were), then just disappeared. I'm not say the guy was totally evil, only that it was obvious he was sexually attracted to this girl, who was not, after all, his actual blood daughter, and MAY have let things get too intimate and perhaps out of control.

[–] SkulloNinja 12 years ago

I think you may be over analyzing it a bit (in my opinion). It's been a while since I've seen the movie, but I only remember brief instances where the adoptive mother felt kinda jealous and felt what "may have been going on" was inappropriate. I think the movie had an uplifting message of rising above crisis and hate. Not really a subplot of "adoptive dads may be creeps".

In the case of Michael Jackson, I strongly believe he did NOT molest any of those kids. Only God can judge. And a lot of people hated on Michael Jackson for those stuff. So yeah, I guess we'll never know.

But it seems like you have very good knowledge and experience in Chinese history (whereas I don't lol) so you may be on to something.

[–] DJ-Chojin 11 years ago

your looking too much into it dude, the mother felt a little jealous because she wasn't her flesh n blood so the mother bond was not there but the husband it was, the wife couldn't understand that, thats what i think esp after whats said by the mum just before she dies

That is not dead which can eternal lie, and with strange eons even death may die
H.P.LOVECRAFT

[–] musicalmj 11 years ago

No she wasn't molested by him. You can say that even after being a foster father, his care and love towards her mistook by you and others. Her foster parents provided her much better life and they even didn't expect anything in return and kept telling her no matter what her real family is biological one.

It's sad to see from this point of view that, her foster parents made her life and she even didn't look back to them on her own. The whole movie is nice and clearly explained the concept of guilt, anger and pain but if I were to add some more in it then I would really show that parents who make your life are real parents either foster or biological, its true that she couldn't leave her biological parents but she should have taken care of her foster parents.

After watching this movie, I can clearly say that we kids are very mean to our parents and we think about ourselves no matter what the situations is.

[–] ginnywotsit 11 years ago

When Fang Deng refused to go to Tangshan with her adoptive father, I assumed it was because she didn't want to return to the scene of the earthquake - where her real family might possibly still be. She wasn't ready to forgive her mother and be reunited with her.

I really don't know if the father is supposed to have abused her, but I doubt it. It would seem like a totally pointless addition to the story.

[–] dakedoom 11 years ago

Of course she wasn't molested. You are just overly influenced by western paranoia and Freudian garbage.

In Chinese culture, the norms for physical contact are highly different from ours. With family members, physical contact is very normal, like massaging or holding hands, and it's very uncommon with people who you are not close with. Chinese people tend to be very clean minded, and not obsessed with sexuality.

[–] patrick8828 11 years ago

I saw the movie long ago, but I still remember the "uncomfortablt" scene clearly. The adoptive father entered the girl's room with little on and the mother accused him of why he would not wear more. The attitude and tone of the mother did imply the adoptive father had done something "improper" to the girl. Chinese are very subtle on this matter.

If you ever read the original novel, you would know the father did molest the girl, though it can't be presented in a big screen.

But I would like to explain it in another way. Chinese people are not so clean-minded sexually as dake had said. Usually Chinese mothers are oversensitive over this matter, like a relationship between a father and daughter. Please refer to another Chinese movie "Mo Li Hua Kai", in which a mother committed suicide simply because she suspected her husband of having "improper" contact with their adoptive girl baby.

In the West, a father molesting a daughter is a scandle; in China, it's a shame, a disgrace. The doer would be cast away from the society.

By the way, I don't like "after shock". For me it is too sentimental. And it is full of unadvanced Chinese traditional thoughts.

We are all globe villagers.

[–] hairycactus 10 years ago

The adoptive father entered the girl's room with little on and the mother accused him of why he would not wear more.

Actually, unless someone in the family objected, it is not uncommon for post-pubertal or adult men in Chinese families — especially in summer or at hot humid regions — to wear very little whilst within the family home, even when there are girls and women around.

By little, I'm referring to "Topless + Briefs" or "Singlet + Briefs", often the former. I even had a Chinese classmate whose father walks around naked at home, but this is quite uncommon. (Note: Her entire family goes around naked at home.)

All of the aforementioned are somewhat less "dressy" than what Fang Deng's foster father wore in the movie during the said scene (ie. T-shirt & shorts), which I think looks decent enough.

In addition, at highly-urbanized areas where houses/apartments are built very close to one another, it is very common to see topless Chinese men through the windows.

In Chinese-majority areas (during summer or in hot humid regions), it is also not uncommon to see Chinese males publicly going topless (& clothed only in shorts or pants) around the neighbourhood.

Personally, I also had encounters whereby Chinese men (some were colleagues, one was a friend's boyfriend who I met for the first time) strip their shirts & go topless in front of me — both outdoors & indoors — & without any hesitation or embarrassment whatsoever.

[–] 10 years ago

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[–] subratjain1 8 years ago

Well, i know its pretty late for this reply. But in no way it was hinted that Fa Dend was molested. I never occurred to me. There were no hints what so ever.

I suggest you to give this awesome flick another viewing.

[–] [deleted] 4 years ago

That's probably a reflection of something that went wrong in your own life.