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Mao's Last Dancer

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Mao's Last Dancer

I recently watched Mao's Last Dancer. This movie was about a young boy named Li Cunxin from a remote province in China. He was recruited by government officials to go to Beijing to be trained as a ballet dancer. Li Cunxin was taken from his family and everything he knew. His family considered it an honor that their son had been chosen to be trained in Beijing.

Li worked hard at his training and excelled as a dancer. This did not however keep him from feeling homesick and sad. In the early 1980's an American dance company from Dallas, TX was allowed to come to Beijing to visit. Li was able to become acquainted with the American dancers and the American choreographer. In the late 1980's Li was approved by Mao's communist government to visit Texas for 2 months during the summer. Li was instructed at the Chinese embassy that he should not accept any gifts from Americans and that they were as a people not to be trusted. Li became very close friends with the dancers and his choreographer and couldn't figure out why his government didn't approve of America.

Li fell in love with one of the ballerinas and they got married. Li did not want to return to China and since he had married an American he was entitled to stay. The Chinese embassy wanted to talk to Li about his decision to stay in America and held him prisoner at the embassy for a period of time. Finally with the help of an American lawyer, the Chinese government allowed Li to stay in America.

At the end of the movie Li was reunited with his parents at one of his performances. He had been so worried that his defection to America had caused harm to his family back in China.

I really enjoyed this movie. It is based on the book called, Mao's Last Dancer.

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Message from nfreeman

This sounds like a good movie. It seems to highlight some important stereotypes that many people have about Americans and sounds as if these stereotypes are debunked in some sense. It seems tragic that he had to sacrifice seeing his family, but finding love and marrying an American perhaps provided some healing to his sadness. I wonder if his family experienced any harm because he defected to America? Oftentimes we only connect to the "happy ending" without knowing how the family members are affected when a family member defects to another country.

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Message from chernandez

This is a great movie and it has an interesting perspective on how close China was back in the 80's. However, it also serves as a reminder that even though China is now a more open society towards foreigners (people and ideas) it is still a communist government with a great deal of control over their people. Cheers!

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Message from dsciarrotta

I enjoyed reading about this movie. I find it interesting that while there is still some anti-western sentiment in Asia in the old regime, it seems that the younger generation is struggling with this balance of dedication to family, loyalty to the ideals of their government, and all the while being drawn to the freedoms and individual expressions that Americans enjoy. As social media, technology, and communication across the world increases, so will the likelihood of inter-racial marriages and with these a blending of values and beliefs. I see students come who are new to the country and at first some seem very determined to keep the traditions but as they mingle and make friends, the lines between foreigner and citizen become blurred. I feel for them because parental values and the values of their friends and what they learn in school are often on completely different sides.

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Message from lvaden

As a teacher I found this movie, Mao's Last Dancer very informative and eye opening. There was a part of the movie where it showed a school room in rural China in the 1970's. It was interesting to see how rustic the classroom was and how the teaching method was so steeped in Communism. The children were chanting and singing songs celebrating Mao. The teaching style was very rigid and consisted of memorization and recitation. I also cannot believe that government officials visit schools to choose children with an aptitude for a sport or music and then take them away from their families. I feel like this would be very emotionally damaging to a child and devastating to a family. But, in the movie the parents of the family looked at their son being chosen as an honor. This movie really gave me a better perspective on how closed China was during the 1970's and the 1980's. It has given me a better appreciation for what many families have gone through in China.

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Message from abarker

I am very interested to see this movie! It sounds like a great story and a lesson of what life is like living in Communist China. The young man was dedicated to his family and considered honored to be chosen by his government for the opportunity to work at his craft, dance. Although he loved and missed his family, it is not surprising that he was drawn American freedoms and wanted to live his life with these new found freedoms. I imagine that this is based on a true story.