my thoughts

Whenever I have read Amy Tan's books, I feel that she is trying to portray the effort the mothers and daughters make to have a better understanding of each other. I think maybe it is derived from her own experiences as an American woman born to Chinese parents. The mothers lament that their daughters do not embrace chinese culture, but instead rebuke it in favor of "the American Way" while the daughters are exasperated that their mothers are too old-fashioned and outdated. yet, circumstances happen that allow them to glimpse each others' lives, and while each will still carry on in her own way, they come out knowing the other just a little more.

It does not show it in the movie, but June is not the only daughter to take a trip to China. In the book, Waverly and Rich take Lindo to China. Waverly says of going to china with her mom: "the whole idea makes perfect sense, the three of us, leaving our differences behind, stepping on the plane together, sitting side by side, lifting off, moving West to reach the East." (Tan, A. The Joy Luck Club, p. 205).

I do not think Amy Tan tries to paint China in a bad light, either. I think she is just saying things were the way that they were. You cannot change the past. The mothers lived during a war. War is not pretty. Of course the mothers would want to get out of a war-torn country to try to find a better life. It's not China that was bad--it was the war in China.

Moreover, it is true that women were not viewed as equal in that time period. I do not think Amy Tan is trying to be anti-male, she is just writing fiction based on historical fact. I also don't think she's trying to be anti-chinese, either. After all, most of the mothers married a Chinese man once they got to America. In the movie, Lena's wonderful new boyfriend is not a white man. He looks Asian. In any case, I think she does a fine job of portraying strong women that rise above sexist ideas to be their own person.

I love Amy Tan's books. I love this movie. it left out some important parts, but all in all, it did a good job bringing a beautiful story to the screen.