Baby scene - The Joy Luck Club (1993) Discussion

[–] kj80230 19 years ago

There is a scene where a baby drowns but to say that the mother did it to spite the father is too simple.

I ate the blue ones ... they taste like burning ... Ralph Wiggum

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[–] mrkcmbs 19 years ago

Thanks! I was trying to make it simple to save time. It has also been a few years since i've seen the movie.

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[–] Im_anonymous_or_trying_to_be 19 years ago

Yes, there was. I just saw it today in class. It was YIng-Ying who does it, but I'm not sure whether it was to spite her cheating spouse or if she did it by accident from the expression on her face.

I'm filipino.I have gerontophilia & I have a crush on GEorge Bush!!!

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[–] 19 years ago

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[–] jake7-2 19 years ago

My interpretation of the scene was that she just zoned out while bathing the baby, so angry at her husband and trying to figure out how she could get back at him. The baby drown while she was in another world mentally so it was an unconscious decision. We also did not see if she subsequently tried to revive the baby, although I doubt she knew CPR.

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[–] runwaypro414 19 years ago

She does not do it to spite her husband! did you all see her reaction and hear her voice as she recounted that story!! Yes, she bathed the baby but it was an accident, she did not realize what she was doing until it was too late!

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[–] h-pietersma 18 years ago

it was not an accident that Ying Ying drowned the baby..."one single thought kept repeating in my head, he had taken everything, my innocence, my youth, my love....so I took from him the only thing I could...<< here is the reference of the baby..she just lets go of the child and it slips under water....but ofcourse when she realizes what she had done, it was already too late..."my baby was so light in my arms"..."because his little spirit had flown away".. "and with his, mine was gone too".....this scene is so heartbraking to see... i love this movie, I am a very though women and I can see the most of eally awfull movies.... but this one can actually make me cry...

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[–] CookiieeMonsteerr 19 years ago

that was sad

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[–] alexleeson 19 years ago

She felt she had no other way to get back at her brutish husband and drowned their baby in the bathtub.

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[–] gooliegooboo 19 years ago

She does this is to get back at her husband. In the book, she has an abortion.

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[–] miriregalado 19 years ago

In the book she does drown the baby. You are probably referring to the miscarriage she has with baby #3 (after her American daughter is born and they are living in San Francisco with husband #2, St. Clair).

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[–] o_Sari_Bella_o 19 years ago

I think she did technically do it to spite her husband...earlier he made it seem like the baby, the opera singer(?) and him were a family and she was lesser of the 2 women...with that in her mind, she drifting off to that anger point and killed the child by drowning it...she came back in conciousness and realized what she had done

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[–] vivacious-lady 19 years ago

She killed the baby because her husband had taken everything from her (innocence/life). She killed the baby cause it was the only thing he truly loved and cared about. However, by doing that she also killed herself (figuratively speaking) cause the baby was her own flesh and blood. That is why she screams after drowning the baby and that is why she has no spirit left to give to her daughter.

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[–] pocketcolors 19 years ago

Just saw the scene on tv now. The narration suggests she did it on purpose, and her reaction suggests she deeply regretted her decision immediately after.

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[–] mayweed-1 19 years ago

eyes all puffy, nose continues to be red, it's luck my boyfriend is away tonight so that he can't make fun of me weeping through this amazing film....copious amounts of tea and blankets needed i think...

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[–] RideOrDieTY 19 years ago

i kno its already been established, but yeah, she did it on purpose......it was becuz of the husband.....

see in the book she duznt drown it, she performs a self-abortion, i had to read this book for school......im sure thats why they changed it......

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[–] nafeivom 18 years ago

Thank you. Some of those earlier posts must have had the sound off while they were watching, (or they watched a pirated DVD with no voice-over)

How anybody could watch AND LISTEN, and think that was an accident is beyond me.

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[–] samik33 18 years ago

I think part of the reason she drowned the baby was to save it from the abusive father. I also wonder if she could have gotten away from him if she had to take the baby with her. Perhaps ultimately it was an act of love. Amazing stories of surival...loved the book and the movie!!

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[–] xix_azn_luv_xix 18 years ago

That's stupid, who would DROWN their baby just to keep it away from the husband? There are PLENTY of other options. I doubt that that's the reason why she drowned the baby. SHE HAD SO MUCH stress and so much on her mind she wasn't realizing what she was doing...and then it was too late when she stopped spacin out.

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[–] AiZinger 18 years ago

I bought the movie today, but I remember this scene from when I watched it on tv. She does it because he took everything from her, and she wanted to take something from him. It's hard to say if she meant to or not, but i'd assume she didn't mean to let him drowned but spaced out a little and it happened.

" Two languages in one head? No one can live at that speed "

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[–] 18 years ago

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[–] evikinggal 18 years ago

I think she did it to spite his father. She took the only thing she could take from him that would matter. It sounds ridiculous but how often do you hear of a man murdering his children because his wife left him and he wanted to hurt her... I see things like that on the news too often...

It is really sad, though. I have a 4mo. old son and I couldnt imagine being in such a state w/his father that I would drown him. I give him his little bath and he just looks up at me with his innocent eyes while I wash him... I could never see myself DROWNING him cause his fathers a butthead...

I don't have low self esteem. I have low esteem for everyone else ~ Daria :)

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[–] breeklowry 18 years ago

It seems that baby drowning is a big theme in a lot of immigrant novels. I can't remember if it was the incident in Joy Luck Club or if it was in a story by Sui Sin Far (she also had a story where a mother drowned her baby) that the woman drowned the baby b/c she didn't want it to grow up in American culture b/c she was so unhappy with it.

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[–] Dea_Olivae 16 years ago

In the book she has an abortion and when the nurse asks what she wants done with the body (Since we has almost fully developed) she gives the nurse some old news paper and tells her to just throw it in the river.

In the movie I saw it as more of an accident. As you can see I think she was playing out drowning the baby in her mind not really aware that she was doing it in real life. She wanted so bad to hurt her husband in the way her hurt her that she killed their son. So like I said, in the movie, most likely an accident that she only half realised she was doing.

I became insane, with long intervals of horrible sanity

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