Last Emperor the 1987 Film

Last Emperor

The 1987 film The Last Emperor is about the actual, real-life last emperor of China. His name was Puyi. Puyi was crowned emperor at age two, during a time of tremendous upheaval in China. As a toddler, Puyi did not understand what was going on around him and was thrust into the unfamiliar world of politics. On this personal level, the story of the last emperor is far from biased as Puyi was largely passive and a victim of major political and social forces that were beyond his control. However, there is a lot of bias and propaganda related to both imperialism and communism. The film discusses the way propaganda was used during the various revolutions taking place, such as the Great Culture Revolution, or Cultural Revolution. Yet the film also supports an anti-communist agenda that is immediately apparent.

The parts of the post-war world that the film evokes include issues related to gender, class, and power. In terms of gender, men are in positions of power and women are subservient to them within the imperial framework. Communism is presented as an antidote to this type of social order, although the film does not properly address this issue. A second part of post-war world that the film evokes is related to social class. Basically, the revolutions taking place were a reaction against a centuries-long feudal system. There were many people starving, and who wanted a change. Communism offered hope that redistribution of wealth could eliminate poverty and income disparity. The last emperor was the last remaining leader from the old, pre-communist times. He represents a dying era. The emperor is also portrayed as being sympathetic to outside forces and colonialism, including Japan. This is one of the reasons why the revolutionaries overthrow the emperor. Finally, the film evokes issues related to political power. Because the emperor was crowned as a young child, his ability to rule is called into question immediately. He is also portrayed as an innocent victim of the communist revolution. This is biased, because the film suggests the rule of emperors might have been preferable to communism.

Likewise, the film shows the re-education programs as being negative. This may be true, but there was some truth in the communist worldview after the war. Communism did help to minimize the class stratification that would have been supported by the emperor and the colonial governments that were trying to take control of parts of China during the time. China was weakening due to the external forces, such as World War Two. The emperor is eventually placed into one of these prisoner re-education programs and labeled as an enemy of the state, as this is what happened in those days. He is tortured and brainwashed. The communist government sends him out to become one of the people. Therefore, the contrast between the imperial types of power and the communist power is contrasted. Neither form of government is ideal. They are both oppressive and negative in their own ways.