By Qiong Zheng
With post show discussion by A/P Yang Peidong, a sociologist with NIE
Ma Baijun, 12, a primary 2 student in very rural China. Xu Jia, 19, a high school graduate from ok-rural China. Yuan Hanhan, 17, high school dropout from urban China.
This documentary traces the lives of 3 protagonists and questions social-class divide, education system in China, widening urban-rural divide, linguistics capabilities as social capital and mindsets of different groups of people.
Ma tries to study and desires to but is unable to catch up with her companions. Her family moves to less rural China but she's unable to get used to urban life. Drops out by 15 and wants to work in the City but is unable to look for a job. She returns home and joins her cousins who are expecting babies at really young ages of 20. Her grandfather expects her to marry someone as her way out of this rut. The story ends with her marrying her second cousin.
Xu tries very hard to pass National exam (Gao kao) and get into college. He successfully did get into an ok college, graduated with civil engineering cert and had to compete with tons others to get a job. He finally succeeded but says he felt like he had sold his soul away when he signed the contract. He married his uni mate cos his mum says a man can only start a career after marriage. Maybe it's because after marriage he would need to take care of a family and thus work very hard.
Yuan is from a middle class family in urban China. She dropped out of high school, started painting, rented her own space/studio and started selling drinks. Entered German art University and met a fellow China Chinese. During her summer breaks, she interns at Shanghai. Upon graduation, she returned to China and started her own firm with a German sounding name. She doesn't feel that not having a secondary school education is of any hindrance and she would not starve to death. This is unlike Ma who sometimes has not enough to eat, drink and study.
The sad fact is social economic class determines the starting point for a better basic life. Ma does not have access to education, needless to say she is unable to join the national exam for a promised better life. Xu did use the national exam to get a somewhat better life with food, money, career, wife, house but the future of his job (and therefore life) is still uncertain. Yuan is born upper middle class and takes education for granted. But with her talent and entrepreneur spirit she's able to carve a career.
I don't know why is career seen as a better life. Or the idea that urban life is better than rural. Why is E.g. happiness not measured as a better life?
