COMM 380:  Media Criticism

Cinema, as a medium, serves a vital function when it comes to understanding various cultures, both the similarities present in them and the differences. Lulu Wang’s The Farewell was initially released in 2019 and was generally met with critical acclaim, and it even managed to gain some nominations and wins at the 2020 Golden Globes awards. Many lauded the film's performances and story, especially homing in on an incredibly unique cultural implication and difference which was brought to the forefront, essentially causing audiences to consider a wholly different approach to various aspects of life, before which they had never even thought about.

 

Lulu Wang’s film is not afraid to admit that it is “Based On a True Lie” and after watching the movie, one can understand where the phrase comes from. The Farewell tells the story of a young Asian American woman (played excellently by Awkwafina) who has to come to terms with the fact that her grandmother’s life is coming to an end. She must deal with the fact that her family is following a custom in which they do not tell the person they are dying. Lulu Wang’s film is, apparently, not only based on a true lie, but it is also, almost unbelievably, based on her actual experiences when a situation like this arose in her own life. Through the examination of culture, The Farewell stands as a powerful example of the media theory of functional analysis.  

 

The Farewell compassionately and thoughtfully explores the effects of knowledge and culture, questioning those effects and contrasting the negative and positive elements. What stands out about The Farewell is its way of presenting cultural aspects that can totally be understood and slowly accepted by the viewer even if they have had no experience with this custom or cultural bias.

 

The absence of judgment being passed on this whole situation and practice is left much more up to the individual to draw their conclusions about instead of explicitly stating whether this practice is damaging. Wang appears to have been mindful of this as comments illustrate, “The inevitable fish-out-of-water and East-meets-West narratives happen, but in subtle sometimes painful ways. Part of Billi’s – and Wang’s journey is wrestling with the cultural logic of whether or not to “lie” (Jung, 2019). That is where the theory of functional analysis works in the film. Viewers who are not familiar with this type of practice are exposed to it and learn about its function. Entertainment is one component of the functional analysis media theory, and this is something that The Farewell includes. This film is extremely captivating and keeps the audience engaged. The Farewell also includes some moments of genuine comedy, which help elevate the story because they do not obfuscate the dramatic and touching elements of the story. Rather they offer an “in” for those who may not be familiar with the practices playing out and being exemplified on-screen. This allows the audience to gradually adapt to what they are witnessing on screen and slowly adjust to it. In many ways, they understand the psychology and reasoning behind what the characters decide to do in the film. Effectively acknowledging that the cultural norms being shown in the movie are not something that would be necessarily considered normal by individuals of other backgrounds who would be watching the film.

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One of the significant components of the functional analysis media theory is socialization and transmission of culture. Hanson wrote in Mass Communication that this aspect of functional analysis “is the process of integrating people within society through the transmission of values, social norms” (Hanson, 43). In this scenario, The Farewell functions as the artifact that can be used for socialization and knowledge about other cultures. The film can assist viewers with beginning to understand inherent truths about different cultures and countries. The practice at the display can be summed up well by what is written in a “Gale in Context” piece, which explains that “Chinese families routinely withhold this kind of information, believing that it would break the spirit of their loved ones” (2019).

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Interestingly, this film presents the character of Billi, essentially giving audience members another in, which allows them to understand this aspect of the Chinese culture better. As Billi learns about this tradition, so does the audience in a remarkably similar way. Especially when considering that Billi has almost integrated into the story as an outsider herself, someone who has been removed from the culture for so long that it is not normal for her.

 

In an article for The New York Times by Brian Chen, he writes about The Farewell.   He contrasts and compares his own experience as a Chinese American, coming from a remarkably similar situation as what is depicted in the film. Chen writes that “repressing truth is indirect communication taken to an extreme. The family members show their love for Nai Nai by keeping mum about her condition” (2019). This concept is unfamiliar to other cultures not located in the East, where it is more common to give in to emotional expressions more freely. In an article for The Washington Post, Marian Liu wrote, “This holistic approach to disease considers that a person’s emotional and mental state, in addition to their physical state, a more Eastern way of thinking” (2019). Billi is the perfect representation of that as she is forced to balance the response she wishes to take, which one is used to, considering that she grew up in the United States. It is mentioned in the film that this kind of behavior would be regarded as illegal in the United States. It is believed that this is because those people may want to deal with some aspects of their lives and possibly make amendments. However, the approach exemplified in The Farewell also has merit because it alleviates the stress from the person. They can continue their lives without really developing the pressure of knowing that their lives are coming to an end in a quantifiable amount of time.

 

The family is allowed to express their true feelings when they are alone but cannot direct them at the impetus which is causing those emotions. To save the person experiencing the pain, they must keep that pain to themselves and bear it on their own or amongst one another. They are never really granted the ability to gain closure in this situation. They are never able to get to say goodbye or learn any parting knowledge they may have been able to receive. Wang has highlighted an essential aspect of the film, “the film’s major themes as “the performance versus the personal”- performing joy for Nai Nai, for the sake of organizing a wedding, versus dropping the façade and letting their true emotions take hold” (Rao, 2019). It is implied that because these people are carrying on with this attitude and behavior, they will receive the same treatment from their family members. And therefore be spared the same sort of harsh realizations that may otherwise meet them as they approached the end of their lives. Knowing it would be coming soon.

 

The Farewell works well because it can become relatable to anyone who has not experienced anything like this and is not from a culture that participates in actions displayed in the film. In this way, it can operate as a film that reveals the functional analysis media theory. It does this because it functions as something which can help to prime audiences to a different culture. The film’s main success comes at its ability to almost de-stigmatize the process shown in the movie because it makes the audience understand why the characters have chosen to follow the path and method they choose to follow. Billi functions as a window for the audience to understand this process.

 

In the end, The Farewell functions as a shining example of the power of cinema and the functional analysis media theory at work. After viewing the film, the audience can get a sense of what this process is like and understand how it affects people who partake in it. When the movie ends, there is not much resolution granted to the characters and, by extension, the audience.  This was most likely done deliberately. When put into a situation like this, it must feel as anti-climatic as it does in the film when it is finally over. However, the end of the film shows that there are positive elements to this; as the film comes to a close, it is revealed that the character of Nai Nai has lived for at least six years beyond the initial cancer diagnosis.

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