CHINA 21 {ENGLISH AND CHINESE WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES} (TV)
Summary
This documentary looks at family life in China, 21 years
after the government imposed a restriction on the
number of children per family, creating a unique
generation that reaches maturity as China enters the
twenty-first century. The filmmakers visit three areas
-- a rural village in the Hunan Province, the urban
center of Shanghai, and a rural Shanghai suburb -- in
which five families strive to fulfill the same dream
under very different circumstances: to provide their
children with better lives through education. The first
section focuses on the following children: 6-year-old
Zhong Qiu of the Hunan Province who walks barefoot to a
school two miles from home while her father labors in
the Guangdong Province and her mother and grandparents
farm to provide food for the family; 19-year-old Tang
Enliang of Shanghai, who gave up a promising swimming
career and hopes to pursue international law; Terry Han,
(also in Shanghai with college sweetheart Vivian), who
talks about the gap between his parents' generation, who
grew up during the Cultural Revolution and his, raised
after it ended in 1977, and the effect that gap has on
his parents' attitudes toward his girlfriend and his
career goals; and 15-year-old Zhang Yu in the Shanghai
Pudong Province, who goes to school while her parents
labor on a small plot of land to support her and her
younger twin brothers. In the next section, the
filmmakers focus on the views of the parents as children
of the Cultural Revolution. Highlights of this section
include an interview with Zhong Qiu's father at a
construction site in Guangdong Province and discussions
with Terry's and Vivian's parents, who work in teaching
and engineering. In the next section, the children
prepare for the next stages of their lives. Highlights
of this section include Zhang Yu's fifteenth birthday,
Tang's military training, Vivian bringing her mother to
meet Terry's parents, and Terry's preparations for the
GMAT. The final section of the film takes place the
following spring and provides an update on the
situations of the five kids profiled: Terry and Vivian
accompany Terry's parents to a Buddhist temple to give
thanks for their passing GMAT scores and anticipate
studying at Yunnan University or even in the United
States; Tang, already at Yunnan University, wins awards
in several areas and looks forward to studying law in
Paris; Zhang Yu studies for upcoming high school
entrance examinations as her mother -- who has given up
farming to work in a factory -- looks on; and Zhong Qiu's
father returns briefly to the family in rural Hunan, but
soon leaves for another tour of migrant labor.
(This program is in English and Chinese with English
subtitles.)
Cataloging of this program was made possible by the
Corporation for Public Broadcasting, 2003.
Details
- NETWORK: PBS KQED San Francisco, CA
- DATE: May 3, 2003 6:00 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 0:57:02
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: T:78559
- GENRE: Public affairs/Documentaries
- SUBJECT HEADING: China - Social life and customs; Population control and policy
- SERIES RUN: PBS - TV, 2003
- COMMERCIALS: N/A
CREDITS
- William Smock … Executive Producer, Writer
- Cai Ming … Producer
- Robert Yam … Producer
- Ruby Yang … Production (Misc.), Editor, Director, Writer
- Joanne Shen … Writer
- Jon Herbst … Composer
- Vivian Chen
- Terry Han
- Tang Enliang
- Zhang Yu
- Zhong Qiu Li