Saving Face

“Saving Face” is a film portraying the Chinese American lifestyle. It reveals the traditions that are still present today and the challenges that are faced when dealing with the ideas. The older generation has a very distinct set of ideas that the younger generation should accept as the law. In this film, these ideas are tested by the younger generation.

A Chinese tradition that is prominent throughout the film is the acceptance that the younger generation should respect the elder generation’s way of thinking. This is especially evident in the scene when the grandfather comes and visits Wil’s mother when it is discovered that she is pregnant. He fiercely declares that the mother, Gao Hui Lang, is forbidden from their lives until she is wed. Hui Lang must accept this declaration because she is a woman and her father has decreed that she has brought shame to their family. The acceptance of this tradition is challenged throughout the film and the movie ends with many of the roles (Hui Lang, Xiao Yu, Wil, etc.) deciding to go after their own desires rather than be tied down by the outdated rules.

Another reoccurring conflict is between the traditional views of the older generation and the open views of the younger generation. Homophobia among the more traditional adults causes conflicts with the young people. Wil is lesbian and when she tells her mother, her mother refuses to accept the truth and tells Wil that it is impossible. At the end, her mother accepts the truth and gets Wil and Vivian together. They are at a banquet when this happens, and many of the traditional elders cannot accept it, and end up leaving. Asian children are expected to marry and hold up the face of the family, so many of the older generation cannot accept the reality of the situation because they are ashamed that their family’s reputation will be destroyed.