The Last Emperor, directed by Bernardo Bertolucci, places special emphasis on the ways in which costumes determine an individual’s status in society. The color and cut of the costumes donned by each character helps the viewer to understand the personality of each character. However, the one sequence within the movie that deviates from this motif is the first sequence in which the prisoners of war recognize Phu-yi’s face and bow to him as if he is still on his throne. I argue that the costume Phu-yi wears during this sequence distinguishes him from the other POWs, and that ultimately his position as emperor transcends his current identity as a POW within Maoist China.

When the viewer first sees Phu-yi in The Last Emperor, he is disembarking a train on the Manchuria-Russia border as a prisoner-of-war. Phu-yi has been brought in for detainment and questioning because he is believed to be a counter-revolutionary.

(03:17). A still of Phu-yi as he exits the train (http://putlocker.is/watch-the-last-emperor-online-free-putlocker.html)

The setting where the sequence takes place is dark and industrial. The sky is cloudy, the ground is damp, and the POWs are being escorted by soldiers. All officers are wearing dark-green uniforms, and the other POWs are dressed in winter gear in dark green, dark grey, or black. Phu-yi stands our from the crowd because he is wearing business formal clothing in the form of a suit-and-tie. He wears a fedora instead of a fur-lined winter hat, and he is wearing glasses. From this still, the audience can infer that he was an intellectual, or at least worked in white-collar jobs prior to becoming a POW. When he enters the great-hall where the other POWs are waiting, they all turn to stare at him, with wary recognition. Some of the POWs bow towards him even though that is considered disobedience and could lead to death.

People bowing to greet the Emperor as guards take them away. Phu-yi is in the far-right of the frame, watching in disbelief. (http://putlocker.is/watch-the-last-emperor-online-free-putlocker.html)

This is the only time in the film where Phu-yi’s costume did not accurately portray his identity or indicate to people how he should be treated. As a young child in the height of his reign, Phu-yi was best remembered as wearing the yellow imperial robes. In the photo below Pu yi has emerged from the Forbidden City to conduct a ceremony. Historically, the color yellow is reserved for royalty, and is only worn by the emperor.

Emperor emerging from the forbidden city (https://s3.amazonaws.com/criterion-production/stills/5743-62a71c78f340a4150192cf4a0d3899e2/Film_422w_LastEmperor_original.jpg)

Even when Pu yi is forced to evacuate the Forbidden City, he is still recognized as the Emperor in Japan due to his expensive attire. The Last Emperor  proves that costumes are not necessarily indicative of how a character inhabits and navigates the setting around them. The Last Emperor tells Pu yi’s story through flashbacks as he is questioned by the communist army. What matters most for Pu yi is not his current status as a POW, which is implied by the suit he wears entering the prison and the mao suit he is forced to wear during questioning. His story shows that people will remember him as emperor because he served as emperor and wore the robes. His cultural relevance in Chinese collective memory will always command respect from people around him regardless of his official title and the clothing he wears.

The movie, The Last Emperor, follows the life story of the last emperor of china. The interesting thing about this emperor is he was taken from his home and appointed at the young age of three. A critical aspect of the film is how the emperor’s clothing changes over time in relation to the events that occur around him. To start off, lets begin with the first picture. We see in this picture the three-year-old emperor at his coronation ceremony. He is dressed in traditional Chinese emperor attire that entails the robe, hat and the color yellow. The color yellow is  significant because in traditional Chinese culture only the emperor could wear yellow. By him wearing yellow we see that Chinese traditions are still in tacked in this section of the film.   Another thing to take notice of in the emperor’s outfit is how large it is. It is interesting to see such a small child in the attire an older man would wear. The proportions facilitate the strangeness of such a young child becoming the ruler of an empire. The next picture is a snap shot of the grown emperor, his wife, and his mistress in a car no longer in the Forbidden City. The emperor is wearing a European traditional black and white tuxedo. His women are wearing traditional western dresses and accessories. This outfit change is very noteworthy. We see here that the three are totally disconnected to there traditional past in this point of time. They are no longer in the Forbidden City and have since broken away from that lifestyle. A few more things to notice about the outfits in this scene are the emperor’s glasses and his short hair cut. In traditional Chinese culture the emperor would never wear glasses and never cut his hair. The fact that he has done both shows that he has left his role of emperor in the past and trying to assimilate into western culture. By looking at the contrast of the first and second pictures we can see the transition the emperor had to make as he was kick out of his empirical home. Outfit choices in movies help aid the story line and bring forth important ideas that that are not necessarily spoken.

denotation is plenty and need more connotative comments

In her piece, “Surface, Fabric, Weave: The Fashioned World of Wong Kar-Wai,” Giuliana Bruno discusses how costume design in “In The Mood For Love” is a deliberately aesthetic choice as a complement to the surrounding set. Fashion, color, and texture act as a subconscious means of creating moods and feelings within the audience. In the above mis en scenes, film producers in “In The Mood For Love” uses two different Qipaos to reflect main character, Maggie’s, emotions to the audience. In the first scene, Maggie somberly retrieves noodles from a noodle bar in a mute-toned qipao in which she runs into her neighbor. Later in the film, Maggie accompanies her neighbor to dinner in a quote differently styled qipao; one of bright colors and patterns.

The images exemplify how fashion aesthetics act as an art form to engage space and color in the film to depict the mood of the character within the scene. When viewing the above mis en scenes in “The Mood For Love,” one can compare differences between the two photos through their similarities in an attempt to determine the mood of the scene.

Qipao: 

• Scene 1- In the first mis en scene Maggie wears a qipao of subdued colors that reflect a sense of loneliness and withdrawal.  Maggie lethargically meanders into the takeout noodle bar, and though she appears graceful and walks steadfast, the qipao she wears tells the story of pain and a cheating husband. No words are spoken in this scene, however the color of the qipao successfully exudes Maggie’s present mood as one forlornness and dull heartache.
• Scene 2- In the second scene, Maggie’s qipao is bright, almost neon, and patterned.  Though Maggie again ventures to eat noodles, the mood is more energetic than the aforementioned scene. Maggie’s dress reflects a zealousness that was absent in the 1st scene, as new romance makes her more spirited and lively.

The Male Figure:

• Scene 1- The male figure, Maggie’s neighbor and love interest, is a key similarity in both scenes.  In the first scene, the two are just meeting, and an impeding connection is felt between the pair.  They both exude a similar sadness in this scene that foreshadows their attraction.
• Scene 2- Maggie’s love interest is closer to Maggie in this scene, and his body is now faced toward hers, suggesting an opening up of emotions and deepening of their relationship.  Similar to clothing, body language acts as an aesthetic art form that displays unseen thoughts of the characters or rather, their inner feelings.

Space and Texture (Wall): 

• Scene 1- Maggie, in her neutral qipao, becomes “one” with a plain, dark wall, blending into its shadows.  This suggests that Maggie has fallen into the shadows and textures of the wall in a mood of somberness.  She cowers slightly into the wall, but despite her camouflaging, Maggie still makes a connection with her love interest.
• Scene 2- Again, Maggie matches the wall behind her, however, this wall is colorful and flashy; a kaleidoscope of more vivid and vibrant emotions.  She does not cower against the wall in this scene, but outshines it in its exuberance.  This greater suggests how Maggie’s mood has transformed and become brighter as her relationship has flourished.

In conclusion, the constants in these scenes (clothing, man, wall) reflect how Maggie’s inner emotions and mood have grown and transformed as her relationship has become more in depth throughout the passage of time.

well analyzed sequence and persuasive connotations

This photo is a screenshot from the film “The Last Emperor.” In this photo, the former Emperor of China, Puyi, is now  a Chinese citizen and a gardener. Throughout the film Puyi’s status and identity has been translated to the audience through his costume. Through elements of mise-en-scene, color and formation regarding Puyi’s outfit, the filmmakers argue that in order for Puyi to come to find his own identity, he has to remove himself from political, social and economic affiliations. good point

In the prior scene, Puyi is released from prison and granted citizenship in the Peoples Republic of China. The next scene cuts to Puyi working in the garden, and in the screenshot I selected, we see Puyi walking in the garden. The garden itself is lush, green and full of life, which is contrasted by Puyi’s all grey Mao Suit.  I interpreted this scene as the garden represented Puyi’s inner self that isn’t represented by his costume. Puyi finally feels tranquil and at peace, as seen in the tranquility of the garden. This is paralleled by the outward representation of lack of color in Puyi’s costume. Although the filmmakers wanted to contrast Puyi’s costume with his surroundings, in this screenshot Puyi almost appears apart of the background. The filmmakers wanted to emphasize that Puyi’s true internal identity is not represented by his many different costumes, but instead comes from him being at peace with his external surroundings.

The Mao Suit that Puyi wears in this scene is grey and also lacks the armband and book that is seen with the Red Guards of the following scene. In Mao’s China, the traditional Mao Suit was either grey or blue. The filmmakers chose to use a grey suit to further disconnect Puyi from a class hierarchy. By choosing grey over blue, the filmmakers also further emphasize the plainness and lack of color displayed by the suit. The filmmakers choice to dress Puyi in a colorless, plain Mao suit was in effort to strip any sort of identification recognizable from an external viewpoint. This furthers the message of internal identity as opposed to a costume determining Puyi’s  identity for him.

The Mao Suit that Puyi wears is also restrictive when compared to the flowing nature of the Imperial robes he wore when he was a child Emperor. The restrictive nature of the Mao Suit is a symbol of the lack of control Puyi now has over external instances. However, the flowing robes Puyi wore as a child allowed for movement demonstrating the free-flowing ability ??? the child had over his surroundings. Puyi’s inability to control the issues around him, as represented by the Mao suit, further demonstrate the focus on internal understanding of identity.

The all grey, formfitting Mao Suit worn by Puyi in this scene struggles to show any political, economic or social denotations. However, it is only in these final scenes where Puyi is able to feel at peace with his own identity. This shows that the filmmakers wanted to emphasize that true identity comes from within. This could also be seen as a Western criticism of both Imperial and Communist China, seeing as the Puyi only found peace when he wasn’t affiliated with either of them.

detailed reading of the grey Mao suite and Puyi’s inner identity

Courtney Gallagher

Hero: Red Leaves Scene

Fashion & Gender in China: Professor Tsui

In this film sequence, the conflicting colors of the setting, gold and red, mirror the conflict between Flying Snow and Moon over Broken Sword’s love. When the conflict between Flying Snow and Moon is resolved by the death of Moon, so does the conflict in the colors of the setting, as the setting changes to only red. The colors of the setting in this film excerpt, therefore, work to highlight the tension and subsequent resolution in the narrative.

Conflict in Setting Color (Gold/Red), Conflict Between Flying Snow & Moon

The color contrasts that consume the beginning of this film sequence reveal the conflict between Flying Snow and Moon. Flying Snow and Moon’s red dress creates a contrast between the gold leaves in the setting around them. The gold of the setting brings to light, and highlights the betrayal, jealousy, and anger felt by both of these women [shown by their red dresses], as they compete for Broken Sword’s love. Although there seems to be a visual similarity between these two women, as both wear red dresses, their dresses present very different meanings. Flying Snow’s dress is a rich, brilliant red, flowing smoothly in the wind. On the other hand, Moon’s dress is flimsy, faded red. The contrast between their red dresses is representative of Flying Snow’s high social status and Moon’s lower status of servitude. It also shows the contrast between their anger. While Flying Snow’s anger arises from a sense of betrayal, Moon’s arises from a feeling of jealousy. The contrasting nature of the two women is further presented when Flying Snow and Moon are fighting one another [using kung-fu]. Snow fights Moon with ease and grace, while Moon struggles clumsily. During the fight, the golden leaves are blowing in the wind, seemingly attacking Moon for most of the sequence, fighting against and attempting to resolve the existing contrasts and conflicts.

Resolution of Setting Color (Red), Resolution of Conflict

The contrast in the color dissolves with the death of Moon. As Moon’s [red] blood drips onto the leafy ground, it morphs everything to red. The red that it turns is brilliant and rich—just like Flying Snow’s dress—exhibiting her valor. Moon’s death, which was signified by the drop of blood from the sword, signified the “death of the conflict.” Both the resolution of the conflict, and resolution of the color, takes place with the death of Moon. The once violent, golden leaves now seem at ease, simply falling from the trees and flowing with the wind. The death of the conflict transformed this red into a sign of victory and love for which Flying Snow successfully fought. In this way, the scenery is a reflection of Flying Snow’s victory, and the death of a great betrayal.

In short, Flying Snow and Moon’s fight for love was resolved by Moon’s death, which was reinforced by the scenery’s colors. The original contrast of the red and gold colors of the scenery was resolved at the moment of Moon’s death. In the end, Moon’s jealousy, borne of unrequited love, was overcome by Flying Snow’s true love for Broken Sword.

“death of the conflict” is a brilliant idea