Joy Luck Club portrays different stories from three different mothers and one daughter. Throughout the film, the stories are told and through all the experiences, there are many well-known "Asian images" presented.
In the film, many intensities of Asian portrayal can be felt. One story that was told was about the mother's life as a young girl, being matched to a heir to the throne by a matchmaker. They'd never met each other before, but when they did, the heir presented sloppy and a couldn't-care-less attitude towards her. The heir's mother repeatedly bugs and humiliates the young girl due to not being conceived after sleeping with the heir for days and weeks. Spoiler-less on how it is done, the young girl escapes from the household, ultimately ending up with her current husband and having a daughter she loves. Matchmaking is somewhat of a superstition for having the best possible match for a son or daughter and is generally important for the Chinese very back in the early years. Another story is told about a daughter who's mother was obsessed for perfection in her child. This daughter was [forced to] playing piano constantly and consistently, eventually entering into a talent show, in which she chokes. She disappoints her mother, but soon after makes her a more than proud mother; she plays chess and becomes a chess champion. The mother then carried a newspaper with her daughter's image on the cover and walks with her daughter in hand, walking up to random people on the street (we all know women like to show off what they are proud of).
This film gives off a lot of cultural insights of the Chinese population, however, adding stereotypes into the mix: Chinese people always play piano, Chinese mothers always want a grandchild. It is an interesting mix because some may view everything as something they could label the whole Chinese population with and not feel like they are wrong about it, whereas others know the difference between some of these events.
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