Exercise #4

July 30, 2023 By: Xinmao Huang

One of the most poignant documentaries I have watched is Yung Chang’s 2007 documentary, Up the Yangtze, which covers both the environmental, socio-cultural, economic, and political implications of the construction of the Three Gorges Dam in Hubei China. What was jarring for me was how it resonated with my own environmental views and underlying understanding of core-peripheral issues. I feel that there are important similarities with the construction of the Three Gorges Dam in China and the ongoing construction at Site C in British Columbia that adversely affect the subsistence livelihoods of rural/remote residents due to pollution, biodiversity loss, and land use changes. I think this documentary also provides a critique into modern globalization/consumerist culture, as it presents a juxtaposition between the traditional livelihoods of peasant farmers against the introduction of cruise ships, modern technology, and globalization. This was evident in the subject Cindy Yu Shui, who was subject to the impacts of displacement due to the construction of the dam causing flooding in her village while working aboard a cruise ship. Her status under China’s Hukou system would therefore render her as an internal migrant, which in my opinion would make her analogous to Canada’s urban Indigenous population because of her displacement from her village. While this points to the quiet determination of rural residents, another 2007 documentary, Bing’ai follows the peasant woman Zhang Bing’ai who embarks on a stubborn crusade to remain at her home throughout the construction of the Three Gorges Dam. She is shown organizing her village to protest while offering introspective reflections about her sense of place/identity and connection to her home. I would argue that documentaries like these help to draw attention to environmental issues, especially in regards to those deeply affected. However, a more cynical perspective would point to how these are merely flashes in the pan of aggressive development and serve as a testimony/witness to affected victims and their impending displacement.

Bing’ai (2007)à https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dx8O-ZDrTgk&themeRefresh=1 (No English subtitles, but I’ll try to update the link with one)

Up the YangTze (2007)à https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gP72u6hzpA0 (contains English Subtitles)

Bibliography

JeffreyU2BNewstate. “秉爱（三峡工程库区移民安置问题)”YouTube, June 21, 2019. https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=21&v=Dx8O-ZDrTgk&embeds_referring_euri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com%2Fsearch%3Fq%3D%25E7%25A7%2589%25E7%2588%25B1%26tbm%3Dvid%26source%3Dlnms%26sa%3DX%26ved%3D2ahUKEwiLuumD4reAAxVnHTQIHbBcCDsQ0pQJegQIChAB%26bi&source_ve_path=MjM4NTE&feature=emb_title

NguyenNhi. “Up the Yangtze (2007).” YouTube, November 11, 2020. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gP72u6hzpA0&list=PLndiQBBNWcXZhNSKo17ByS4ISWohreNDx&index=7