Chia Hong
CHI321
Blind
Shaft: The Underground, Human Value, and Fate of China
Directed by Li
Yang, Blind Shaft chronicles the lives of two migrant coal mine workers, Tang
and Song, as they implement a dark scam towards unsuspecting strangers.
Enticing fellow migrant workers with stories of great opportunities at the
coalmines, Tang and Song pose as the victim’s relatives and later murders them
while making the death appear as a mining accident. They then blackmail the
mine owner to reap the monetary benefits. Because the mines are usually illegal
and not regulated, the corrupt mine owner unenthusiastically agrees to pay in
order to avoid government investigation. However, Tang and Song’s system begins
to unravel once they meet Feng Ming, a young and naïve boy seeking to accrue money
for his sister’s education. Filmed in documentary style, Blind Shaft examines
the bleak condition of coalmines through the character narrative, ultimately
serving as a thought provoking and interesting microscopic view of one of
China’s underground realms, transforming China, and the consequences it has for
human value.
The
film utilizes a raw documentary filming style to capture the harsh environment of
the coalmines. Throughout the film, there is a stark lack of music. Because the
role of music is generally to elicit a specific emotion or add sentimental
value, the absence of it allows the audience to draw their own conclusions. Lack of music also mimics real life and allows
the audience to focus their attention on other sounds and visuals. For
instance, in the first scene where the coal miners are lining up to enter the
mine, the audience is focused on the natural sound of laborers’ feet shuffling
in the bitter cold. Furthermore, the film was primarily shot at eye level, making
it seem more realistic. Li Yang also utilizes nonprofessional actors in the
film to aid in the realism. Such realistic depictions make the film more
compelling and raw.
Moreover,
the visual elements of the film highlight both the environmental and human toll
of working in a coalmine. For instance, the landscape is comprised notably of
dark colors like brown and black, which is a physical manifestation of the
environmental damage caused by coalmines. The wide shots of the desolate
landscape juxtaposed against the small coal miners is a forceful reminder that
the people are merely small pawns in the “unstoppable transnational process of
exploiting and depleting the earth’s resources to satisfy insatiable demands of
human consumption.” (Wang, 2004) Inside the
cave, lighting is limited and is largely sourced from the mineworkers’
headgear. Thus, the audience only receives limited view of the interior,
oftentimes seeing shadows echoing from the walls. This relatively dark and
enclosed space highlights the grueling conditions of working in a coalmine and
hints at the secretiveness of the cave.
As
noted by Noble, the coalmines also represent a figurative underground world
that transgresses beyond the physical space. (2007) For example, Tang and Song
use a portion of their earnings to buy services from prostitutes, long
considered an illegal and hidden realm. In the karaoke bar, the atmosphere
parallels that of the coalmines because of its dark and enclosed space. Even
the process of working in the coalmines required Fen Ming to obtain a fake ID,
which further supports underground businesses. Not only does the coalmine
present a physical space for corruption and illegal activity, but it also
necessitates a larger sphere of illegal influence.
Additionally,
Li Yang is able to inject various elements, notably through the mine owner’s
perspective, that hint at the large context of corrupt consequences of
industrialized China. When the first mining “accident” occurs in the beginning
of the movie, the mine owner says, “No news of this can leak out. If the
authorities investigate us, we’ll be screwed.” (11:45) Such instances reveal the
incredibly atrocious and unregulated condition of the mine. His associate then says,
“Boss, why bother? Why not just kill the two?” The coalmine owner nonchalantly replies
that such actions would require even more money to bribe the police. This short
dialogue reveals the larger context of China and the various layers of
corruption. The mine owner later says, “China has a shortage of everything but
people.” Such claims, alongside the mine owner’s pragmatic reply to the idea of
killing Tang and Song, suggest that humans have become disposable and
replaceable in the new industrialized China.
Moreover,
the film portrays human interactions as shaped by the relatively recent
capitalist China. In essence, human
relations in the film are primarily based on a cut-throat, everyman for himself
ideology. In an interview of Li Yang, he notes that there are several instances
in the film that reflect the saying “The big fish eat the small fish, and the
small fish eat the shrimp.” This notion is largely captured in Tang and Song’s
grim plot to murder fellow laborers for the sake of earning a few thousand
dollars. Furthermore, when Tang accuses Song of developing sympathy for the
boy, Song barks, “If I care for him, who is caring for me?” (1:02:23) This
highlights the focus on the individual, which is rather different from the
collectivist society that usually characterizes China. Near the end of the film,
Tang murders a fellow coal miner and simply says, “I just eliminate anyone in
the path of my fortune.” (1:19:51) Such ideologies are reverberated in the mine
owners who fail to meet coalmine regulations and the man in the expensive car
who frightens Tang and Song.
In
several ways, Tang and Song represent the “victims of chaotic changes sweeping
through China.” (Chow, 2008) Perhaps the most iconic scene is when Tang and
Song visit the karaoke bar and sing the song “Long Live Socialism.” After
singing a few verses, the prostitutes call Tang a “hick” when he does not
realize the song lyrics have slightly altered. The prostitutes then proceed to
sing the new version of the song, with references to capitalism and sex. The
fact that Tang and Song are oblivious to these changes indicates a generational
gap and their lack of ability to catch up with a rapidly changing China.
Notably, Li Yang wishes to bring into question the fate of Chinese culture, also
demonstrated by his use of Chinese dynasty names for the main protagonists
Tang, Song, and Yuan.
Despite
the changing social and political climate that is a product of capitalist China,
the film also highlights the continuity of Chinese values such as kinship. In
fact, Chow argues that kinship is the most prominent aspect of the film and
propels the film along. (2008) Indeed, kinship also appears to be the source of
morality and conscience. (Chow, 2008) Although Song and Tang are in some ways
brutal murderers, they are also caring and loyal fathers, who strive to provide
an education for their children back home. Whenever the two men are paid, they
immediately send money back home, with Song promising to come back for New
Years and inquiring about his son’s grades. Chow notes “kinship family serves
as an inviolable basic social unit.” Additionally, Yuan, Tang and Song all
endorse the notion of kinship and go to extreme lengths to provide for their
families.
Ultimately,
Blind Shaft examines the lives of three coal miners –Song, Tang, and Yuan—in
order to discuss the broader scope of China and the implications of its
changes. Blind Shaft brings attention to the underworld of China via illegal
activities like the coalmines and prostitutes, while provoking questions about
the fate of China.
Works Cited
Chow, R. (2008). "human" in the age of disposable people: The
ambiguous import of kinship and education in blind shaft. Sentimental
Fabulation, Contemporary Chinese Film, 94-106.
Noble, J. (2007). Blind shaft: Performing the 'underground' on and
beyond the screen. Chinese Films in Focus, 32-37.
Wang, B. (2004). Of humans and nature in documentary: The logic of
capital in west of tracks and blind shaft.Of Humans and Nature in
Documentary, 157-169.
(2003). The future of chinese
cinema?. Voices From China, 209-232.
