Message from cmajkut

I watched "Quitting" yesterday. I agree with other classmates that this is a depressing film, portraying the alienation, isolation, and downward spiral of a 29 year-old actor who has been hooked on drugs for 4 years, while continuing to drink alcohol and chain smoke like a fiend. Clay brought this film up as an example of Confucian filial piety in reverse - the parents need and obligation to save their son at any cost. The father retires early and the whole family moves to Beijing into the son's apartment.

Would an American family make this kind of sacrifice even while the son is belligerent, abusive, and full of distain for his parents? In Chinese culture, it is considered auspicious to have several generations living under the same roof. In the United States, western individualism dictates that the younger generation be on their own to figure their own life out. I believe that most American families would not make the kind of sacrifice portrayed in the film. It also makes me wonder if that extreme sacrifice was necessary for the son's recovery. Perhaps. In the west, we have extensive 12 step programs which assist the addict in taking personal responsibility for one's life and situation. In the end, this Chinese family's love wasn't enough to heal him - they still needed to institutionalize the son for him to make a full recovery and finally accept personal responsibility.

One aspect of the film that I did enjoy was the play within a play device. We discover that the actors are actually playing themselves while telling their own true story. At one point, the son gives a monologue about how he is just a human being. It becomes clear that all of us are just playing a role as a human being in this ongoing drama we call life.

Catherine