Chinese Farm Wife

Year Published: 1974

Complete Record: A short, biographic film, portrays the life of a Taiwanese woman who manages both the family and the farm. Her husband, Li Su Li, works in a glove factory. The film concentrates oh how the role and status of women like Ms. Li is changing. It shows her self-perception and the way she deals with new conditions. Although remnants of the traditional past persist, particularly in wedding rituals and religious practices, Taiwan is moving rapidly to a mechanized Western-style material culture. The film also depicts agricultural routines, types of work, and the varied responsibilities of a manager-mother. Mrs. Li clearly has a share decision-making and a more equal role than Chinese women of earlier generations. Mrs. Li faces as arduous tasks as her husband in the factory - an interesting role reversal that is occurring in many Westernized societies.