Rodriguez Osiel
Professor Wexler
English 495ESM
05/07/2014
How a Bicycle Equals Power: An Analysis of Beijing Bicycle
Most people see a
bicycle as a commodity that can be used for leisure and fun. However, in the
film Beijing Bicycle it is
seen as a symbol of class statues and higher social standing, for Jian and as a tool that allows Guei to
complete the very first job he has acquired. The bicycle in the film can be
seen as a replacement for money because having the bicycle equals having power.
Money equals power
and power equals influence is something that we all have heard before, but what
we have not heard is that this ideology can be placed on other commodities and
objects all around us. According to Randy Martin, “financialization of
daily life did not banish labor, but elaborated it in the domestic sphere.”
Although the quote is talking about the work force it also talking about how
every aspect of daily life become something that could be talked about in
numbers; it can still be applied to the film because the bike becomes something
of a currency that is needed to live the life both protagonists want. For
example, in the film around the thirty-two to thirty-four minute mark we see
that Jian is using the bike to impress the girl that he likes while earlier in
the film we see Guei using the bike to complete his job in order to earn the
bike itself. Although the bike remains the same, the connotation or better the
value of the bike changes depending on who currently owns the bike. If it is in
Guei’s hands then it is a tool that he uses to complete his job, as well as a
symbol that marks him as a citizen of Beijing and that gives him a sense of
belonging. However when the bike is in Jian’s hands it is a class symbol that
raises his social status, because of how “nice” and expensive looking the bike
is, he uses it to improve the way the girl he likes looks upon him and it also
gives him a sense of belonging not to Beijing, but to the group of friends he
hangs out with.
The carrier business that Guei
works out of is also an extension of the power the bike has because that’s
where he originally got the bike and the bike does not become his until he
completes a certain amount of deliveries. Around the thirteen to sixteen minute
mark we see a struggle of power over the bike because Guei argues that
according to his accounts on his notebook he has completely paid for the bike,
but the secretary of the carrier business says he has not and has to delivery
for one more day in order for the bike to be his. Both of the scenes can be
seen as a power struggle between a big corporation and a small business in the
sense that the big corporation is trying to absorb the small business into its
assets the small business is resisting. According to Cultural Space and Urban
Space: The New World, “”Fight against inflation is a cover to bash workers and
create an industrial reserve army so that capitalists could have easy profits.”
The secretary telling Guei that the bike is not yet his because he still owes
them one more day of delivering packages is a form of fighting against
inflation because the bike has become inflated even though according to Guei’s accounting
he already owns the bike. Another example of this, is earlier in the film when Guei
goes to deliver the package to Mr. Zhang and he is forced to take a shower when
he doesn’t want to and later he is forced again to pay for the shower that he
was forced to take. This is an example of how almost everything is getting a
price tag on it when it should be free.
The view that Guei and his
relative have towards rich people is that even though the have money and power
they are not truly ever happy. At the six to eight minute mark Guei and his
relative watch as a young woman comes into view wearing many different types of
clothes and never smiling. The relative ends by saying that city folk have lots
of money, but are never really happy. However later in the film we find out
that she is just a maid that strives to become like her boss and wear a variety
of different clothes and own a huge house and this is her way of fulfilling her
fantasy. This is a clear example of the ideology that every person no matter
their background can rise up to be become a successful business men/women and
live the life of the rich, however what they don’t tell people is that only a
select and very few actually do become rich and successful to the point of not
having to work anymore because of the wealth they have accumulated. According
to, Fredrick Jameson, “‘utopian’ has come to be a code on the left for socialism
or communism; while on he right it has become synonymous with ‘totalitarianism’
or, in effect, with Stalinism.” The quote above shows how one thing can be
viewed as a multitude of things and how the different interpretations can be
worlds apart.
In
conclusion, the power that the bike has in the film is finally resolved when
the one of the ones finally keeps the bike and the other doesn’t. This
illustrates the power struggle that happens between the working class and the
rich.
Work Cited
“Cultural Space and Urban Space”. Moddle.csun.edu. 10 May 2014. Web
Jameson, Fredrik. “The Politics of Utopia”. Moddle.csun.edu. 11 May 2014. Web
Martin, Randy. “Where Did The Future Go?”. Moodle.csun.edu. 09 May 2014. Web
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