Morning Sun | The Film

Asian Educational Media Service - News and Reviews
Vol. 7, No. 3, Fall 2004, pp. 1-3.
David G. Wittner

Morning Sun tells the story of the tumultuous event commonly known as the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution (1964-1976). Like other films that cover this pivotal event in Chinese history, we are treated to scenes and descriptions of the Great Leap Forward, the growing cult of Mao, the Revolution itself, Communist Party Congresses, Red Guard activity, and the rise and fall of the Gang of Four. Unlike other documentary films, however, this one does not compress the events into a series of negative sound bytes recreating the political history of a lost decade. Morning Sun is a social history of the Cultural Revolution. It relies on the words of the historical actors to explain the psychology of revolution. There are a series of threads that run throughout Morning Sun that help illustrate the complexity of this era. Viewers are treated to a vibrant personal history, one from which they can gain a greater understanding of post-Communist Revolution China.

Set against the backdrop of the musical The East is Red, which opened in October 1964 to celebrate the fifteenth anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic, Morning Sun juxtaposes China’s revolutionary history prior to 1964 with that which followed. The generation that would come of age during the early- and mid-1960s, the generation that would become the Red Guard, would learn from this musical and associated propaganda that it was their responsibility to take the mantle of revolutionary leadership and move forward to promote not only Chinese revolution, but world revolution. They would be taught that Mao alone was responsible for China’s newly regained greatness and that the Chinese Revolution saved the nation from the yoke of Western imperialism. Theirs was a sense of purpose.

Like many other documentary films, Morning Sun relies on a series of interviews shown in combination with historical images and film footage. The interviews are the heart of this film and give it its greatest impact. Going well beyond the familiar cast of talking heads, the so-called experts in the field, the producers of Morning Sun have allowed the historical actors to tell their own stories. We are treated to a variety of personal perspectives that help us to understand what motivated a group of impressionable, nationalistic teenagers to turn a country upside down in the name of Chairman Mao. While not meaning to downplay the violence of the decade, it becomes clear from the interviews that common teenage issues, such as peer pressure, group conformity, and challenging parental authority, were partially responsible for the escalation in violence and fervor of the Revolution. These interviews are sincere and leave a lasting impression. One easily senses the frustration and loss of this generation that continues to this day.

In addition to interviews with members of the revolutionary generation, which includes Luo Xiaohai, a founder of the Red Guards, there are interviews with several of the Cultural Revolution’s victims including Li Rui, who was a high-ranking party official and Mao’s secretary, and Huang Yongyu, a prominent writer who was targeted because of his satirical writing. As with the other interviews, the viewer can tell that the effects of the Cultural Revolution have not left this group. Each, in his own way, still struggles to find meaning in the events.

Historical images complement the interviews and provide historical background. In addition to photographs and film clips that specifically relate to the interviewees, the producers have utilized a fresh set of historical images that go beyond what have become the standard post-Communist Revolution photo and film montage. Because one of the central threads that runs through this film is the state’s appropriation of art for the sake of revolution, we are also treated to excerpts from Cultural Revolution-era films that had significant impact on that generation.

Morning Sun is a welcome addition to the classroom because of its in-depth analysis of the Cultural Revolution and surrounding events. One of the biggest problems I find with most documentary films on post-1949 China designed for the classroom is that they are highly superficial and try to compress fifty-plus years of history into twenty-eight or so minutes. This film is accurate and detailed in its coverage. Narrated by the familiar voice of National Public Radio’s Margot Adler, Morning Sun maintains a level of discourse that is perhaps too sophisticated for viewers with little or no knowledge of the Cultural Revolution. For those viewers who have event he most limited understanding of the political history of this era, however, this film is highly informative and could serve as the basis for extended discussion and analysis. The only possible drawback to using Morning Sun in the classroom is its length, although this is not insurmountable. The film is divided into eight parts, each of which could serve as a convenient breaking point. An additional feature that makes this film especially student/classroom-friendly is its companion Web site that contains a host of additional material, including interactive translations of Mao’s Little Red Book, extended interviews, The East is Red, interactive radio and television clips, and additional historical images.