Jessica's ENB150 Blog

Lab #4

Up the Yangze

Up the Yangze is a movie about the hydroelectric dam built on the Yangze River in China. The movie takes an interesting approach to the situation by following two teenagers who are affected by the building of the dam. The two teenagers both take up jobs working on a cruise ship as a way to earn money during this time of change. One of these teenagers is a girl named Yu Shui. She is given the English name of Cindy by her employer, and she works as a dishwasher on the cruise ship. Cindy is 16 years old and comes from a very poor family that lives in a small home on the edge of the Yangze River. Although Cindy’s family is poor, they are able to have enough food to eat by farming off of the land they live on. When the dam is built, Cindy’s family is forced to move to the city where they can no longer farm for their food. The movie shows the water rising once the dam is built, and it eventually covers the lot where Cindy’s family once lived. The other teenager is a boy named Chen Bo Yu. He is named Jerry by the cruise line, and he works as a performance singer and carries passengers’ bags to make tips. Jerry is 19 years old and comes from a better off family. Jerry has a rather arrogant attitude, and believes he is better than Cindy. This attitude results in Jerry getting fired from the cruise line. Unlike Cindy, however, Jerry has other options in life. His family can afford to send him to school if he does not work. By following these two teenagers, the movie shows the different effects that the dam has on families. Although Jerry has other option, Cindy needs to work to help her family survive in the city. The building of the dam shows that China is changing. The dam is progress for China, and it will help industrialize the country. Yet this industrialization results in the rural areas, and the people that live there, being forced out. Although the dam is good for the country, it is not necessarily good for all individual families.