August 15, 2013
Mothers – China,
2012
Numbers can be dehumanizing. They are often distributed as
if they were the final verdict of a person’s, a company’s, or a program’s
effectiveness or success. An employee at a call center may be congratulated for
helping one hundred customers a day even if the quality of his customer service
leaves a lot to be desired. A company may rejoice when it sees numbers indicating
strong growth potential, yet rarely do those kinds of numbers shed light on
what that accomplishment has meant to the company’s employees, many of whom may
have been downsized. Xu Hui-Jing’s documentary Mothers documents the tragic events that unfold after the local
officials of Ma Village are given a number by which their success and futures
will be decided. The number is fourteen, and while this number doesn’t seem
like a lot, each of the fourteen individuals affected by it will be scarred
forever.
Mothers begins with
some startling statistics. The films documents events that occurred between
2010 and 2011, and at this time, Ma Village, a small area of Hongdong County in
Shanxi Province, has a population of just 2,226 people. Of these, just 483 women
are of childbearing age, and of those, 345 have already been sterilized, while
121 are on birth control rings. That means that just 17 of the residents of Ma
Village are still able to reproduce. Normally, this would be a cause for alarm;
to the central government, it appears to be evidence of a job well done. It is
hard to say for sure if they are aware of the toll this “success” has had on
the local population.
This year, the Ma Village Birth Control and Sterilization
Mobilization Committee are tasked with finding and sterilizing fourteen women,
and there are additional requirements. The fourteen must each get sterilized as
a result of the work of the committee, and each sterilization must be performed
at a government-run center. To make the residents aware of the operation, sound
trucks drive around blaring government propaganda and warning of the
consequences of not adhering to the one-child policy – one of which is that
every member of the committee will be fired if the quota is not met.
As the film progresses, the camera follows the committee as
they drive around Ma Village trying to convince the few unsterilized women left
to accompany them to the center. They are often told that it is just for a
check-up and that they can decide for themselves whether to get sterilized or
not. Most of the women know better. One, a schoolteacher named Rong-rong, has a
habit of disappearing the moment the committee’s truck arrives at her home. It
is this feisty young woman that the committee sets its sights on, and they
often speak to her as if she were public enemy number one.
The film’s scope is wide enough to allow viewers a full view
of the situation and the individuals involved. We meet Zhang Qing-mei, in charge
of Women’s Care in Ma County, and watch as she drives around trying to find
candidates for sterilization. It is ironic then that this same women also works
at a temple that worships the “God of Child-giving.” In one scene, Xu films her
explaining the different scenarios in which people pray to this god, and as she
does it, her face is filled with an excitement and wonder that is missing in
every scene in which she is “working.” Xu also introduces viewers to two former
director’s of Women’s Care. Each of them speaks with complete detachment of
their years doing Zhang Qing-mei’s job. However, they are quick to state that
they reached their quotas and that it was their job to do so. However, there’s
no mistaking the fact that the experience has left them cold and bitter.
Mothers is an
unsettling film about a situation that can only be described as sheer madness. It documents the toll the
one-child policy is having on the region, as well as the many tactics used to persuade
women to be sterilized. These include unbearable fines and the withholding of
official registry for one’s child. Not being registered carries an additional punishment:
It keeps the child from getting an education.
As I watched the film, I couldn’t help wondering why this
committee had agreed to let Xu film them, especially given how frequently
international reporters are threatened and chased off from these very areas, and
then it hit me. They don’t think they are doing anything wrong. Perhaps they
even think that the film will demonstrate just how well they are performing
their duties and impress their higher ups. It is a variation of the old defense
I was just following orders. Sound familiar? They don’t seem to realize
that they too are just numbers added into a larger database that will
eventually produce a larger, much more general statistic. I’ll venture to guess
that this statistic will eventually be touted as a success rate and held as
proof that the government’s efforts are producing their desired results.
However, as Mothers demonstrates,
there is very little to celebrate. In fact, the film ends with an act that is
so morally reprehensible that it literally left me stunned. It is truly shocking
that some are capable of such cruelty. (on DVD in Region 3)
4 stars
*Mothers is in
Chinese with English subtitles.
*The film has been released in Taiwan and South Korea. It does not
appear to have a release date in the United States.
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