Tiny Times

Of the inwardly-looking sociological portraits of China that get unveiled to her mainstream audience， few are taken seriously. Often， the West assumes that these pictures must provide defying commentary on the hardships of life in a struggling country or under an oppressive government. Films like To Live or Raise the Red Lantern are held by many in the West as the pinnacle of Chinese cinema—pictures that paint a bleak picture of what it means to live in China. What the scholars from the West are loathe to take into account are the push and pull of hidden and unseen forces on the ideologies， desires and tastes of the Chinese people.

Similarly， in looking at a fi lm such as high-school dropout-turned-writer Guo Jingmings Tiny Times， critics in both Chinese and Western fi lm circles fi nd it an easy target for discussing the latest horrifi c trends in Chinese society， namely the absurd materialism that the four main characters exhibit. Yes， Tiny Times is a fi lm that refl ects the highest pinnacle of a quiet writer-turnedfi lmmakers male chauvinist dream. Yes， it is true that Tiny Times is lit with the insufferable glow of a 24 carat diamond， portraying Shanghai as an ever-reaching mountain of opulence and glamour. Yes， the dialogue of Tiny Times is as artifi cial and machine-like as an automaton running out of batteries. And yes， Tiny Times is， without a doubt， yet another Chinese take on Western blockbusters—in this case， The Devil Wears Prada.

Our lives kept turning like this， day by day， seconds， minutes， hours—dragging shadows along to become an era. W6men de sh8ngm#ng ji& zh-y3ng y#ti`n y#ti`n de zhu3nd7ngzhe， mi2ozh8n， f8nzh8n， sh！zh8n， tu4zhe x$y@ng zhu3nd7ng ch9ng zh-ge p1ngd3 de sh！d3i.

我们的生命就这样一天一天地转动着，秒针，分针，时针， 拖着虚影转动成这个庞大的时代。

We are the most insignificant characters in this era.ér w6， h9 w6men， d4ush# zh-ge sh！d3il@ zu# zu# mi2oxi2o de c%nz3i.

而我，和我们，都是这个时代里最最渺小微茫的存在。

We live in a vast universe in which stardust and light float everywhere. Our existence is even smaller than them. W6men hu5z3i h3oh3n de y^zh7u li， m3nti`n pi`os2zhe y^zh7u ch9n`i h9 x～ngh9 gu`ngch9n. W6men sh# b@ zh-xi8 h1iy3o mi2oxi2o de c%nz3i.

我们活在浩瀚的宇宙里， 漫天飘洒着宇宙尘埃和星河光尘。我们是比这些还要渺小的存在。

We still make tiny efforts in the midst of great despair. This feeling of not being willing to give up， it becomes the specks of starlight in the dark. Were all small specks of star light. W6men y～r1n z3i d3da de ju9w3ng li xi2oxi2o de n^l#zhe. Zh-zh6ng b&xi2ng f3ngq# de x～nq！ng， t`men bi3nch9ng w%bi`n h8i3n de xi2oxi2o x～ngch9n. W6men d4ush# xi2oxi2o de x～ngch9n.

我们依然在大大的绝望里小小的努力着。这种不想放弃的心情，它们变成无边黑暗的小小星辰。我们都是小小的星辰。

So， what makes Tiny Times worth discussing as cinema？ For one， the movie， while landing rock bottom with critics from both East and West， reached a box offi ce high of $11.9 million on opening day. The highlycritical portrayal of Tiny Times belies its strong showing among young adults. Its easy to see how Tiny Times is facetiously set in a universe that caters to these wide-eyed young consumers. The fi lm portrays four young women who start as friends in grade school and transform into socialites with an infi nite supply of wealth at their fi nger tips. Throughout their “growth”， their attachment to money， wealth， and androgynous men strains and warps their friendship.

Not as pretty as Nan Xiang， not as refined as Lily， and not as OVER as Ruby. M9iy6u N1n Xi`ng n3me pi3oliang， m9iy6u G& L@ n3me j～ngzh#， d3n y0 m9iy6u T1ng W2nr% n3me de OVER.

没有南湘那么漂亮，没有顾里那么精致，但也没有唐婉如那么的OVER。

My name is Lin Xiao， the most ordinary of the hundreds of thousands of Shanghainese girls. W6 ji3o L！n Xi`o， sh# Sh3ngh2i w3nqi`n n）h1ir zh4ng， zu# p！ngf1n de y！ g-.

我叫林萧，是上海万千女孩儿中，最平凡的一个。

But our story is not ordinary. D3n w6men de g&shi， qu- b#ng b% n3me p！ngf1n.

但我们的故事，却并不那么平凡。

Are you ready for it？ N@ zh^nb-i h2ole ma？

你准备好了吗？

The fi lm focuses on Lin Xiao （Mini Yang） as the primary subject amongst the four protagonists. An intern at a fashion magazine， Lin is drawn into the dreamy diamond-encrusted world of Shanghais nouveau riche， all the while trying to maintain friendships with her high school counterparts and college dorm mates who serve various purposes as foils and supporting roles to Lins feeble-minded and stranded caricature. Nan Xiang （Bea Hayden） is a poor fashion designer who cant seem to hold on to much more than her fl awless beauty. Tang Wanru is a badminton player and the “funny fat girl” comedic foil to accentuate the beauty of the three ladies. Gu Li（Amber Kuo） studies to be a fi nancier and accountant， the icy vixen of the pack. Their trials and tribulations involve putting on fashion events“against all odds”， culminating in the biggest fashion show of the year.

Tiny Times has also sparked serious debate on feminism in Chinese society. While the fi lm does focus on four female protagonists， more often than not， it seems that they are hopelessly jerked around by cold （and， in some cases， abusive） men who pull the strings more than their helpless female leads. Debate surrounding this particular aspect of the fi lm， has surged on Weibo， Chinas Twitter.

Lily： Why are you involved with this scum， are you out of your mind？ From middle school to now， havent you suffered enough？ N@ z0nme h1i g8n zh-ge r9nzh` li1nx#， n@ f8ng le？ C5ng ch$zh4ng d3o xi3nz3i， n@ b-i t` h3ide h1i b%g7u sh#ma？

你怎么还跟这个人渣联系，你疯了？从初中到现在，你被他害得还不够是吗？

Nan Xiang： This has nothing to do with you. Youre more worked up than I am. Is it really necessary？ Y7u b&gu`n n@ de sh#qing， n@ b@ w6 h1i y3o j～d7ng， y6u b#y3o ma？

又不关你的事情，你比我还要激动， 有必要吗？

Lily： No. Its especially unnecessary. Dumped three times， slapped four times. Im not the one who was beaten， who had to go to the hospital for severe injuries and was kicked out of the house！

M9i b#y3o. T-bi9 m9i b#y3o. D`ngch$ b-i p`oq# s`n c#， b-i shu2i 0rgu`ng s# c#， b-i t` d2d3o zh7ngsh`ng zh&yu3n， zu#h7u h1i b-i g2nch$ ji`m9n de y7u b%sh# w6！

没必要。特别没必要。当初被抛弃三次，被甩耳光四次，被他打到重伤住院，最后还被赶出家门的又不是我！

Essentially， for all its criticism， Tiny Times is still a refl ection of youth culture， and a successful one at that. In both book and cinema form， Tiny Times is a stylized portrayal of the seriousness with which a particular set of Chinese society reacts to its material wealth. As Varietys Maggie Lee so aptly puts it： “[Guo] articulates the cosmopolitan dreams of the masses.”Perhaps the intensity of critical response to the fi lm is characteristic of how pervasively materialism has infi ltrated Chinese society—a sort of shocked self-evaluation by Chinas cultural critics. To this degree， Tiny Times is surprisingly candid in the way its characters strive for individual attainment of material wealth； apparently， over 3，000 individual costumes were required for the fi lm. In some ways， its the typical blatant defense of corruption， nepotism as a means of achieving in Chinas dog-eat-dog world. And yet， it comes across almost cynical in the context of the automaton-like delivery of dialogue. In other words， critics are missing the irony of Tiny Timessuccess—that， despite its contrived story， schmaltz and swank， terrible acting and unrealistic expectations， it is still a fi lm that speaks to the haute couture dreams of young Chinese females. Yes， terrible cinema can still make a valid point， intentionally or otherwise.-TERENCE HSIEH （谢燕辉）