The Last Emporer

I really enjoyed watching The Last Emperor. Not only was the movie informational, but very entertaining. My favorite part about the film was watching Puyi reflect back to his time as a child, his life in the Forbidden City, and to his days in Shanghai and as emperor of Manchukuo. This was a very creative way to illustrate the changes that China endured due to the Cultural Revolution. More specifically, those watching the movie can develop a better understanding Chinese people like Puyi, those who were against the revolution and wanted to maintain China's dynasty. However, China was changing quickly and leaders like Mao Zedong and Chaing Kaishek were not allowing and resistors to get in their way. Especially not Mao, who had traitors to the new Chinese government put in jail. This is were Puyi is while he reflects on his past.

By the end of the movie, I feel bad for Puyi. Although some may argue that he was an antagonist, I think that Puyi was a protagonist throughout the entire movie. Puyi was a tragic hero since the beginning, where he ascended the throne at age three. Throughout his development, the palace eunuchs raised him to believe that he was the "son of heaven," and that he could do whatever he wanted. Puyi kept this mentality through adulthood, and due to this, he suffered. People may argue that Puyi became the antagonist when he accepted the job as emperor of Manchukuo from the Japanese knowing that he was only a puppet because being an emperor was all he knew. He had always been an emperor and fought hard to maintain that status. However, he failed time after time. The Last Emperor was a fantastic movie, in my opinion. Personally, I had to watch this three hour movie in sections but filmmakers made great use of this time.