Chapter 315
Movie review: Why is Lao Deng called Lao Deng?
[I don’t know what everyone thinks of Mr. Bai, but at least when I first watched the movie, I felt that this character had very few scenes and few lines, and there wasn’t enough room for him to perform. Compared to Bai's mother, who often mediates and faces conflicts between siblings, Bai's father is silent most of the time.
I used to wonder if Gu Size played this role to repay a favor, but through discussions with friends and watching the movie twice and three times, I suddenly realized something about him.
Let me summarize first: this is a character who seldom makes decisions on his own initiative and never conflicts with others, but influences the decisions of others through words and actions, thus ensuring that many things develop according to his wishes.
If you recall the movie carefully, you will find that he is really the mastermind behind many plots.
For example, he said that he was very pleased to see Bai Fei had both a son and a daughter, but he didn't know what Weiwei was planning to do. Who would take care of her when she got old?
He also said that Jiajia will soon go to junior high school and Youyou will also go to elementary school. These two children look smart and must study hard and learn from their aunt.
These two speeches seem normal, they just show concern for their daughter and grandchildren. But when he said these words, Bai's mother was by his side. Look at what Bai's mother did afterwards.
She actively arranged and urged Bai Wei to go on blind dates, and couldn't wait to get her married; she also took the initiative to use the couple's savings to buy a school district house for Bai Fei and his wife, and registered it under Youyou's name.
Bai Wei was very disgusted by her family's attitude of urging her to get married, and most of the savings they took out were pension money given by Bai Wei. The two things in the movie that offended Bai Wei the most and made the parent-child relationship extremely tense were both done by Bai's mother.
Bai's mother is certainly biased, but is this really her decision alone?
The previous urging of marriage is fine, but the matter of buying a house for Bai Fei is very intriguing.
Just imagine, if a mother has an ineradicable idea of favoring boys over girls, then in her logic, the pillar and person in charge of the family must be a man. So does she really dare to make the decision independently and decide the use of such a large sum of money without her husband's consent?
The answer is of course no, and Mr. Bai’s behavior is more than just “acquiescence”. Think about what he said before about children studying hard. This is also a hint.
He knew Bai's mother and knew she would definitely do this because that was the best path under the circumstances.
This is why I use "Lao Deng" to describe him - you say he is smart, but he is already middle-aged and old, and has never done anything successful; you say he is honest, but he is too cunning towards his own people.
This kind of people are best at bullying others at home. They hardly enjoy any respect in society, but once they gain some power in the family, they want to use it to the extreme.
Why is Lao Deng called Lao Deng (this word does not mean a compliment, but it has a certain threshold), and why many viewers, including myself, did not notice any big problems when watching it for the first time, is because Mr. Bai never makes any demands, nor does he tell you what to do. He seems to just be describing facts and feelings.
But if you think about it carefully, you will find that his behavior is like putting a ball on a slope. After letting go of his hand, he tells everyone that he did not interfere with the trajectory of the ball, but it had to roll down.
In physics, this is called gravity, and in sociology, it is called power.
He used his husband's power to make Bai's mother fight in the front lines, and used his father's power to make Bai Wei pay tribute on time. He indulged and acquiesced to the former, and achieved the desired results through her behavior. He praised the latter as "filial", "sweet and caring", and "never puts parents in trouble". While demanding money, he morally blackmailed her to accept his favoritism towards his son.
There are so many details like this that when I count them carefully, it seems that every word he says has a deeper meaning. When he and Bai's mother were shopping for groceries and passed by a convenience store, he would point to a certain snack and say, "Weiwei loved this when she was a child," and then stop. Bai's mother would complete the second half of the sentence for him, but it was a pity that Feifei had never eaten it. I don't know how much suffering he had endured in his childhood.
At this time, Bai's father would wave his hands and ask why you bring up these things. However, when they got home and Bai's mother used this as an excuse to ask Bai Wei to be more accommodating to Bai Fei, he pretended to be deaf and dumb and could only sigh helplessly.
I have no intention of proving that Mr. Bai intentionally provoked conflict between the siblings, but this point makes me feel uneasy.
At the same time, the screenwriter's design is also very clever. Many viewers will feel that the focus of this plot is that Bai Wei's childhood was inexplicably filled with original sin. She was not the person responsible for Bai Fei's disappearance, so why did Bai's mother think that eating some snacks was something she should do to her brother and compensate him?
Following this line of thinking, Mr. Bai, who first mentioned snacks, disappeared. This is also a very satirical part of the movie. Aren't there many men who hold power in their hands but love to be cowards?
They always like to use the word "shrew" to describe women, but they never mention the lack of decision-making power of women in the traditional patriarchal system. When Bai's mother acted like a "shrew" in the family, Bai's father had countless opportunities to stop her. Many details in the movie also show that Bai's mother looked up to him, but he never stood up for her even once.
In fact, in the movie, Bai Wei should have realized this. She had a particularly wonderful eye contact scene with Mr. Bai and Ms. Bai. She looked at Mr. Bai first and then at Ms. Bai. The atmosphere was so tense that I even held my breath in the cinema.
Well... I used to think that the judgment in her eyes was because she found out that they used their savings to buy a house for Bai Fei. Now that I think about it, the main target of her confrontation was Bai's father, which already explains something.
Many viewers may not have noticed it, which is normal, because this scene takes place at the climax of the entire movie and contains too much information. When Bai Wei returned home, she found that her parents and Bai Fei's family had dinner together without inviting her, and that Jia Jia and You You were living in her room. Bai Fei's new house was paid for by her parents.
The psychological analysis of Bai Wei has been written in the previous film review. Here I would like to focus on Bai’s father’s arrangements for the house. If I remember correctly, this seems to be the only moment in the whole film where he makes a decision.
This is what Bai's father said. He admitted that the money was for Bai Wei to provide for their retirement, and it was not appropriate to use it directly for Bai Fei to buy a house.
So this house was registered under Youyou's name, and Bai Fei and his wife wrote him an IOU and paid him a certain amount of money every month, which was equivalent to him lending them an interest-free loan. In this way, Bai Fei's family will have a house in the school district, and his and his mother's retirement will still be guaranteed, because it is neither reasonable nor moral for him to ask Bai Wei for money again.
At first glance, doesn't it sound reasonable? Father Bai should also be reasonable? But if you think about it carefully, you will find that something is wrong.
Although it was called a "loan", Bai's father used the words to ensure the future retirement of him and his mother. So, when Bai Fei and his wife give them money every month, is it considered as repayment or filial piety? Do they need to bear additional support obligations?
If not, then it is obvious that the responsibility of supporting the elderly will be borne entirely by Bai Wei. But after Bai Fei returns home, she is not an "only child" in the true sense.
Moreover, according to this logic, if Bai's father and mother did not live to the age to repay the loan, would Bai Fei and his wife return the remaining money to Bai Wei? After all, Mr. Bai emphasized that he asked them to pay back the money because he and his mother needed support in their old age.
When my friend and I were discussing this, she brought up another idea. Is it really reliable for a father and son to write an IOU? Even if Bai Fei doesn't give the money, his parents will help him hide it. When he needs large amounts of money, he will go to Bai Wei to complain. Can she really not give it?
No matter how you look at it, Bai Wei is the very passive and disadvantaged party in this matter. But she suffered this loss, and Father Bai said some seemingly flattering words to clear himself of all blame.
Because Bai Wei seemed a little excited at the dinner table, some viewers said that Ling Suisui's acting was exaggerated. But seriously, if I were in the above situation, I would really want to overturn their tables and slap each of them in the face.
Having written this far, I would like to share with you why I wrote a separate film review about Mr. White.
First of all, it is because this supporting character is portrayed brilliantly. He does not exist to set off the protagonist. Looking at the story from the perspective of Bai's father, his scheming is fully capable of supporting the "protagonist".
But that’s not all, other characters in the movie also have their highlights. Even Youyou, who has very few roles, has a moment that amazed me.
In fact, the most important point is that no one has said that this character is "vilifying men" - since the release of "The Unmarriageable Sister", many people have used this point to attack it. Of course, the person they mentioned most around this point was Bai Fei.
They said that the director deliberately created a very unsuccessful male to contrast with Bai Wei, but in fact, most of those who can succeed in society are men.
Here, let’s not discuss the authenticity of the above sentence, but return to the essence of the problem. Is Bai Fei really a male who has been vilified?
Of course not. Bai Fei just has poor academic performance and a low income, but he has no bad habits and no violent tendencies. He doesn't smoke, drink, or get involved in pornography, gambling, or drugs. He doesn't commit domestic violence, pays attention to hygiene, and doesn't swear.
Although he favors boys over girls and has a child out of wedlock, he is responsible to his wife. Apart from the fact that the house is registered under his son's name, he currently does not treat his daughter differently in terms of material conditions.
It is no exaggeration to say that according to the standards of real life, such a man has defeated more than 95% of men. So how could Bai Fei be a man who was portrayed in an ugly light? It would not be an exaggeration to say that the director deliberately beautified him. What's more, Bai's father and mother always said that the reason why his career was not successful was because he did not receive a good education when he was a child. If he had gone to school with his sister, this would definitely not have happened!
On the contrary, I think Bai's father, who possesses the characteristics of Lao Deng, is a real "villain", but no one, especially no man, says that he has been vilified. Does this mean that, in their subconscious, Mr. Bai’s behavior is actually very reasonable and there is nothing wrong with it from their perspective?
Every time I watch a feminist-related film, I think the audience's feedback can make a work more complete. Today I confirmed that the same is true for "The Sister Who Can't Get Married".
It is indeed a film worth watching multiple times, worth exploring in depth and thinking about carefully. The box office of 500 million is still a bit low. I hope it can reach 600 million. Although the box office performance of Sui Huang's movie is not much different from this number, it should inspire more female creators and let the market see the potential of this type of subject matter. 】
Ling Suisui switched to his secondary account and liked this film review.
She scrolled down to the comment section of this Weibo post and found a highly praised reply below.
[My lawyer friend told me that there is actually another detail about buying a house. The house is registered under Youyou's name and is not considered joint property of the couple, but the IOU signed by Bai Fei and his wife, and the money they send to Bai's father and mother every month, is definitely a joint debt of the couple. In other words, if Bai Fei's wife wants to divorce, not only will she not be able to get a share of the house, but she will also have to continue to bear the debt... Considering that the house was funded by Bai Fei's parents, the possibility of Youyou being awarded to Bai Fei's wife is extremely low. 】
Building in Building: [Absolutely amazing, worthy of being called Lao Deng]
[Who says that only women are scheming? Men are the ones who really have many tricks.
[Oh my god, I can't tell that the relationship between Bai Fei and his wife is bad, but Lao Deng just has to be on guard against his daughter-in-law...]
Not only netizens were shocked, but also Ling Sui.
She took a screenshot of the comment and sent it to Yan Siling, who gave her a positive reply, saying that yes, Mr. Bai did have such considerations. The inspiration for her to think of this came from what she saw and heard in real life, a real case of a friend around her.
Ling Sui thought and thought again, his thousands of thoughts finally turned into a sigh.
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