The movie To Live gave a great insight into what was happening during the revolutions and uncertainties of the 20th century in China. In stark contrast to the pre-Mao days, in which the wealthy are shown as being akin to an aristocracy, and are free to indulge themselves in vices such as gambling and drinking, life under Mao was much more equal, for better and for worse. After Fugui, the protagonist, returns from the war, the first glimpse of Mao’s policies that he gets are from his wife’s job. She is paid, by the government, to deliver water to nearby people. This shows that the new government was already playing an active role in the lives of the Chinese just shortly after the revolution, both providing citizens with jobs and, at the same time, offering water delivery as a government-run service. Years later, with the Great Leap Forward, this government intervention became much more serious.
A shocking point that this movie raises is about how much better it was to be poor than rich during these times. While the man who bought his house was forced to hand it over and was ultimately killed, Fugui found that poverty had its advantages at this time. When his wife described them as “landlords” he quickly corrected her, indicating that it was now better to be a common peasant. In addition to the radical class shift, we see massive, efficient communal kitchens replacing in-home kitchens. These kitchens serve as gigantic meeting places and are the first sign of communes appearing. This is further displayed when they are forced to give up any metal that they can for the sake of “backyard steel” refineries. At these steel mills, everything from bikes to pots is thrown into the oven in order to meet the Party’s steel quota. Overall, the whole of society becomes better for the have-nots, as everyone is given a chance, but at the same time, those who were wealthy now find themselves at peril.
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