When watching Saving Face, I was reminded of The Gua Sha Treatment, a film that more explicitly contrasts Chinese and Western culture by presenting the cultural conflicts experienced by a Chinese American family in the United States. The main events of the film follow the administration of the traditional Chinese gua sha treatment by Grandfather Xu, who is visiting his son's family from China, on Dennis Xu, his grandson. Social workers mistake the treatment for abuse due to the marks left on Dennis's back; as a result, the child protection agency takes Dennis away, sending their family's life into turmoil. In court, the prosecution uses father Datong Xu's inclusion of a legendary Chinese character, Sun Wukong (the Monkey King), in his design of a violent video game to imply that the game's violent design shows that he values violence. Eventually, Datong's lawyer proves that gua sha leaves marks that are not actually painful or harmful, as they appear; Dennis is able to return home, and the family is reunited. One scene that struck me was that of Datong's friend realizing that Grandfather Xu had administered the treatment, and asking Datong's wife why Datong didn't just let his father take the blame. She answers simply, "Because he is Chinese," choosing to respond no further. Her response leaves the friend — and the audience — to come to a realization about Chinese culture and the importance of respect in it, as exhibited by Datong's protection of his father and defense of Chinese traditions. As a first-generation Chinese American, a crucial part of his identity involves wrestling with how traditional Chinese culture can fit into his "American" life, while remaining respectful towards the traditions generations before him have been raised on.
Saving Face, for its part, uses the relationship between semi-closeted doctor Wilhelmina and dancer Vivian, as well as Wil's mother's out-of-wedlock pregnancy, to breach the question of how the traditional concept of marriage as a family union rather than an individual's choice may fit into modern society. The film touches on the idea of "losing face": betraying the family through a lack of familial responsibility; prioritizing one's personal wants over what is considering acceptable, and how this affects the family reputation and social standing. Wil, as a gay Chinese American woman, wrestles with her identity as it interacts with the people around her: Vivian, who wants her to love out loud; her mother, who has ignored the fact of her being gay since walking in on her with another woman years ago; the "old Chinese biddies" (in Vivian's words) who judge both her and her mother, and find them lacking. While the feel-good finale is heartwarming and even necessary in a world where LGBTQ+ couples of color — particularly lesbian couples of color — are nearly nonexistent in popular media and the "kill your gays" trope persists, it leaves also necessary questions unanswered, and plot holes unfilled. Wil's mother ushering Wil to the airport to see Vivian off and later setting Wil and Vivian exhibits her abrupt and undiscussed acceptance of Wil's gay identity, when she told Wil just a few days prior that Wil couldn't both love her and be gay; that the second point contradicted the first. While Vivian's desire to be "out" with the fact of her relationship with Wil is understandable, her cutting criticisms of Wil as afraid and pushing for a kiss in public seem almost unfair: we can assume that she is out and comfortable with it, but Wil's semi-closetedness must be affected by a plethora of factors, particularly the ways family, tradition and honor intersect, and prevent many LGBTQ+ Asians from being comfortable with coming out. We never really see any discussion between the couple of this fact; throughout the film, the ringtone of Wil's phone interrupts any discussion either of them start on-screen. We are left to assume that Wil's grandfather and mother simply "accepted" her off-screen, and though this assumption is understandable in its conduciveness to the simple happy ending of the one-and-a-half-hour movie, it leaves narrative gaps that are inconsistent with the backdrop of a plot that criticizes arbitrary adherence to social norms.
Saving Face, for its part, uses the relationship between semi-closeted doctor Wilhelmina and dancer Vivian, as well as Wil's mother's out-of-wedlock pregnancy, to breach the question of how the traditional concept of marriage as a family union rather than an individual's choice may fit into modern society. The film touches on the idea of "losing face": betraying the family through a lack of familial responsibility; prioritizing one's personal wants over what is considering acceptable, and how this affects the family reputation and social standing. Wil, as a gay Chinese American woman, wrestles with her identity as it interacts with the people around her: Vivian, who wants her to love out loud; her mother, who has ignored the fact of her being gay since walking in on her with another woman years ago; the "old Chinese biddies" (in Vivian's words) who judge both her and her mother, and find them lacking. While the feel-good finale is heartwarming and even necessary in a world where LGBTQ+ couples of color — particularly lesbian couples of color — are nearly nonexistent in popular media and the "kill your gays" trope persists, it leaves also necessary questions unanswered, and plot holes unfilled. Wil's mother ushering Wil to the airport to see Vivian off and later setting Wil and Vivian exhibits her abrupt and undiscussed acceptance of Wil's gay identity, when she told Wil just a few days prior that Wil couldn't both love her and be gay; that the second point contradicted the first. While Vivian's desire to be "out" with the fact of her relationship with Wil is understandable, her cutting criticisms of Wil as afraid and pushing for a kiss in public seem almost unfair: we can assume that she is out and comfortable with it, but Wil's semi-closetedness must be affected by a plethora of factors, particularly the ways family, tradition and honor intersect, and prevent many LGBTQ+ Asians from being comfortable with coming out. We never really see any discussion between the couple of this fact; throughout the film, the ringtone of Wil's phone interrupts any discussion either of them start on-screen. We are left to assume that Wil's grandfather and mother simply "accepted" her off-screen, and though this assumption is understandable in its conduciveness to the simple happy ending of the one-and-a-half-hour movie, it leaves narrative gaps that are inconsistent with the backdrop of a plot that criticizes arbitrary adherence to social norms.