representation of the tourists of the Yangtze

When we were talking about problems with representation and some examples seen in "Up the Yangtze" in class, I wanted to point out that the way westerners were portrayed could serve as an example. The main portrayal of westerners in the film is as tourists who are getting a final glimpse of the areas soon to be flooded by the Dam project. Their position in the film is similar to that of the viewer, distance enough to not really be affected by the consequences of the dam. When they are on the tour of the the homes that belong to the relocated, their nods of approval at the guides insistence that everyone is happy reveal just how detached from the reality of the flooding they are. What distinguishes them from the viewer of the film is that they do not get to see what happens to the poorer people, or as a shop keeper tearfully points out, the common people. So, when they are fed the spiel of happiness and they seem to buy it, there is a disconnect between the viewer and the tourist, especially if the viewer is also a westerner (at least in my case, there was as I found myself mystified by how easy these tourists were to convince). The complication of representation rises when the viewer, possibly angered by what occurs outside the peripherals of these tourists scope, fails to connect with what is intended to represent him/her in the film. We are all outsiders taking a look in on this situation, judging from various perspectives, and feeling a certain sense of remorse for the Lu family while possibly feeling a hint of disdain towards those who seem to participate in the capitalization of their misery. The filmmaker allows the viewer to have a more intimate encounter with the Lu family and it is assumed that the tourists are afforded the same level of intimacy simply because they are in the film but they are not on the same plain of the viewer as they are restricted by what the tour entails. After the one instance where the older tourist tells Jerry that he wasn't as intrusive as she thought he'd be, it becomes clear that for some of them, their intent is simply to see the world without traces of reality to infringe on their time. I am left wondering how many tourists actually interacted with the crew and got to know their stories. They toured the new homes and got to see the places that would soon be under water, but they did not (presumably) interact with those affected by the project in their direct proximity, the workers catering to their needs.