The Last Emperor

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The Last Emperor – An Analysis In the past few decades, there has been a constant rise in the quantity of East Asian cultural content that is presented in Western films. Movies such as “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon”, “Hero” and other similar films have highlighted Chinese art and culture. They have taken the artistic and cultural prowess of the East Asian people to magnificent heights. The process of promoting art and culture of China and other eastern countries were started in the early 1980s itself. “The Last Emperor” is considered to be a milestone movie for the promotion of East Asian art and culture. The movie “The Last Emperor”, directed by Bernardo Bertolucci, is about the life of Pu Yi, the Ching dynasty’s final emperor. The film is about a leader who fails to understand his people and rules in a realm of fantasy, finally succumbing to his impotence. The film was hugely successful. Apart from the storyline, which is based on the life history of the protagonist, the film paints an unmatchable visual experience of art and culture prevalent in East Asia. The initial half of the film provides great insight into the Forbidden City, China’s most historic and prestigious landmark. Every scene centers on the artistic value of the city through stunning filming. The Westerners and the rest of the world got to know about the spiritual culture of the Chinese and realized how art is considered to be a treasure of this civilization. The film had some unique scenes of the Imperial Palace, shown for the first time to the rest of the world. Some of the exotic locations present in China and Manchuria were showcased magnificently. The film was thus mainly a visual feast, irrespective of the storyline and screenplay. The costumes and artilleries used by thousands of warriors shown in the film, provide an authentic reference to the cultural customs

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