Communist propaganda as it might be, but this film is also a critic of the bad part of in the Chinese culture, which lead to the eventual rebellion of fishermen. For example, the discrimination against fishermen by general public, such as the prohibition of fishermen to live on land, and even worse, the prohibition of fishermen to wear shoes when they walk on land. There are many not-so-favorable parts in the traditional culture that has been practices for centuries, but discrimination cannot last forever and eventually rebellion will erupt and any attempt to revert back into the bad ways will be futile.
