Course name and code: History and Memory in East Asian Cultures, 155903015 A22/23

Tutor: Dr Griseldis Kirsch

AS2: 24/03/2023

Word count: 2,440

Overcoming the old Lie: A comparative analysis of modern Chinese and

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If you could hear, at every jolt, the blood 
Come gargling from the froth-corrupted lungs, 
Obscene as cancer, bitter as the cud 
Of vile, incurable sores on innocent tongues,— 
My friend, you would not tell with such high zest 
To children ardent for some desperate glory, 
The old Lie: Dulce et decorum est 
Pro patria mori
- Wilfred Owen, 1918

In 2023, one hundred and six years on from when Owen so viscerally exposed the old lie: ‘it
is sweet and proper to die for one's country,’ many among us still refuse to heed his words.
Scholars have since earnestly attended to and criticised how 'collective memory and the
institutions and practices that support it help to create, sustain and reproduce the
‘‘imagined communities’’ with which individuals identify‘ (Weedon and Jordan 2012, 143). In
our modern societies, perhaps the most salient way in which this old lie is perpetuated is the
manipulation of our collective memories of war through feature film cinema. Buonnano
argues that the stories we tell indicate how 'society represents itself to itself’ (2008: 77,
italics in original). Film thus simultaneously reflects the views and passions of the society
that create them and informs the memories and epistemologies of the younger generations
that watch them. I shall analyse how Japan and China have sought to reflect and inform their
own collective memories of war and question to what extent war is enchanted (Cole 2009)
and the old lie is perpetuated.

From China we shall look at The Battle at Lake Changjin (2021) and My War (2016), which
both portray China's involvement in the Korean War. The Battle at Lake Changjin was
released intentionally to coincide with the celebrations of 100-year anniversary of the
founding of the Chinese Communist Party. Funding for the film came directly from the state
propaganda department with the highest production costs in Chinese film history ($200
million). Therefore, this film is not exactly how the society represents itself to itself but rather
how the CCP wish to inform the younger generation on geopolitical history and, implicitly,
modern international relations. From Japan, we shall look at Yamato (2005), which presents

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the final days of the largest battleship in modern history and whose sinking was a decisive
moment indicating Japan's defeat in the second World War. Yamato was released at the start
of the so-called ‘memory boom’ (Seaton 2007) in Japanese media that sought to re-present
modern history with the conservative angle of emphasising Japan as an innocent victim of
the war rather than aggressive perpetrator (Kirsch 2022). The media apparatus in Japan is
relatively liberal compared with China but there is nevertheless a pressure towards ‘catering
to the political establishment’ (Kirsch 2022: 13). Therefore, these films are of clear
importance for analysing how the modern Chinese and Japanese states aim to re-present
modern history. Furthermore, both films were a resounding box-office success with Yamato
grossing 5.1 billion yen (roughly $46 million) and winning ten categories at the 2007
Japanese Academy Awards (Gerow 2016) and The Battle at Lake Changjin becoming highest
grossing film in Chinese history at 5.77bn CNY ($913 million) (Wong 2022). The success of
these films suggest that the messages entailed within are favourable with popular opinion
and thus represent the collective memories of these two hugely significant ‘‘imagined
communities“ (Anderson 1989).

Zhao argues that propaganda films must juggle a number of objectives including, "to glorify
combat, mourn the dead, ennoble the cause, and celebrate national unity" (2022: 300). We
shall look at how each of these tropes are expressed in either case, starting with ennobling
of the cause. It is only 'proper' (decorum) to die for one's country if it is justified to fight in
that war. The issue of war-responsibility is hardly referred to in Yamato. We do however
have conventional documentary style captions that presume to relate impartial historical
accounts of the developments in the war. A close look at the content of the captions reveals
the filmmakers' bias. For example emphasis is given to US aggression against Japan such as
the "indiscriminate bombing… huge areas of Tokyo razed," whilst making no mention of
earlier Japanese atrocities. In the case of The Battle at Lake Changjin we are repeatedly
informed in both rhetoric and captions that it is US imperialism which started the war and
that the Chinese are reluctantly forced into joining the conflict. Chairman Mao is portrayed
as saying "I really don't want to fight this war. But it is for the peaceful development of our
country over a few decades or a century, we must fight this war." The US forces’ crossing the
38th parallel is emphasised and yet no mention is made however of North Korea's prior

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invasion of South Korea in June 1950. These films therefore maintain a conservative stance
in that they elect to present the war as an entirely justified response to foreign aggression.

A key issue for analysis of war-films is the depiction of enemy combatants. In these films, the
opposition are presented as morally depraved at worst or devoid of any personality at best.
In The Battle at Lake Changjin there is a scene in which the Chinese forces are lying across an
open field, pretending to be dead, as two American planes approach. We then hear the two
pilots, noticing “the stiffs” on the ground, proceed to make bets on how many corpses they
can hit before mercilessly unleashing their guns to obliterate the bodies in intensely graphic
visual detail. They even return for a second round of this sadistic behaviour. This particularly
egregious scene is not backed by any historical record and it is clearly designed only to stoke
further ill-sentiment towards the US soldiers instead of showing their common humanity.
Indeed, most representations of the Americans function only as a foil to express the moral
superiority and unity of the Chinese. The greed and entitlement of the Americans tucking
into a luxurious thanksgiving feast is directly juxtaposed with the Chinese counter-parts
getting by on tooth-cracking frozen potatoes. Even the absurdly caricatured General Smith
leaves the film saluting the Chinese victors and proclaiming that the U.S. were simply not
ordained to win against "such strong-willed" Chinese men. This detail too most likely a self-
serving confabulation. In Yamato we do not see a single white face but rather the only
portrayals of the US forces are as faceless, individual fighter jets dropping bombs from
above. The visual representation of the individualised American planes contrasts directly
with the Japanese who work collectively to maintain the efficient and cohesive functioning
of the battleship Yamato, which serves as a metaphorical symbol for national unity as the
term Yamato is also an ancient name for Japan (‘Your dictionary’). The glorification of unity
through military pseudo-kinship is a classic trope that appeals to young mens desire to be
part of a cause larger than themselves. This is continuously expressed such as in group
chanting and practice drills and martial arts training all of which serves to enchant the idea
of going to war. Furthermore, one of the only direct references to the US we hear is when
Kamio parrots a radio broadcast saying "the yanks are too individualistic to fight for long."
Therefore, both films emphasise the proclaimed moral superiority of the cultural values
between the greedy and individualistic Westerners and the self-sacrificing and unified East
Asians.

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In terms of glorifying and enchanting combat the recent Chinese films are particularly
egregious. The record-breaking budget of Battle at Lake Changjin was used to great effect
with the latest technological advances in film production and CGI all serving to maximise the
excitement and adrenaline of combat. The glorification of combat is especially dangerous as
it functions clearly to manipulate Owen’s perennial theme that young men are ‘ardent for
some desperate glory’ (1983: line 26). This glorification is upheld by certain narrative myths.
For example, ‘the myth of the victorious warrior’ (Storytellers), gives the impression that
individual warriors can use their military skills and aptitudes to fight their way to survival.
The protagonists in The Battle at Lake Changjin and My War consistently perform
extraordinary feats of death defying military skill. The reality however is that war is much
more often random carnage and the relative skills of the different foot soldiers counts for
little in wars of attrition such as those depicted in these films. The other myth that these
stories purport is that the viewer themselves would be able to meet the demands of bravery
and heroism that the characters consistently muster. Both films are absolutely peppered
with various supremely heroic characters giving the ultimate sacrifice, often to save some
others. As a young man myself, I know that one all too easily finds oneself vicariously and
narcissistically imagining that I too would display such heroic bravery on the battlefield (Like
Stories of Old: 2021), when in reality we know, as Ernest Becker has written, ‘very few of us,
if pressured, would be unwilling to sacrifice someone else in our place’ (1975: 109).

To give Yamato its due, the glorification of combat is criticised by deploying the trope of
young and innocent victims. We follow a group of fifteen year old greenhorns who join the
war at the last moment. When it becomes apparent that they are approaching near-certain
death we are emotionally stirred with sympathy and progressive-leaning viewers can express
their outrage at the injustice that these poor, innocent young men were manipulated by the
cowardly and faceless senior command. The use of this trope supports the director Jun'ya
Satō’s claim that Yamato is an anti-war film 'one revealing the horrible waste of life caused
by reckless leaders' (Gerow 2016: 199). However, as a young man I must say that it is easy to
overlook this perspective and favour identification with the supremely brave mid-level petty-
officers who stoically declare their unreserved willingness to die for their country. This is the
success of Yamato: by portraying various characters from top to bottom of the chain-of-

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command, the film accommodates multiple perspectives from the progressive-leaning to
ultra-nationalist (Seaton 2007). In The Battle at Lake Changjin on the other hand, the main
character’s fifteen year old brother Wanli joins the troops but as, multiple critics agree (Kerr
2021 and Kuipers 2021), the character is severely unlikable, cocky and petulant and thus
garners no emotional resonance from the audience whatsoever. His main function seems to
be ‘for his comrades to impart self-sacrificing wisdom’ (Hoad 2021). Thus, the film
completely spoiled the one opportunity they had to disenchant war. Instead of using the
youthful innocence trope to criticise the war-machine they instead use the character to
'represent war as effective rites of passage and as valid means of becoming a man' (Monnet
2016: 406), which Monnet considers to be the fundamental criterion to determine a film as
truly pro-war.

Regarding Zhao’s (2022) final criteria of mourning the dead, by analysing how the Chinese
and Japanese have dealt with certain common war-film tropes the overall effect is clearly to
portray our ancestors’ deaths as supremely moral and deeply meaningful acts. However, as
Monnet argues a true anti-war film must “show death in combat as meaningless and utterly
unredeemed” (2016: 415). In The Battle at Lake Changjin and My War both main characters
ultimately give their lives. These deaths are given ultimate meaning and are completely
redeemed as they receive highest honour our society knows how to give, the idolisation of
enchanted cinema goers. They truly embody the old lie in its all its falsity and absurdity. In
Yamato, Monnet’s criteria is directly addressed by one young recruit who cries out, "will our
meaningless deaths really help save Japan?" No answer is given to this question however, as
the scene breaks down into fighting. Perhaps there can be no appropriate answer to this
most absurd question. The deaths of these innocent young soldiers is redeemed through our
modern generation honouring their memory and bravery. This is the fundamental issue at
the heart of this essay. We simultaneously want to honour the sacrifice of innocent life
whilst also criticising the processes that led to that loss of life. It is understandable to think
that we honour the dead by valorising their military bravery and moral righteousness. This is
naturally how we wish to view our ancestors. However, I would argue that, particularly in the
Chinese case, such shamelessly brazen propaganda detracts from the tragedy and suffering
that these men endured at the hands of geopolitical machinations. I believe that they are in
fact dishonoured by the nation for whom they gave their lives. There is no moral superiority

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in these films at all. The manipulation of public memory to increase state legitimacy and
national tribalism is in fact deeply immoral. The moral high ground should go to the films
that genuinely show the horrors of war for what they are. That is how the dead should be
honoured: with faithful representations of their suffering and the common humanity of all
combatants. We should exercise caution when imagining our ancestor all to be outstanding
moral heroes when in reality only a fraction of the men who fight in such wars really are.

To conclude, the collective memory of war and the matter of honouring our ancestors is one
of the most sensitive, nuanced and important matters for our societies to confront. Cinema
is where our collective memory is both expressed and informed. It has been empirically
shown (Iser 1978) that there is great variation in how any given individual will read a scene. I
can therefore only talk with the subjective authority of my own positionality as a young
man. Yamato is certainly far more balanced in its portrayal than the Chinese films. However,
in my view, whatever attempts are made to criticize the war that led to the loss of so many
innocent young lives are ultimately overshadowed by the incessant glorification and
valorisation of the bravery of the soldiers, pseudo-kinship and national pride and unity with
overall effect that war is enchanted. It seems that almost every minute of the three hours of
The Battle at Lake Changjin are explicitly designed to enchant war. The number of cinema
screens in China alone has increased by almost twenty fold since 2007 and around 1.17
billion cinema tickets were sold in China in 2021 (Renub Research). It is therefore critical for
scholars to attend to the messaging that China will continue to propagate in the coming
years. Whilst true that we have a duty to honour those who gave their lives for nationalism,
we must not allow their deaths to be manipulated by those who would seek to perpetuate
this most pernicious old lie.

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