ABSTRACT
The film The Flowers of War (2011), directed by Zhang Yimou, is a touching story about a group of prostitutes sacrificing themselves to save a group of schoolgirls from sexual assault during World War II when the Japanese took over Nanjing. It follows the lead prostitute, Yumo, and her interactions with an American politician John Miller. Although there has been much investigation into Zhang's films, The Flowers of War is often overlooked. Nonetheless, it is extremely enlightening about the portrayal of feminism in Chinese culture, especially with regards to two contrasting social groups—schoolgirls and prostitutes. It may seem that when the prostitutes are revealed to be heroes, their sexualization lessens. However, through investigating the shots and mise-en-scene of various shots in this film, this essay seeks to argue that even with the prostitutes portrayed as heroes, the sexualization and male gaze in the film never diminish, and instead only turn tragic.
