Yu Xiuhua is a poet from a small village in China whose poetry portrays the still evident ableist ideologies held by society. She reflects the struggles she has encountered solely due to her disability and unhappiness with her marriage to her husband, all while using the internet as her outlet, a means of expression that allows her to publish her poems and, as a result, greatly broadens her audience across borders. Thus, through the poem “Marriage”, and along with the film documentary on her life Still Tomorrow directed by Jian Fa, Yu expresses her discontent resulted from the pressures of both society and gender norms through both mediums, overall revealing the intersection between the impact that her gender and disability has had on her life and, consequently, her poetry.
Preceding the analysis of the poem “Marriage”, through the film Still Tomorrow, one can witness the events that may have ultimately impacted Yu’s poetry. For one, the audience witnesses the dynamics of her rather abusive marriage to a man she never loved. She expresses her discontent by demanding a divorce, in which her husband initially resists. While Yu Xiuhua expresses her negative emotions, as she herself did not agree to the marriage, her mother justifies the union by stating, for example, “He’d accept my daughter, so I accept him”. It is evident that acknowledgement is only the basis of a healthy, loving relationship, as there is likewise a need for compassion and affection, to name a few, both attributes that Yu Xiuhua and her former husband’s relationships lacked. Furthermore, poetry brings Xiuhua joy, yet is the very thing that ultimately annoys her husband. Thus, in summary, Yu’s poem “Marriage” overall encapsulates this sense of frustration and anger towards the lack of affection she has experienced in her life because of her disability. Moreover, by stating “what the hell are you: you stutter, you cripple, you worthless woman…”, Yu bridges the notion of gender roles a woman is expected to follow along with the injustices she experiences as an individual with cerebral palsy. In the film she states, “if a woman can’t find love, her life is a failure”, reiterating the expectation of a woman’s need to marry still apparent in the 21st century. She likewise states “I love solitude”, overall reflecting her sense of isolation, as she not only has experienced the societal pressure to marry, but likewise longs for independence from her husband.
Although the poem “Marriage” reflects Yu’s discontent with the union between her and her husband, it can likewise be interpreted metaphorically as a union or bond between her and her disability, and just like her marriage at first, is a bond she has little control over, limiting her physically and affecting her own self-esteem. Despite the fame that she has gained through her poetry, she still lacks a sense of fulfillment. As noted, her capabilities as an individual are limited by society, and thus she ends the poem with a rather powerful statement: “let me leave, give me freedom”.
Not only does the film Still Tomorrow serve as a juxtaposition of the events in Yu Xiuhuas’s life and her poetry, but it is also through the film’s cinematography of diverse shots and angles used that arguably reveals Yu Xiuhua’s own perceptions of herself and those held by others in society. For example, there is a continuous shot on Yu Xiuhua as she lays on a couch alone at one point of the film. The shot lasts enough time to make the spectator uncomfortable, as the camera does not move away from Yu Xiuhua, making one feel as if they themselves are staring at not exactly her, but rather her portraying her disability. Hence, this tactic reveals how the stigmatized and ableist society perceives Xiuhua, those who label her as “crippled”, “immobile”, or as Yu states in the poem “Marriage”: a “stutterer… worthless woman”. On the contrary, the use of wide shots, such as those with her speaking with a panel of students in more urban settings, can be an interpretation of the viewpoint of the individuals who have read Yu Xiuhua’s work, who view her as a heroine, or those who describe her personality as bold, independent, and open minded. Although her disability is present, it becomes blurred and overshadowed by her identification as a successful individual. Addressing a large crowd of individuals, Yu Xiuhua appears as an educator, perhaps an idol to some, but most importantly, a poet. Lastly, there are the shots taken that reveal Yu Xiuhua’s perception of herself. Long-lasting close up shots of her face and hands in the rural setting of her home village go to emphasize her disability. Moreover, by not focusing the camera on Yu Xiuha and her husband arguing, but rather concentrating on another inanimate object, reflects this sense of disconnection with her own husband and life at home. The film shots while Xiuhua is in her home tend to be more close-up and intimate, as if making her disability even more apparent and, as a result, her utmost feature, which is congruent to the perceptions of both her mother and husband. Thus, this can reveal her view of how she perceives herself in isolation and in an environment with much conflict. Although by the end of the film she gains her independence from her husband, she is still in a state of dissatisfaction. When asked whether she is content, she replies: “I still cannot fully accept myself… As how to be a happy woman, I don’t have any experience”. While the film shatters the barrier separating Yu’s poetry and the very aspects of her life that ultimately impacted her work, it likewise goes to show that one’s perception of their disability is not the sole root of the struggles experienced, but it is likewise greatly affected by the environment surrounding them.
Yet, above all, Yu Xiuhua reflects her strength through both her poetry and the film, as she states in Still Tomorrow: “A person, man or woman, follows the heart, lives the life. This is victory. To live is a victory in itself”. Finally both her poetry and the film prompted me to think about the French saying l’art pour l’art, or art for art’s sake, emphasizing that the conformed aesthetics held by the public should not blur and discriminate the talent, expression, and power of an artist.
