Thursday at Duke // Screen/Society Displacement Series: Up the Yangtzee

When: Thursday, May 27, 2010 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM
Where: Nasher Museum of Art
Cost: Free and Open to the Public!
More Info

Description: Part of the Displacement Series presented by the Nasher Museum of Art, "Up the Yangtze" (Yung Chang, 2007, 93 min, Canada, in English, Mandarin, and Sichuan with English subtitles, Color, DVD) follows the completion of China's mammoth Three Gorges Dam on the Yangtze River. When finished, it will be the largest hydroelectric power station in the world. However, progress comes at a price: the dam will displace more than a million residents and destroy numerous cultural and archaeological sites. In Up the Yangtze, filmmaker Yung Chang sensitively examines the effects of this massive project on personal lives as he follows two young people, each one transformed by the construction. Beautifully photographed, the film provides a final snapshot of a rapidly disappearing cultural landscape. Juxtaposing the Yangtze's stunning panorama with the reality of Yu Shui's poignant story, Chang shows the tenuous balance between China's rich cultural past and its modernized future.