This documentary followed the life of the artist Ai Weiwei from 2008 to 2011. The opening of the film showed Ai Weiwei’s studio, “258 Fake.” The name of the studio caught me off guard, and foreshadowed the views of Weiwei.
There were over 40 cats at the studio. Weiwei mentions that one of the cats can open doors; and although the other cats watch, they don’t try to open doors. Weiwei also notes how unlike people, cats never close doors behind them. Weiwei’s cat observations made me think deeper about change in China. There may be one person calling for change, while the rest of the population just watches and does nothing. The closing of the door caused me to think about how people are trained. Why do we close doors? Is it because we’ve always been told to do so, while cats on the other hand have no such boundaries?
I was deeply touched by the footage that showed the aftermath of the earthquake that hit Sichuan in 2008. Government school buildings collapsed during the earthquake due to poor construction. Watching mothers crying for their children was absolutely heart wrenching; and to think that the Chinese government refused to release any information about those children was unbelievable.
Ai Weiwei set out to collect all the names of the lost children, which totaled more than 5,000 found, with the help of volunteers and the families of the dead. An interviewee pointed out that even though the names were found, they had been reduced to small letters and birthdays on many pages in Weiwei’s office. To commemorate the earthquake, Weiwei did several things to keep the memory of the children alive during the film. Reaching out on Twitter, he asked followers to choose a name on the list and say it aloud. Weiwei compiled the recordings and released them to the public. In Munich, Weiwei created a large facade for a museum made of backpacks with a sentence pertaining to the life of a young girl lost in the earthquake. The sentenced moved me. Ai Weiwei interviewed the girl’s mother and the mother stated that her daughter had been happy and full of life for the seven years that she had been alive. To me that sentence showed the innocence of youth. The loss of so many young people was a pure tragedy.
While trying to testify at a trial for a fellow activist, Weiwei is detained and beaten by police. Weiwei’s crew filmed the entire thing, and it was shocking to watch. Weiwei asked why he was hit, and officers respond that he had done the damage to himself. Weiwei went through all the legal avenues that China allowed to try to sue the police department, but he is ignored and bullied. Weiwei received a notice for the demolish of his new studio, citing illegal placement. Weiwei was even detained in an undisclosed location for 81 days for alleged tax invasion.
Throughout all of this Weiwei remained strong. He pursued change even when it was obvious that no change would come. He believes in a better government for China, and through his art he is fighting to make that happen.
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