7.9
Viewer Rating
Combines user and critic ratings from four sources
Broken Blossoms or The Yellow Man and the Girl (1919)
Broken Blossoms or The Yellow Man and the Girl (1919)
Overview
The love story of an abused English girl and a Chinese Buddhist in a time when London was a brutal and harsh place to live.
Starring Cast
Where to watch
Rating & Dimensions
Bias Rating
Analyzing...
Leans Progressive
Political: Leans Left
Diversity: Moderate
Race Swap: Yes
Buddhism: Positive
Christianity: Negative
Viewer Rating
7.9
Overview
The love story of an abused English girl and a Chinese Buddhist in a time when London was a brutal and harsh place to live.
Starring Cast
Where to watch
Detailed Bias Analysis
Analyzing...
Leans Progressive
Primary
The film leans left by challenging prevailing racial stereotypes of its era through a sympathetic portrayal of a Chinese man and condemning domestic brutality, though its tragic and fatalistic narrative offers no clear path to overcoming societal prejudice.
The movie features a predominantly white cast, with a white actor portraying a central Asian character. However, its narrative explicitly critiques a traditional white male identity by portraying him as a central antagonist, contrasting him with a sympathetically depicted non-white character.
Secondary
The character Cheng Huan, canonically established as Chinese, is portrayed by Richard Barthelmess, a white actor, in yellowface. This constitutes a race swap.
Buddhism is portrayed positively through Cheng Huan, who embodies its ideals of peace, compassion, and non-violence. His character stands as a moral beacon against the brutality and prejudice of the Western world, aligning the narrative with the virtues of the faith.
The film portrays the Western society, implicitly Christian, as harsh, violent, and hypocritical through characters like Battling Burrows and the general squalor. There is no significant counterbalancing positive portrayal of Christian faith or its adherents, especially when contrasted with the gentle Buddhist protagonist.
Broken Blossoms (1919) does not feature any identifiable LGBTQ+ characters or themes. The narrative centers on a heterosexual relationship and explores issues of racial prejudice and domestic violence, rendering the LGBTQ+ portrayal as not applicable to the film's content.
The film "Broken Blossoms or The Yellow Man and the Girl" does not feature any identifiable transsexual characters or themes. The narrative focuses on a tragic romance between a Chinese man and an abused English girl, exploring themes of racial prejudice and domestic violence, without any elements related to transgender identity.
The movie does not contain any action or adventure elements.
The film "Broken Blossoms" is an adaptation of a short story. A review of its main characters and their source material reveals no instances where a character's established gender was changed for the film's portrayal.
Viewer Rating Breakdown
User Ratings
7.2
6.9
Critic Ratings
9.5
N/A
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