Acting Style of Ruan Lingyu in “The Peach Girl” and “The Goddess”

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Acting Style of Ruan Lingyu in "The Peach Girl" and "The Goddess"
This film study will compare and contrast analysis in the maturation of the “double role” that Ruan Lingyu masterfully represents in The Peach Girl (1931) and The Goddess (1934). Lingyu's performance in The Peach Girl defines a more pleasant and cheerful dynamic in her “double role” as a poor girl, Miss Lim, falling in love with the King’s son (Yan Jin). However, Lingyu reveals a greater skill set of behavior dynamics (facial expressions, personality projection) in the double role as prostitute and mother in The Goddess, reflecting her transition to a less pleasant demeanor in her technique. By analyzing specific scenes from each movie, Lingyu projects a greater maturation...

..... projects the saddening and joyful dynamics that her so convincing as a mother that is also a prostitute in The Goddess. This shows a great maturation that has evolved since The Peach Girl, which defines the importance of her talent for the “double role” that made her such a major film star in the 1930s Chinese cinema.
Works Cited:
The Goddess. Dir. Yonggang Wu. Perfs. Ruan Lingyu, Yan Jing. China: Guangzhou Beauty Culture Communication Co.Ltd, 2006.
The Peach Girl. Dir. Wancang Bu. Perfs. Ruan Lingyu, Yan Jin. China: Guangzhou Beauty Culture Communication Co.Ltd, 2006.
Yang, Jeff. Once Upon a Time in China. New York: Atria, 2003.
Zhang, Tingjin. Cinema and Urban Culture in Shanghai, 1922-1943. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 1999.