Dating & Gender Dynamics in the Modern Age: An Interview with Violet Du Feng, Director of The Dating Game
Violet Du Feng is the Director & Producer of THE DATING GAME. Read more about Violet here.
Why did you make the film?
It started when I was touring my last film HIDDEN LETTERS, a film about an ancient secret language created and shared only among women, and how the young generation of women are using the language to fight against a newly revived patriarchy in China. A few times, I’ve got questions from the audience asking, “Are there any good men in China?” My answer was “Yes there are!” And I knew at some point, I would need to do them justice in film too.
I also know that when making HIDDEN LETTERS, although the film took a lot of risks to challenge the correlation between patriarchy and Capitalism, I, as a feminist, was very comfortable with my lens. And that comfort actually makes me feel uncomfortable. As the gender divide escalates around the world, I knew in order to create meaningful dialogues, I had to cross the aisle to challenge my own stereotype and bias against men, by understanding where they come from. This has been my commitment in filmmaking, to provide complexities and nuances instead of simply antagonizing the other side.
Tell us about the issue your film focuses on.
Dating has become more and more a political issue globally. We are all affected by politics, economy, technology and culture which have intensified gender divides, which is redefining the way we find love, but more so, redefining the way we connect with each other as human beings. In China, because of the one child policy, we are dealing with very unique issues in relation to the 30 million surplus of men.
Having said that, problems with dating moving online and younger generations struggling with human connections are absolutely global and getting more acute. How young people even assess what is real or not is a growing issue that comes up in every area of their lives from dating to understanding news. I think the film aims to find the universal elements of these themes whilst introducing the audience to the specifics of the characters' lives.
What was fascinating to me was how those in the dating scene were now actually having to package and market themselves, commoditize themselves, in order to compete. Humans have become a product that only Capitalism can sell for them to have a chance at love. It’s too easy to swipe to the next candidate.
I didn’t realize the darkness and gravity of what the boys were facing until I worked with them, or the emotional consequence of societal pressure on them. It’s a heavy toll. All the nuances, the political, economical and cultural stakes they have to suffer because of the gender imbalances, guided me to understand their traumas deep down.
For you, what is most important that audiences take away from your film?
I want this film to be as universally accessible as possible knowing the themes we explore would resonate globally hence the whimsical tone. We also introduce the object of our protagonists' desire through glamorous billboards of women, as well as the saturated colors in the city, lush with skyscrapers and extreme materialism. This was a further comment on the ubiquitous deceptions throughout society, in contrast to a somber theme on their struggles to find authenticity.
I have to be honest that a lot of the time I was really uncomfortable seeing Hao teaching his clients how to lie to women. It also made my heart sink that the boys accepted his methods. But at the same time, I kept reminding myself of my own perceptions and biases. I realized the more I wrestle within myself, the more I can invite audiences to wrestle around the complexities too. Throughout the production, I leaned myself towards asking questions more than drawing conclusions. I hope that the audience can wrestle with me too watching this film while challenging their own stereotypes about genders.
Why is it important to you that this film is viewed in an educational context?
While Eastern audiences may be more familiar with the consequences of China’s One-Child Policy, and with East Asia’s rapid urbanization more broadly, we have directly seen how the dating camp as a unique, 21st-century intervention into the universal rite of courtship has compelled Western viewers to learn more about China with a story not typically covered by news headlines. Proven by our festival run, we are confident the film will intrigue and resonate with the diverse and underserved audiences of public television.
Unlike my last film HIDDEN LETTERS, THE DATING GAME’s core audiences will skew younger. The millennial and Gen Z characters interact with their elders on screen, but in focus are their life choices and behaviors, which are very much a departure from those of their parents. While traditional broadcast TV viewers will enjoy our exploration into the timeless question of finding love and the historical forces shaping China, we are particularly excited about joining public TV’s new journey into digital distribution to engage younger audiences, meeting them where they are. We are confident that we can attract the casual viewer to click on our film, and also stick around for a thoughtful discussion on the larger existential questions that our characters’ circumstances raise.
As politics between China and the U.S. have become more complex, it is now more important than ever that American audiences have opportunities to engage Chinese culture and history. High-profile documentaries about China tend to focus on political dissidence, or government economic policies that often reinforces stereotypical narratives. Few take an intimate look at modern Chinese people. Our film addresses the gap in this understanding, offering a nuanced picture of what it means to be Chinese, and how the Chinese relate to Americans during this critical moment in geopolitics. It does this with a unique, compassionate lens into social issues and human beings at the forefront. The resulting empathy from the film is meant to bridge differences and lay the foundations for inter-community dialogue.
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