Abstract

Send Me to the Clouds (2019) is the first film produced by the Chinese female director, Teng Congcong, who was born in 1985. The 1980s was a golden age for the development of feminist films in China. The film follows the journey of a Chinese Me-Generation woman as she tries to earn enough money to cure her cancer. Even before the film was released, the media advertised it as a feminist film. Therefore, this essay analyses two levels of the protagonist’s journey based on a textual analysis. At the physical level, the female protagonist fails all of her missions. However, on a spiritual level, she succeeds in gaining consciousness in a patriarchal society. This essay argues that, for the first time, the female protagonist is the bearer of the gaze. Her gaze towards the opposite gender is interpreted through the perspective of the Chinese feminist concept, nannv youbie (男女有别). Through the self-consciousness and identification achieved by viewers on both sides of the screen, the film allows people to look at the world from a different angle. Additionally, the awakened feminist consciousness of the Me-Generation director sheds light on the development of feminist films in mainland China.