Breaking with Old Ideas (1975)

★★★★★ · Re: Socialism's Ungly truth · egau · 2011-03-28

"The Conscious" has misunderstood the movie's plot or perhaps not watched it carefully. Students are not rewarded by Principal Long for "quoting the party line" but for basing their efforts and studies on what actually matters, i.e. helping relieve the poverty of the neighboring peasants, rather than for simply grades are desire to increase their status. And most importantly they do this even when the party line has seemingly turned towards a capitalist path, a very prescient message during the last months of the Cultural Revolution, and only a brief time before Deng Xiaoping's economic…

★★★★★ · Socialism's Ugly Truth · The Conscience · 2010-07-12

This film shows the ugly truth behind communism. If you are loyal to the party you can be a smiling idiot with no academic values or credentials and become head of a college but if you are a brilliant dissident you can do as well as the other peasant laborers, and according to communism, there is no shame in that. But there is no honor, dignity or recognition for your superiority in intelligence or skill either. In communism as portrayed in this film every semiliterate activist is extolled for his "leadership" (i.e. ability to quote the party line) but noone is given credit for his ability or…

★★★★ · Postmodern view · Extinct · 2011-01-19

Until I saw this film, I though vocational drift (a tendency to value utilitarian employability) in education was a capitalist invention. Superb scene with two lumps of clay demonstrates the high esteem in which communists hold labour. Both political extremes mount arguments against elitism. Thrilling

★★★★ · Fascinating and Scary · wuxiandis · 2013-04-07

The film had good production values. An amazing document from an insane time.