This is the introduction video for our presentation. On the surface, it may seem weird and silly, but if you look and listen closely, there's actually a lot of information that you can learn from the video. There are also many symbolic elements as well as some pop culture references.
Places to pause and explain:
1:45 - Here is just a meeting between Mao Zedong and one of his military aides. It takes place right after Japan's surrender on August 15, 1945.
3:20 - This is the unsuccessful peace negotiation between Mao and Chiang. It illustrates the break-up of their former alliance against Imperial Japan.
4:23 - This is a cut-down 2-minute clip is taken from a Chinese war film called "Assembly". The Communists are the soldiers in the trenches, and the Nationalists are the ones on the offensive attacking them. Notice that the Communists are much less equipped (not everyone has helmets, and the artillery they are using is improvised) than the Nationalists and that the firearms being used are mostly of U.S. design (as the U.S. supplied the KMT with several millions of dollars worth of equipment, and the Communists acquired their weapons by capturing them from the Nationalists).
7:03 - This is a silly little clip demonstrating the continuation of the "break-up" of the alliance between the KMT and CPC. Here, Mao is shown as being sad and remorseful about it, but in reality, their relationship really wasn't that... intimate.
8:38 - This is the Communist takeover of Nanjing, capital of the KMT. At this point in the civil war, the Communist advance has gathered great momentum as they drew their support from the massive peasant population of China. Although the Communists have already been starting to win before this point, the Communist capture of Nanjing was still a major blow to the Nationalists.
Part 2:
1:05 - This depicts Chiang's decision to retreat to Taiwan, as the Nationalists at this point were being chased down through China by the Communists.
1:55 - This shows the formation of the PRC that we know today. From the years between 1949 to 1976, Mao implemented many disastrous reforms and movements that resulted in the deaths of millions. After that, more capitalistic economic reforms were put in place, leading to a very high rate of economic growth and power. Today, the U.S. is in debt to China by over 1 trillion dollars.
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