Picture Bride & 3rd Cinema

If Picture Bride is supposed to represent Third World Cinema, then I would categorize it in Phase III, the combative phase where the theme documents the "lives and struggles of Third World peoples" (33). But I would still say that there is a Hollywood influence because of "the happy ending" formula of the film. In the end Riyo accepts her fate of home as Hawaii and the ending shot is of the sugarcane fields, green leaves rustling, haunted by ghosts of the past and yet the singing is from Riyo's daughter which suggests a continuation...

How does this film empower Third World peoples? Perhaps by giving Asian Americans a presence on the big screen. Or maybe by taking the "otherness" out of Asian immigrants and seeing their transition to adopting to the new land (without the mention of America).

I personally liked the film and didn't mind the ghost references because it was mentioned throughout the movie (the wind, ancestor worship). Although I did feel there was a disconnect between Riyo and her husband and I expected her to run off with someone else rather than stay with him.