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The Mermaid
Movie

The Mermaid

1965 • Unknown

Woke Score
1.2
out of 10

Plot

A Huangmei opera produced by Shaw Brothers about a carp spirit who transforms into an identical copy of a beautiful woman to win the heart of a lonely male scholar.

Overall Series Review

The Mermaid (1965) is a classic Shaw Brothers Huangmei opera, a traditional Chinese fantasy romance centered on the themes of sincerity and virtue versus materialism and status. The story follows a virtuous but impoverished scholar, Zhang Zhen, who is betrayed by his wealthy, haughty fiancée, Peony. He falls in love with a Carp Spirit who has taken Peony's form and possesses a genuinely loving and sincere character. The narrative explicitly critiques the Prime Minister and his daughter for their 'materialistic and sanctimonious' attitudes, ultimately elevating the values of emotional truth, loyalty, and family over wealth and social standing. The plot culminates with the supernatural Carp Spirit choosing a mortal life with the scholar to be his wife and the mother of his child, with the final conflict resolved through the benevolent intervention of the Goddess of Mercy. The casting of a female actress in the male lead role is a standard convention of Huangmei opera, a traditional art form, and is not a narrative commentary on gender identity.

Categorical Breakdown

Identity Politics1/10

The narrative is entirely Chinese with no focus on race or 'whiteness.' The central conflict is a universal critique of class snobbery and materialism, where the virtuous poor scholar is pitted against the unprincipled wealthy official. Character judgment is based purely on the content of their soul—sincerity and kindness—rather than immutable characteristics or social hierarchy.

Oikophobia2/10

The film does not engage in civilizational self-hatred. It critiques the specific corruption and materialism of a high-ranking official's household, which is a long-standing trope in Chinese folklore. Institutions like marriage, the scholar-official system (via the Imperial Exams), and the divine order are all treated as legitimate frameworks within the traditional Chinese cultural context.

Feminism1/10

The core of the story celebrates the traditional complementary dynamic: the male scholar is a virtuous, sensitive, and protective figure, while the female Carp Spirit chooses to forsake immortality to become his devoted wife and mother of their child. The Carp Spirit is shown as having agency in pursuing the man she loves, but the ultimate goal is the domestic fulfillment of family. Motherhood is explicitly celebrated as a desired outcome.

LGBTQ+1/10

The central romance is a normative male-female pairing leading to the formation of a nuclear family. The use of a female actress (Ivy Ling Po) to play the male scholar is a traditional stage convention of Huangmei opera (nü ban nan zhuang), a performance style, and is not used to promote gender or sexual ideology.

Anti-Theism1/10

The plot is a fantasy deeply rooted in Chinese folk spirituality and mythology. The conflict is resolved by the direct, benevolent intervention of a major divine figure, the Goddess of Mercy (Guanyin), who ensures the virtuous couple is united. Faith and the transcendent are depicted as sources of justice and moral truth.