document_title: Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon

question_text: what is the name of the sword in crouching tiger hidden dragon

text: Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon

text: Plot[edit]

text: The film is set in 18th century Qing Dynasty China. Li Mu Bai (Chow Yun-fat) is an accomplished Wudang swordsman and Yu Shu Lien (Michelle Yeoh) heads a private security company. The death of Mu Bai's closest friend and Shu Lien's fiancé, Meng Sizhao,[8] complicates their feelings for one another. Mu Bai, after choosing to retire, asks Shu Lien to give his sword "Green Destiny" to their benefactor Sir Te (Sihung Lung) in Beijing. Long ago, Mu Bai's master was murdered by Jade Fox (Cheng Pei-pei), a woman who sought to learn Wudang skills. While at Sir Te's place, Shu Lien makes the acquaintance of Jen Yu (Zhang Ziyi), who is the daughter of a rich and powerful Governor Yu and is about to get married.

text: One evening, a masked thief sneaks into Sir Te's estate and steals the Green Destiny. Mu Bai and Shu Lien trace the theft to Governor Yu's compound, where Jade Fox had been posing as Jen's governess for many years. Mu Bai makes the acquaintance of Inspector Tsai (Wang Deming), a police investigator from the provinces, and his daughter May (Li Li), who have come to Peking in pursuit of Fox. Fox challenges the pair and Sir Te's servant Master Bo (Gao Xi'an) to a showdown that night. Following a protracted battle, the group is on the verge of defeat when Mu Bai arrives and outmaneuvers Fox. Before Mu Bai can kill Fox, the masked thief reappears and helps Fox. Fox kills Tsai before fleeing with the thief (who is revealed to be Jen). After seeing Jen fight Mu Bai, Fox realizes Jen had been secretly studying the Wudang manual and has surpassed her in combat skills.

text: At night, a desert bandit named Lo (Chang Chen) breaks into Jen's bedroom and asks her to leave with him. A flashback reveals that in the past, when Governor Yu and his family were traveling in the western deserts, Lo and his bandits had raided Jen's caravan and Lo had stolen her comb. She pursued him to his desert cave to get her comb back. However, the pair soon fell passionately in love. Lo eventually convinced Jen to return to her family, though not before telling her a legend of a man who jumped off a cliff to make his wishes come true. Because the man's heart was pure, he did not die. Lo came to Beijing to persuade Jen not to go through with her arranged marriage. However, Jen refuses to leave with him. Later, Lo interrupts Jen's wedding procession, begging her to leave with him. Nearby, Shu Lien and Mu Bai convince Lo to wait for Jen at Mount Wudang, where he will be safe from Jen's family, who are furious with him. Jen runs away from her husband on their wedding night before the marriage could be consummated. Disguised in male clothing, she is accosted at an inn by a large group of warriors; armed with the Green Destiny and her own superior combat skills, she emerges victorious.

text: Jen visits Shu Lien, who tells her that Lo is waiting for her at Mount Wudang. After an angry exchange, the two women engage in a duel. Shu Lien is the superior fighter, but Jen wields the Green Destiny: the sword destroys each weapon that Shu Lien wields, until Shu Lien finally manages to defeat Jen with a broken sword. When Shu Lien shows mercy, Jen cuts Shu Lien's arm. Mu Bai arrives and pursues Jen into a bamboo forest. Mu Bai confronts Jen and offers to take her as his student. She arrogantly promises to accept him as her teacher if he can take Green Destiny from her in three moves. Mu Bai is able to take the sword in only one move, but Jen goes back on her word and flees. Mu Bai decides to throw the sword over a waterfall. Jen dives into an adjoining river to retrieve the sword and is then rescued by Fox. Fox puts Jen into a drugged sleep and places her in a cavern; Mu Bai and Shu Lien discover her there. Fox suddenly reappears and attacks the others with poisoned darts. Mu Bai blocks the needles with his sword and avenges his master's death by mortally wounding Fox, only to realize that one of the darts hit him in the neck. Fox dies, confessing that her goal had been to kill Jen because Jen had hidden the secrets of Wudang's best fighting techniques from her.

text: As Jen leaves to prepare an antidote for the poisoned dart, Mu Bai prepares to die. With his last breaths, he finally confesses his love for Shu Lien. He dies in her arms as Jen returns, too late to save him. The Green Destiny is returned to Sir Te. Jen later goes to Mount Wudang and spends one last night with Lo. The next morning, Lo finds Jen standing on a balcony overlooking the edge of the mountain. In an echo of the legend that they spoke about in the desert, she asks him to make a wish. He wishes for them to be together again, back in the desert. Jen then jumps down the side of the mountain.

text: Cast[edit]

text:
Chow Yun-fat as Li Mu Bai (C: 李慕白, P: Lǐ Mùbái)
Michelle Yeoh as Yu Shu Lien (T: 俞秀蓮, S: 俞秀莲, P: Yú Xiùlián)
Zhang Ziyi as Jen Yu (English subtitled version) / Yu Jiaolong (English dubbed version) (T: 玉嬌龍, S: 玉娇龙, P: Yù Jiāolóng)
Chang Chen as Lo "Dark Cloud" (English subtitled version) / Luo Xiaohu (English dubbed version) (T: 羅小虎, S: 罗小虎, P: Luó Xiǎohǔ)
Cheng Pei-pei as Jade Fox (C: 碧眼狐狸, P: Bìyǎn Húli)
Sihung Lung as Sir Te (T: 貝勒爺, C: 贝勒爷, P: Bèi-lèyé)
Li Fazeng as Governor Yu
Gao Xi'an as Bo
Hai Yan as Madam Yu
Wang Deming as Police inspector Tsai / Prefect Cai Qiu
Li Li as May, Tsai's daughter
Huang Suying as Aunt Wu
Yang Rui as Maid
Li Kai as Gou Jun Pei
Feng Jianhua as Gou Jun Sinung
Ma Zhongxuan as Mi Biao
Li Baocheng as Fung Machete Chang
Yang Yongde as Monk Jing
Zhang Shaocheng as Nightman

tag: ul

text: Themes and interpretations[edit]

text: Title[edit]

text: The name "Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon" is a literal translation of the Chinese idiom "臥虎藏龍" which describes a place or situation that is full of unnoticed masters. It is from a poem of the ancient Chinese poet Yu Xin's (513–581) that reads "暗石疑藏虎，盤根似臥龍", which means "behind the rock in the dark probably hides a tiger, and the coiling giant root resembles a crouching dragon."[9] The last character in Xiaohu and Jiaolong's names mean "Tiger" and "Dragon", respectively.

text: Gender roles[edit]

text: Some prominent martial arts styles traditionally were held to have been originated by women, e.g. History of Wing Chun credits a Buddhist nun Ng Mui teaching Yim Wing-Chun the style. The film's title reference to masters one does not notice necessarily includes mostly women, and suggests the advantage of a female bodyguard. Traditional weapons taught in Wing Chun are exactly those easily concealed (butterfly knives) or similar to those taught in Japanese Aikido primarily to women (long pole).[10] The style emphasizes centerline blows to vital areas, as opposed to maiming strikes against limbs, thus seems intended for death blows, knockouts, and tactics generally used by physically weaker opponents seeking to win in a single strike rather than engage in an extended confrontation. Again, the title suggests powerful creatures that strike by surprise.

text: Teacher-student relationship[edit]

text: A teacher's desire to have a worthy student, the obligations between a student and a master, and tensions in these relationships are central to the characters' motives, conflicts between the characters, and the unfolding of the film's plot. Li Mu Bai is burdened with the responsibility for avenging his master's death, and turns his back on retirement to live up to this obligation. His fascination with the prospect of having Jen as a disciple also motivates his behavior, and that of Jade Fox.

text: Regarding conflicts in the student-teacher relationship, the potential for exploitation created by the subordinate position of the student and the tensions that exist when a student surpasses or resists a teacher are explored. Jen hides her mastery of martial arts from her teacher, Jade Fox, which leads both to their parting of ways and to Jade Fox's attempt on Jen's life. At the same time, Jade Fox's own unorthodox relationship with a Wudang master (whom she claims would not teach her, but did take sexual advantage of her) brought her to a life of crime.

text: Poison[edit]

text: Poison is also a significant theme in the film. In the world of martial arts, poison is considered the act of one who is too cowardly and dishonorable to fight; and indeed, the only character who explicitly fits these characteristics is Jade Fox. The poison is a weapon of her bitterness,[11] and quest for vengeance: she poisons the master of Wudang, attempts to poison Jen, and succeeds in killing Mu Bai using a poisoned needle.

text: However, the poison is not only of the physical sort: Jade Fox's tutelage of Jen has left Jen spiritually poisoned, which can be seen in the lying, stealing, and betrayal Jen commits. Though she is the one who initially trained Jen, Jen is never seen to use poison herself. This indicates that hope yet exists to reform her and integrate her into society. In further play on this theme by the director, Jade Fox, as she dies, refers to the poison from a young child, "the deceit of an eight-year-old girl," obviously referring to what she considers her own spiritual poisoning by her young apprentice Jen. Li Mu Bai himself warns that without guidance, Jen could become a "poison dragon".

text: Production[edit]

text: The film was originally written as a novel series by Wang Dulu starting in the late 1930s. The film is loosely adapted from the storyline of the fourth book in the series, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.

text: Filming[edit]

text: Although its Academy Award was presented to Taiwan, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon was in fact an international co-production between companies in four regions: the Chinese company China Film Co-Production Corporation; the American companies Columbia Pictures Film Production Asia,[12] Sony Pictures Classics and Good Machine; the Hong Kong company EDKO Film; and the Taiwanese Zoom Hunt International Productions Company, Ltd; as well as the unspecified United China Vision, and Asia Union Film and Entertainment Ltd., created solely for this film.[13][14]

text: The film was made in Beijing, with location shooting in the Anhui, Hebei, Jiangsu, and Xinjiang provinces of China.[15] The first phase of shooting was in the Gobi Desert where it consistently rained. Director Ang Lee noted, "I didn't take one break in eight months, not even for half a day. I was miserable -- I just didn't have the extra energy to be happy. Near the end, I could hardly breathe. I thought I was about to have a stroke."[16] The stunt work was mostly performed by the actors themselves and Ang Lee stated in an interview that computers were used "only to remove the safety wires that held the actors." "Most of the time you can see their faces," he added, "That's really them in the trees."[17]

text: Another compounding issue was the difference between accents of the four lead actors: Chow Yun-fat is from Hong Kong and speaks Cantonese natively, and Michelle Yeoh is from Malaysia and grew up speaking English and Malay;[18] she learned the Mandarin lines phonetically.[19] Only Zhang Ziyi spoke with a native Mandarin accent that Ang Lee wanted.[16] Chow Yun Fat said, on "the first day [of shooting], I had to do 28 takes just because of the language. That's never happened before in my life."[16]

text: Because the film specifically targeted Western audiences rather than the domestic audiences who were already used to Wuxia films, English subtitles were needed. Ang Lee, who was educated in the West, personally edited the subtitles to ensure they were satisfactory for Western audiences.

text: Soundtrack[edit]

text: The score was composed by Tan Dun, originally performed by Shanghai Symphony Orchestra, Shanghai National Orchestra, and Shanghai Percussion Ensemble. It also features many solo passages for cello played by Yo-Yo Ma. The "last track" ("A Love Before Time") features Coco Lee, who later performed it at the Academy Awards. The music for the entire film was produced in two weeks.[20]

text: Marketing[edit]

text: The film was adapted into a video game, a comics series, and a 34-episode Taiwanese television series based on the original novel. The latter was released in 2004 as New Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon for US and Canadian release.

text: Reception[edit]

text: Critical response[edit]

text:
"Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, which is based on an early 20th century novel by Wang Dulu, unfolds much like a comic book, with the characters and their circumstances being painted using wide brush strokes. Subtlety is not part of Lee's palette; he is going for something grand and melodramatic, and that's what he gets."

—James Berardinelli, writing in ReelViews[21]

text: Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon was very well received in the Western world, receiving numerous awards. The review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reported that 97% of critics gave the film positive reviews, based on 153 reviews with an average rating of 8.6/10. The website's critical consensus states: "The movie that catapulted Ang Lee into the ranks of upper echelon Hollywood filmmakers, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon features a deft mix of amazing martial arts battles, beautiful scenery, and tasteful drama."[22] Metacritic reported the film had an average score of 93 out of 100, based on 31 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim".[23]

text: Some Chinese-speaking viewers were bothered by the accents of the leading actors. Neither Chow (a native Cantonese speaker) nor Yeoh (who was born and raised in Malaysia) speaks Mandarin as a mother tongue. All four main actors spoke with different accents: Chow speaks with a Cantonese accent;[24] Yeoh with a Malaysian accent; Chang Chen a Taiwanese accent; and Zhang Ziyi a Beijing accent. Yeoh responded to this complaint in a December 28, 2000, interview with Cinescape. She argued, "My character lived outside of Beijing, and so I didn't have to do the Beijing accent." When the interviewer, Craig Reid, remarked, "My mother-in-law has this strange Sichuan-Mandarin accent that's hard for me to understand.", Yeoh responded: "Yes, provinces all have their very own strong accents. When we first started the movie, Cheng Pei Pei was going to have her accent, and Chang Zhen was going to have his accent, and this person would have that accent. And in the end nobody could understand what they were saying. Forget about us, even the crew from Beijing thought this was all weird."[25]

text: The film led to a boost in popularity of Chinese wuxia films in the western world, where they were previously little known, and led to films such as House of Flying Daggers and Hero marketed towards Western audiences. The film also provided the breakthrough role for Zhang Ziyi's career, who noted:

text: Because of movies like Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Hero, and Memoirs of a Geisha, a lot of people in the United States have become interested not only in me but in Chinese and Asian actors in general. Because of these movies, maybe there will be more opportunities for Asian actors."

text: The character of Lo, or "Dark Cloud" the desert bandit, influenced the development of the protagonist of the Prince of Persia series of video games.[26]

text: The film is ranked at number 497 on Empire's 2008 list of the 500 greatest movies of all time[27] and at number 66 in the magazine's 100 Best Films of World Cinema, published in 2010.[28]

text: In 2010, the Independent Film & Television Alliance selected the film as one of the 30 Most Significant Independent Films of the last 30 years.[29]

text: In 2016, it was voted the 35th-best film of the 21st century as picked by 177 film critics from around the world.[30]

text: Film Journal noted that Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon "pulled off the rare trifecta of critical acclaim, boffo box-office and gestalt shift",[31] in reference to its ground-breaking success for a subtitled film in the American market.

text: Counter-flow[edit]

text: Wu and Chan (2007)[32] look at Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon as somewhat of an example of “counter-flow”, a film that has challenged Hollywood’s grip on the film market. They argue that as a product of globalization, the movie did not demonstrate a one-way flow based on Western ideology, but was multidirectional with the ability of local resources to influence the West and gain capital.[32] Despite its international success and perceived ability to change the flow from East to West, however, there were still instances of Western adaptation for the movie, such as putting more emphasis on female characters to better execute a balance between gender roles in the East and West.[32] The script of the film was written between Taiwan and Hollywood and in translating the film to English, many cultural references were lost, which made maintaining the cultural authenticity of the film while still reaching out to the West very difficult.[32] The thematic conflict throughout the movie between societal roles and personal desires attribute to the international reception of the film, which resonates with both the Eastern and Western audiences.[32] Additionally, international and Western networks were used in the production and promotion of the film, which were needed to achieve its global distribution.[32] Additional marketing strategies were needed for the film to attract the Western audience, who were unfamiliar with the cultural products of the East.[32]

text: Box office[edit]

text: The film premiered in cinemas on December 8, 2000, in limited release within the US. During its opening weekend, the film opened in 15th place, grossing $663,205 in business, showing at 16 locations.[3] On January 12, 2001, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon premiered in cinemas in wide release throughout the US grossing $8,647,295 in business, ranking in sixth place. The film Save the Last Dance came in first place during that weekend, grossing $23,444,930.[33] The film's revenue dropped by almost 30% in its second week of release, earning $6,080,357. For that particular weekend, the film fell to eighth place screening in 837 theaters. Save the Last Dance remained unchanged in first place, grossing $15,366,047 in box-office revenue.[3] During its final week in release, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon opened in a distant 50th place with $37,233 in revenue.[34] The film went on to top out domestically at $128,078,872 in total ticket sales through a 31-week theatrical run. Internationally, the film took in an additional $85,446,864 in box-office business for a combined worldwide total of $213,525,736.[3] For 2000 as a whole, the film cumulatively ranked at a worldwide box-office performance position of 19.[35]

text: Accolades[edit]

text: Gathering widespread critical acclaim at the Toronto and New York film festivals, the film also became a favorite when Academy Awards nominations were announced in 2001. The film was, however, screened out of competition at the 2000 Cannes Film Festival.[36]

text:
Award[37][38]
Category
Nominee
Result

73rd Academy Awards[39]
Best Foreign Language Film
Ang Lee
Won

Best Picture
Hsu-Li Kong, Bill Kong and Ang Lee
Nominated

Best Director
Ang Lee
Nominated

Best Adapted Screenplay
Tsai Kuo-Jung, Hui-Ling Wang and James Schamus
Nominated

Best Original Song
Jorge Calandrelli, Tan Dun and James Schamus for "A Love Before Time"
Nominated

Best Costume Design
Tim Yip
Nominated

Best Art Direction
Art Direction and Set Decoration: Tim Yip
Won

Best Film Editing
Tim Squyres
Nominated

Best Original Score
Tan Dun
Won

Best Cinematography
Peter Pau
Won

2000 American Society of Cinematographers Awards
Best Cinematography
Peter Pau
Nominated

54th British Academy Film Awards[40]
Best Film

Nominated

Best Foreign Language Film

Won

Best Actress in a Leading Role
Michelle Yeoh
Nominated

Best Supporting Actress
Zhang Ziyi
Nominated

Best Cinematography
Peter Pau
Nominated

Best Makeup and Hair

Nominated

Best Editing
Tim Squyres
Nominated

Best Costume Design
Tim Yip
Won

Best Director
Ang Lee
Won

Best Music
Tan Dun
Won

Best Adapted Screenplay
Tsai Kuo-Jung, Wang Hui-Ling, James Schamus
Nominated

Best Production Design
Tim Yip
Nominated

Best Sound

Nominated

Best Visual Effects

Nominated

Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards 2000[41]
Best Foreign Film

Won

Chicago Film Critics Association Awards 2000[42]
Most Promising Actress
Zhang Ziyi
Won

Best Original Score
Tan Dun
Won

Best Cinematography
Peter Pau
Won

Best Foreign Film

Won

2000 Directors Guild of America Awards[43]
Best Director
Ang Lee
Won

2000 Film Fest Gent festival
Georges Delerue Award
Tan Dun
Won

58th Golden Globe Awards[44]
Best Foreign Language Film

Won

Best Director
Ang Lee
Won

Best Original Score
Tan Dun
Nominated

20th Hong Kong Film Awards[45]
Best Film

Won

Best Director
Ang Lee
Won

Best Screenplay
Wang Hui-Ling, James Schamus, Tsai Kuo-Jung
Nominated

Best Actor
Chow Yun-fat
Nominated

Best Actress
Zhang Ziyi
Nominated

Best Actress
Michelle Yeoh
Nominated

Best Supporting Actor
Chang Chen
Nominated

Best Supporting Actress
Cheng Pei-pei
Won

Best Cinematography
Peter Pau
Won

Best Film Editing
Tim Squyres
Nominated

Best Art Direction
Tim Yip
Nominated

Best Costume Make Up Design
Tim Yip
Nominated

Best Action Choreography
Yuen Wo Ping
Won

Best Original Film Score
Tan Dun
Won

Best Original Film Song
Tan Dun, Jorge Calandrelli, Yee Kar-Yeung, Coco Lee
Won

Best Sound Design
Eugene Gearty
Won

Independent Spirit Awards 2000
Best Picture

Won

Best Director
Ang Lee
Won

Best Supporting Actress
Zhang Ziyi
Won

Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards 2000[46]
Best Picture

Won

Best Cinematography
Peter Pau
Won

Best Music Score
Tan Dun
Won

Best Production Design
Tim Yip
Won

National Board of Review Awards 2000[47]
Best Foreign Language Film

Won

Top Foreign Films

Shortlisted

2000 New York Film Critics Circle Awards[48]
Best Cinematography
Peter Pau
Won

Toronto Film Critics Association Awards 2000[49]
Best Picture

Won

Best Director
Ang Lee
Won

Best Actress
Michelle Yeoh
Won

Best Supporting Actress
Zhang Ziyi
Won

2000 Toronto International Film Festival
People's Choice Award
Ang Lee
Won

Writers Guild of America Awards 2000[50]
Best Adapted Screenplay
Tsai Kuo-Jung, Wang Hui-Ling, James Schamus
Nominated

37th Golden Horse Awards – 2000[51]
Best Feature Film

Won

Best Director
Ang Lee
Nominated

Best Leading Actress
Michelle Yeoh
Nominated

Best Leading Actress
Zhang Ziyi
Nominated

Best Screenplay Adaption
Tsai Kuo-Jung, Wang Hui-Ling, James Schamus
Nominated

Best Cinematography
Peter Pau
Nominated

Best Film Editing
Tim Squyres
Won

Best Art Direction
Tim Yip
Nominated

Best Original Score
Tan Dun
Won

Best Sound Design
Eugene Gearty
Won

Best Action Choreography
Yuen Wo Ping
Won

Best Visual Effects
Leo Lo, Rob Hodgson
Won

text: Sequel[edit]

text: A sequel to the film, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: Sword of Destiny, was released in 2016. It was directed by Yuen Woo-ping, who was the action choreographer for the first film. It is a co-production between Pegasus Media, China Film Group Corporation, and the Weinstein Company.[52] Unlike the original film, the sequel was filmed in English for international release and dubbed to Mandarin for Chinese releases.

text: Sword of Destiny is based on the book Iron Knight, Silver Vase, the next (and last) novel in the Crane-Iron Pentalogy. It features a mostly new cast, headed by Donnie Yen. Michelle Yeoh reprised her role from the original.[53] Zhang Ziyi was also approached to appear in Sword of Destiny but refused, stating that she would only appear in a sequel if Ang Lee were directing it.[54]

text: In the United States, the sequel was for the most part not shown in theaters, instead being distributed via the video streaming service Netflix.[55]

text: Cultural references[edit]

text: The theme of Janet Jackson's song "China Love" was related to the film by MTV News, in which Jackson sings of the daughter of an emperor in love with a warrior, unable to sustain relations when forced to marry into royalty.[56]

text: The names of the pterosaur genus Kryptodrakon and the ceratopsian genus Yinlong (both meaning hidden dragon) allude to the film.[57][58]


document_title: Means of production

question_text: who owns the means of production under capitalism

root

text: Means of production

text: Related terms[edit]

text: Factors of production are defined by German economist Karl Marx in his book Das Kapital as labour, subjects of labor, and instruments of labor: the term is equivalent to means of production plus labor. The factors of production are often listed in economic writings derived from the classical school as "land, labour and capital". Marx sometimes used the term "productive forces" equivalently with "factors of production;" in Kapital, he uses "factors of production", in his famous Preface to the Critique of Political Economy, he uses "productive forces" (that may depend on the translation).

tag: p

text: Production relations (German: Produktionsverhältnis) are the relations humans enter into with each other in using the means of production to produce. Examples of such relations are employer/employee, buyer/seller, the technical division of labour in a factory, and property relations.

text: Mode of production (German: Produktionsweise) means the dominant way in which production is organised in society. For instance, "capitalism" is the name for the capitalist mode of production in which the means of production are owned privately by a small class (the bourgeoisie) who profits off the labour of the working class (the proletariat). Communism is a mode of production in which the means of production are not owned by anyone, but shared in common, without class based exploitation.

text: Marxian economic analysis[edit]

text:
Part of a series on

Marxian economics

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Capitalist mode of production
Class process
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Concrete and abstract labor
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Labour theory of value
Law of accumulation
Law of value
Means of production
Mode of production
Monopoly capitalism
Organic composition of capital
Productive forces
Profit
Prices of production
Primitive accumulation
Rate of exploitation
Rate of profit
Real prices and ideal prices
Relations of production
Reproduction
Reserve army of labour
Socially necessary labour time
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Socialization
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Surplus value
Surplus labour
Surplus product
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Value product
Variable capital

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tag: table

text: The analysis of the ownership and control of the means of production, as well as the level of their technological sophistication, is a central component of Marxist theory.

text: In Marxist theory, the process of socioeconomic change and evolution is based on the premise of technological improvements in the means of production. As the level of technology improves, existing forms of social relations become inconsistent and unnecessary, creating contradictions between the level of technology in the means of production, and the organization of society and its economy in particular. These contradictions manifest themselves in the form of class conflicts, which develop to a point where the existing mode of production becomes unsustainable, either collapsing or being overthrown in a social revolution, leading to the emergence of a new mode of production based on a different set of social relations, most notably, a different form of ownership for the means of production.[4]

text: Ownership of the means of production and control over the surplus product generated by their operation is the fundamental factor in delineating different economic systems (or modes of production). Capitalism is defined as private ownership and control over the means of production, where the surplus product becomes a source of unearned income for its owners. By contrast, socialism is defined as social ownership of the means of production so that the surplus product accrues to society at large.

text: To the question of why classes exist in human societies in the first place, Karl Marx offered a historical and scientific explanation that it was the cultural practice of ownership of the means of production that gives rise to them. This explanation differs dramatically from other explanations based on "differences in ability" between individuals or on religious or political affiliations giving rise to castes. This explanation is consistent with the bulk of Marxist theory in which Politics and Religion are seen as mere outgrowths (superstructures) of the basic underlying economic reality of a people.[5]


document_title: List of Cowboy Bebop episodes

question_text: how many episodes of cowboy bebop is there

text: List of Cowboy Bebop episodes

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text: The Japanese anime series Cowboy Bebop consists of 26 episodes, referred to as "sessions". Most episodes are named after a musical concept of some sort, usually either a broad genre (e.g. "Gateway Shuffle") or a specific song (e.g. "Honky Tonk Women"). The show had an aborted first run from April 3, 1998 until June 26, 1998 on TV Tokyo, broadcasting only episodes 2, 3, 7 to 15, 18 and a special. TXN canceled the show in June 1998 because of low ratings. Later that year, the series was shown in its entirety from October 24 until April 24, 1999, on the satellite network WOWOW. In the U.S., the series has aired continuously in rotation since 2001 on the Cartoon Network's Adult Swim.

text: The show takes place in 2071 and follows a group of bounty hunters who hunt criminals on their ship, the Bebop. The main characters include  Spike Spiegel, a laid-back former member of the Red Dragon Syndicate (a criminal organization) and hotshot ace pilot; Jet Black, a retired cop and the owner of the Bebop; Faye Valentine, a gambling-addicted amnesiac who always finds herself in financial debts; Edward Wong Hau Pepelu Tivruski IV (nicknamed "Ed"), an eccentric computer hacking prodigy from Earth; and Ein, a "data dog" as the group's pet.

text: A movie was released in 2001, titled Cowboy Bebop: The Movie. The movie takes place between episodes 22 and 23.

text: Episodes[edit]

text:
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Title

Original airdate (TV Tokyo)

Original airdate (WOWOW)

English airdate (Adult Swim)
1
"Asteroid Blues""Asuteroido Burūsu" (アステロイド・ブルース) -October 24, 1998September 2, 2001
Spike Spiegel, a bounty hunter, and his partner Jet Black head to the Tijuana asteroid colony on their ship, the Bebop, to track down a bounty-head named Asimov Solensan. Asimov is wanted for killing members of his own crime syndicate and stealing a cache of a dangerous combat drug known as Bloody-Eye. On the colony, Asimov and his girlfriend, Katerina, are ambushed at a bar by his former syndicate while attempting to sell a vial of Bloody-Eye, but Asimov fights his way out by using the drug himself. Spike later encounters Katerina and reveals to her that he is a bounty hunter searching for Asimov; Spike is assaulted by Asimov and nearly killed before Katerina intervenes. In the confusion, Spike steals Asimov's Bloody-Eye vial before the two leave. Spike later confronts Asimov at a staged drug deal with the stolen vial. Asimov escapes with Katerina in a ship when the two are interrupted by an attack from Asimov's former syndicate. With Spike giving chase in his own ship, Asimov takes another dose of Bloody-Eye as they rush towards a police blockade. A horrified Katerina, realizing they will never escape, shoots Asimov as Spike nears their ship. As Spike approaches Asimov's ship, it is destroyed by attacking police cruisers, forcing Spike to pull away. The episode ends with Spike and Jet once again traveling through space on the Bebop.
2
"Stray Dog Strut""Norainu no Sutoratto" (野良犬のストラット) April 3, 1998October 31, 1998September 2, 2001
Spike and Jet's next bounty takes them to Mars, where their target, Abdul Hakim, is wanted for stealing a valuable lab animal. To avoid capture, Hakim has had plastic surgery to change his appearance. At a bar, Hakim's briefcase containing the animal is stolen. Spike discovers the thief attempting to sell the animal at a pet store and, assuming him to be Hakim, holds him at gunpoint. Spike orders the store owner to open the case, revealing a Welsh corgi. As Spike leaves the store, Hakim attempts to take the dog back; the dog escapes, prompting Hakim, Spike, and the group of scientists who had illegally experimented on the dog to give chase. Spike loses Hakim but gains possession of the dog, whom he brings back to the Bebop. Jet gives the dog a collar tracking device so he can pinpoint Hakim's location once he inevitably steals the dog back. Spike takes the dog for a walk in order to flush out Hakim. Hakim consults a fortune teller. The scientists activate a dog whistle to find their "data dog", resulting in the corgi escaping from Spike. All the city dogs including the corgi run past Hakim and the fortune teller. Hakim steals a car and grabs the dog, while Spike and the scientists pursue him in their ship and truck, respectively. The dog manipulates the car door and jumps out. Spike reluctantly saves it by having it land on top of his ship. The scientists use the truck's harpoon to attach to Hakim's vehicle. This causes both vehicles to lose control and crash over the side rails of a bridge. They fall onto a police station and are apprehended. The bounty hunter show "Big Shots" announces that Hakim turned himself in and reveal that a "data dog" is a dog that has its intellect genetically enhanced. The dog, named Ein, now lives on the Bebop, much to Spike's chagrin.
3
"Honky Tonk Women""Honkī Tonku Wimen" (ホンキィ・トンク・ウィメン) April 10, 1998November 7, 1998September 9, 2001
With Ein as a new companion, the crew of the Bebop cross paths with Faye Valentine, a wanted fugitive drowning in debt, who is forced to act as a middle-woman for an illegal transaction at a space station casino.
4
"Gateway Shuffle""Geitowei Shaffuru" (ゲイトウェイ・シャッフル) -November 14, 1998September 9, 2001
After gambling away all the money she obtained, Faye finds a mysterious suitcase aboard a derelict spaceship. Meanwhile, Spike and Jet pursue a bounty on Twinkle Murdoch, the leader of the Space Warriors, a group of eco-terrorists armed with a biological weapon that can transform humans into apes. However, faced with the threat by Murdoch's sons of releasing the virus on Ganymede if she isn't released, the Ganymede government cancels the bounty and forces the Bebop crew to release her. When Murdoch and her sons renege on the deal and launch the virus anyway, Spike and Faye pursue her through the hyperspace gateway. They destroy two of the three missiles, but miss the third one, prompting the Ganymede government to shut down the spacegate, stopping the missiles by trapping them in hyperspace. Spike and Faye narrowly escape the gate before it closes, but Murdoch and sons are trapped. A container of the virus that Faye recovered from the suitcase and was subsequently slipped into Murdoch's pocket by Spike shatters, turning her and all her sons into monkeys. With the bounty lost, Faye decides to stay on the Bebop with Spike and Jet.
5
"Ballad of Fallen Angels""Datenshi-tachi no Baraddo" (堕天使たちのバラッド) -November 21, 1998September 23, 2001
While pursuing the bounty on an executive of the Red Dragon Syndicate, Spike confronts Vicious, an old enemy of his.
6
"Sympathy for the Devil""Akuma o Awaremu Uta" (悪魔を憐れむ歌) -November 28, 1998December 16, 2001
Spike and Jet chase a dangerous enemy who, despite having the appearance of a little boy, is actually more than eighty years old.
7
"Heavy Metal Queen""Hevi Metaru Kuīn" (ヘヴィ・メタル・クイーン) April 17, 1998December 5, 1998September 23, 2001
The crew of the Bebop chase a bounty named Decker, who is running a load of high explosives. While nursing a hangover at a diner, Spike meets a cargo hauler pilot named V.T., who hates bounty hunters, but ends up lending him a hand.
8
"Waltz for Venus""Warutsu fō Vīnasu" (ワルツ・フォー・ヴィーナス) April 24, 1998December 12, 1998December 23, 2001
While the crew hunts down a Venusian mob, Spike meets Rocco Bonnaro, who is on the run from the same mob the crew is tracking for stealing a very rare and valuable plant, which he plans to sell to pay for surgery to restore his sister's eyesight.
9
"Jamming with Edward""Jamingu Wizu Edowādo" (ジャミング・ウィズ・エドワード) May 1, 1998December 19, 1998September 30, 2001
The crew enlists the help of an elite computer hacker nicknamed "Radical Edward" to help them track down a bounty-head who has been vandalizing Earth's surface with hacked laser satellites.
10
"Ganymede Elegy""Ganimede Bojō" (ガニメデ慕情) May 8, 1998December 26, 1998September 30, 2001
Jet is even more taciturn than usual as the Bebop lands on Ganymede, his last post before leaving the ISSP and the home of his ex-girlfriend, Alisa, whom he has never quite left behind. An old friend tips Jet off that Rhint Celonias, Alisa's new boyfriend, has a bounty on him.
11
"Toys in the Attic" ("Heavy Rock of the Dark Night")"Yamiyo no Hevi Rokku" (闇夜のヘヴィ・ロック) May 15, 1998January 2, 1999October 7, 2001
A blob with a venomous bite infiltrates the Bebop and incapacitates Jet, Faye and Ein. It's up to Spike and Ed to destroy the creature and find out where it came from. The episode ends with the Bebop adrift in space, the entire crew dead.
12
"Jupiter Jazz (Part 1)""Jupitā Jazu (Zenpen)" (ジュピター・ジャズ(前編)) May 22, 1998January 9, 1999October 7, 2001
Faye cleans out the crew's safe and leaves the Bebop for Callisto. While Jet chases after her, Spike follows up on some clues about the location of his ex-girlfriend Julia, which leads him to another confrontation with Vicious.
13
"Jupiter Jazz (Part 2)""Jupitā Jazu (Kōhen)" (ジュピター・ジャズ(後編)) May 29, 1998January 16, 1999October 14, 2001
Faye is helped by Gren, a man who holds a grudge against Vicious. After explaining his story to Faye, he chases after Vicious, and when he and Spike reach him at the same time, a four-way battle takes place.
14
"Bohemian Rhapsody""Bohemian Rapusodi" (ボヘミアン・ラプソディ) June 5, 1998January 23, 1999October 14, 2001
The Bebop crew hunts for Chessmaster Hex, the rumored mastermind behind a series of robberies at hyperspace gate tollbooths. While trying to dig up dirt on their target, they unearth some valuable data regarding the gate accident that devastated Earth fifty years earlier.
15
"My Funny Valentine""Mai Fanī Varentain" (マイ・ファニー・ヴァレンタイン) June 12, 1998January 30, 1999October 21, 2001
Faye meets an important man from her past, and the source of her massive debt is revealed.
16
"Black Dog Serenade""Burakku Doggu Serenāde" (ブラック・ドッグ・セレナーデ) -February 13, 1999October 21, 2001
An ISSP prison ship suffers a mechanical malfunction and is taken over by the inmates, led by Udai Taxim, the Syndicate assassin who took Jet's arm. Jet's former partner, Fad, enlists him for the retrieval operation.
17
"Mushroom Samba""Masshurūmu Sanba" (マッシュルーム・サンバ) -February 20, 1999October 28, 2001
The Bebop, out of food and fuel, is sideswiped in a hit-and-run off of Europa and crash-lands on Io. Ed, with Ein by her side, is sent out to procure food, and runs across Domino Walker, a bounty-head who is smuggling hallucinogenic mushrooms.
18
"Speak Like a Child""Supīku Raiku A Chairudo" (スピーク・ライク・ア・チャイルド) June 19, 1998February 27, 1999October 28, 2001
While Faye wastes money betting on horse racing, a package addressed to her arrives on the Bebop containing an old Betamax tape, prompting Spike and Jet to look for an appropriate device to view its contents. The tape proves to be a time capsule recording of a teenage Faye and her friends, but Faye finds her pre-amnesia self unrecognizable apart from her physical appearance.
19
"Wild Horses""Wairudo Hōsesu" (ワイルド・ホーセス) -March 6, 1999November 4, 2001
While Spike takes his mono-racer in for maintenance, Jet and Faye take on a group of pirates who use computer viruses to terrorize cargo ships.
20
"Pierrot le Fou" ("The Clown's Requiem")"Dōkeshi no Chinkonka" (道化師の鎮魂歌) -March 13, 1999November 4, 2001
Spike is targeted by an insane, seemingly indestructible assassin named Mad Pierrot after accidentally witnessing the killer in action.
21
"Boogie Woogie Feng Shui""Bugi Ugi Funshei" (ブギ・ウギ・フンシェイ) -March 20, 1999November 11, 2001
Jet, spurred on by a cryptic e-mail, tries to find an old acquaintance but discovers only his grave—he disappeared under mysterious circumstances. His daughter, Mei-Fa, an expert in feng shui, asks for his help finding a "sun stone" that can lead them to her father's location.
22
"Cowboy Funk""Kaubōi Fanku" (カウボーイ・ファンク) -March 27, 1999February 15, 2002
A terrorist known as the "Teddy Bomber" has been using explosives hidden in teddy bears to bring down high-rise buildings in protest of humanity's excesses. Spike attempts to stop him, but constantly runs afoul of "Cowboy Andy", a fellow bounty hunter who is far more similar to Spike than either would care to admit.
23
"Brain Scratch""Burein Sukuratchi" (ブレイン・スクラッチ) -April 3, 1999November 11, 2001
Unbeknownst to the rest of the crew, Faye goes undercover to infiltrate SCRATCH, a cult that believes in achieving eternal life by digitizing the soul and uploading it into the Internet, in order to collect the bounty on the cult's leader, Dr. Londes. While Spike goes looking for her, Jet and Ed try to track down Dr. Londes.
24
"Hard Luck Woman""Hādo Rakku Ūman" (ハード・ラック・ウーマン) -April 10, 1999November 18, 2001
While heading to Mars, the Bebop is diverted to an unplanned trip on Earth. After arriving, Faye travels to the landmarks she sees in the video she recorded as a child, taking Ed along. She and Ed find an orphanage where Ed stayed at previously. The nun in charge gives Ed a picture of her father, who came looking for her there several months back. Faye and Ed find one of the locations in the video, whereupon Faye is surprised by an old schoolmate. Jet and Spike notice a bounty on their computer which looks to be a lucrative payoff. After returning to the Bebop and dwelling on what has happened, Faye leaves again. Jet and Spike find their bounty, but Ed interrupts, revealing that the bounty head is her father, and she placed the bounty herself in order to find him. Ed's father asks if she wants to stay with him, but before Ed can answer, he and his assistant see another meteorite strike the Earth's surface in the distance and they speed off, leaving Ed behind, dumbfounded. Faye finds only ruins where her home used to be. Ed leaves the Bebop, and Ein goes with her.
25
"The Real Folk Blues (Part 1)""Za Riaru Fōku Burūsu (Zenpen)" (ザ・リアル・フォークブルース(前編)) -April 17, 1999November 18, 2001
Left alone by the rest of the crew, Spike and Jet are ambushed by members of the Red Dragon Syndicate. They are saved by Lin's brother, Shin, who explains that after Vicious unsuccessfully tried to seize control of the organization, all people connected to him are also being hunted down. Faye meets Julia in a chance encounter and passes on a message from her to Spike. Spike rushes to rendezvous with Julia. Viscous escapes his execution and kills the leaders of the Syndicate.
26
"The Real Folk Blues (Part 2)""Za Riaru Fōku Burūsu (Kōhen)" (ザ・リアル・フォークブルース(後編)) -April 24, 1999November 25, 2001
Reunited, Spike and Julia pick up where they left off in their plans to escape the Red Dragon Syndicate, but Julia is shot and killed. Spike returns to the Bebop for a meal with Jet, then storms the Red Dragon's headquarters to confront Vicious. Shin helps him, but is killed. Spike fights his way to the top floor of the Syndicate skyscraper, but is badly wounded. Spike shoots Vicious in the chest, killing him. As Spike stumbles down a set of stairs and faces the Syndicate members that rushed to the scene, he makes a gun with his fingers and says "Bang" before collapsing.
XX
"Mish-Mash Blues""Yoseatsume Burūsu" (よせあつめブルース) June 26, 1998-December 2, 2001
Due to the violence portrayed in the series, and the violence occurring at the time in Japan, the series was briefly canceled and "Mish-Mash Blues" was created. The characters provide a philosophical commentary and it ends with the words: "This Is Not The End. You Will See The Real 'Cowboy Bebop' Someday!"