As I watched the documentary in class over the course of several periods, one thing stuck out to me. I have always wondered what exactly it was that made Mao Zedong such a charismatic individual, to the point of being able to change the minds of the people of a large, densely populated country like China, and lead it through a Cultural Revolution. While some of it can probably be attributed to the possibility that he was naturally charming, there were many environmental factors that made him so influential.

Mao was able to identify and relate to the common Chinese peasant as he himself was born poor in Southern Hunan. He was against the foreign occupations, especially of that of the British, who came to establish their supposed superiority. Perhaps one of the biggest contributors to his influence was his efforts against the Japanese invaders.

While the documentary was clearly biased and the creator of the work was someone that did not really like Mao, it did present some interesting points. Mao was, as time continued, essentially worshiped like a deity of a religion. No matter what he ordered, people would carry out his commands, even if it meant attempting to produce unrealistic amounts of product for meeting ridiculous quotas (though the power Communist Party as whole definitely had an impact on people’s decisions as well), which resulted in famines and death. Mao was also able to turn the people against the enemies of the Party with ease, ordering their executions one by one.