Going to the movies with their parents was one of the most exciting activities for Chinese kids during the 1960’s and 1970’s. Through the years, the entertainment activities were restricted for both children and adults. The movies were in great demand, especially the new movies. In order to get a ticket for a new movie, people had to line up for hours, one after another, until the ticket window opened at 8:00am. One person in the line was limited to buying two tickets only per visit. Even the tickets for some old movies were not easy to get, depending on how popular they were.

Movie tickets were expensive compared to most people’s income at that time. It was nice that the children who were shorter than one meter in height could see the movies for free, but they had to share the seats with the adults. One child was allowed to share a seat with one adult. Some parents told their children to bend their bodies or heads as low as they could while going through the entrance for saving money even though they were just one meter tall or little bit more.

When my younger sister and I were little girls, my parents frequently took us to the movies with two tickets. In my memory, going to the movies with my parents was the best time I had in my childhood. I was lucky to have more opportunities to go to the movie with my mother since I understood the movies better than my sister did. Actually, even the children from the neighborhood and school asked me to explain to them the plots in the movies that they could not understand. I felt honored to have this special treatment from my parents and also proud of my better understanding of the movies than other children about my age understand. Unfortunately, that joyful feeling didn’t last very long.

All my classmates and neighbor kids grew up above one meter around the age of six except me. They were proud of holding the tickets in their hands to go through the entrance of the theater striding forward with their chins up and having their own seats, although their parents complained they had to spend money for their kids on the movies. Sometimes, the ladies in the neighborhood came to our house and chat with my mother. They talked to my mother in an envying tone. What a deal I could still go to movies with my parents without spending even one penny because I was short. But their kids didn’t look at this benefit in the same way as their parents did. They started to laugh at me and tease me by calling me "A Short Knot" whenever they saw me. I hid myself by using the different roads to go home after school to avoid meeting those kids who liked to tease me. I stood on my tiptoes and measured myself every day, dreaming to reach that stupid height immediately. With tears welling up in my eyes, I stared at the scale marked 100cm on the wall. How I wished that "standard" height was not as high as it is.

One day, a lady in the neighborhood came to our house to invite my mother to go to an old movie with her and her daughter, who was about my age but much taller than I was. She had three tickets. She handed one to my mother and reminded my mother she could take either of her daughters with her. Again, I got to go with my mother.

I was feeling inferior by the time we arrived at the theater. That lady’s daughter, holding a ticket in her hand, had an air of complacency as she walked through the entrance. She cast a sidelong glance at me with her taunt eyes after an usher tore half of her ticket. I stopped suddenly at the entrance and turned to my mother.

"Mom, please buy me a ticket."

"What!" My mother was astonished, "What did you say?"

It was obvious that she could not believe what she heard.

"Buy me a ticket" I repeated.

"Don’t be silly. You are still too small to buy a ticket for a movie." She responded.

"I want a ticket." I said obstinately.

My mother began to coax and persuade me to move into the hall.

"I want a ticket," I murmured, standing at the entrance as if my feet were nailed on the ground. I did not hear what she was saying.

There were more and more people behind us waiting to get into the hall since we were blocky the entrance. I heard some complaining at my back:

"What a stupid girl."

"She is a trouble maker."

My mother looked awkwardly around. She had no way out.

"I will buy a ticket for you," pushing me hard to the corner while responding.

Sitting in my own seat in the theater for the first time, I felt I had grown up a lot since holding that ticket in my hand. More importantly I got equal treatment as the other kids did and my self-esteem soared, although I did not remember what the movie was about.

My mother angrily told the story to my father after we went home. My father took the ruler against my back to measure me again. I tiptoed and stretched up my neck as possible as I could.

"You are 99cm when standing on your tiptoes," he said.

"But I want a ticket." I did not give the impression of weakness in the least.

My mother and my father yelled of me at the same time.

"We are not going to take you to the movies any more if you insist on having a ticket again."

Naturally my sister replaced my position. She went to the movies with my parents a lot more than before. Instead, I stayed at home to read picture-story books of the movie. Six months later, my parents finally bought me a ticket and took me to the movie. I didn’t know if I was qualified by reaching one meter on that day. But I knew I was qualified to have a ticket since my ability of appreciating movie art was good.

There was nothing wrong in striving for equal treatment for self-esteem reason. I am glad I started to realize at the age of six that the criteria to judge a person should be his intelligence instead of his height.

© 1999 Jade Yuxuan Gao