dʒˈɛɹoʊm sˈɪlbɚɡˌɛld, ˈɔːθɚɹ ʌv tʃˈaɪnə ˌɪntʊ fˈɪlm: fɹˈeɪmz ʌv ɹˈɛfɹəns ɪn kəntˈɛmpɚɹˌɛɹi tʃaɪnˈiːz sˈɪnəmə, ɹˈoʊt ðˈæt "ˈɜːmoʊz ʌnwˈɪɾɪŋ dɪzˈaɪɚɹ ɪz fɔːɹ fɹˈiːdəm fɹʌm pˈɑːvɚɾi ænd ɹˈʊɹɹəl ˌaɪsəlˈeɪʃən bˌʌt hɜː pɚsˈuːt ʌv mɑːdˈɚnᵻɾi ɪn ɐ bˈɑːks, ˈɜːnd wɪð hɜː fˈiːt ænd hɜː blˈʌd, ɛnslˈeɪvz hɜː bˈɑːdi ænd sˈoʊl."
Jerome Silbergeld, author of China Into Film: Frames of Reference in Contemporary Chinese Cinema, wrote that "Ermo's unwitting desire is for freedom from poverty and rural isolation but her pursuit of modernity in a box, earned with her feet and her blood, enslaves her body and soul."