An aimless bullet: the genuine portrayal of the postwar period in South Korea

The article 'Film and Nationalism', edited by Alan Williams, suggests that while both the term nationalism and cinema is quite novel to the great scheme of history, films are mediums that help portray a certain aspect in perceiving and defining a nation, and that there always lies a possibility where nationhood will shift politically, economically and culturally over time.Thus, since films represent the nationalism of a specific period of history in a nation, directors may choose to omit certain unfavorable aspects of a nation. However, the director of the film 'an aimless bullet' chose to portray the genuine image of South Korea during the post war period.

The film 'An Aimless bullet', considered one of the greatest works in Korean cinema, depicts the difficult post-war life that Koreans had in the 1960s, and each characters' different approaches in dealing with the hardships. The film was banned in Korea because it was "so realistically stark in it's post war depiction".  

Chulho strives to support the family by sacrificing himself, such as by not going to the dentist even with his horrible toothache.  Young ho tries overcome the harsh reality by robbing a bank. Chulho's pregnant wife suffers from malnutrition and eventually dies of stress. The poet becomes mad due to loneliness and eventually kills one who he loves.  All these situations of each individual depict different ways in handling the plight they are going through, but they all experience hardships during this time of difficult post war period. 

As national cinema should be conscious of belonging to a specific historic tradition tied to a geo-cultural space, this film is the face of Korea that the director wanted to show the world during the post war period. 

     As national cinema is shaped by what our ideas of the nation are, and at the same time nationalism is shaped by what we see in the media and how we interpret these messages, national films have become an important part of a globalized world that we live in.

Works Cited:

Williams, Alan, eds.“Introduction.” Film and Nationalism.Rutger's University Press, 2002.

Aimless Bullet. Screenplay by Lee Jong Ki. Dir. Hyun-Mok Yu.1961.