Anti-Western Notions and Fetishisation of Western Culture

The film Madame Freedom is about the life of a scandalous wife of a professor.  After gaining employment at a western boutique, she starts leading a lifestyle that is looked down upon, and ends up cheating on her husband.

This film has strong anti-western notions. The most obvious of these are the changes in appearance of the lead character Oh Seon Yeong. Even though she was to work in a western boutique, she continued to wear traditional garb, however, as the film progresses, and she starts to lead a life more outside what is considered “suitable” for a housewife, she starts to wear western clothes. At the end of the film, when she realizes how much of a bad mother and wife she’s become, she goes back to wearing more traditional clothing. It shows that she thought she could live another life, but that she was wrong and should go back to living the life that society has told her to live. Also, her go-to place for when she wanted to sped time away from her husband and with other men was at the western dances. It gives the viewer anti-western feeling about the music and the dances, and it also shows viewers in that time that allowing your wife to live by “western standards” is a gateway to more irresponsible activities including cheating on her spouse and not taking care of her duties as a wife and mother.

But on the other side, there is also a fetishisation of the western culture. When the Seon Yeong and Chun Ho are dancing, the music is lively, and the audience, should they have missed the context, would probably not assume that the two are involved with other people. The audience could even feel more relaxed when Seon Yeong is with Mr. Han, as she even becomes more relaxed herself with the idea of showing attention to a married man. Even the relaxing of the cinematography is evident, with more graceful movement of the camera (more panning), in order to get the whole movement of the dances. The director also chose to include an elaborate dancer with a full dance, and it was impressive; the director did not give a sense that this music and dance could lead to other bad actions.

The boutique in itself was also idolizing the western culture. Everything had its perfect little spot in the shop; it was immaculate presentation. People were coming and buying expensive, beautiful pieces from other places in the world, and they were doing it for happiness. At one point, Seon Yeong opens the safe, and the audience can see how much money the store is earning from the sales, and that it is a lucrative business.

It could be that the director was trying to show that anything could lure a person out of where they belong, and it’s important that the women don’t forget their foremost duties, but I’m sure that some women watched this film and thought about how lovely a purse from France would be.