Madame Freedom and the Fight Against Americanization

One aspect of Madame Freedom that I was predominantly intrigued with was its particular depiction of the sexualized American influence on women of post-colonial Korea. To me, the film seemed to present such influence in a negative light, as women like Yun-Ju and Ms. Oh who took a step toward the path of Americanized “freedom,” started by their initial movements toward economic independence, inevitably spiraled into a deeper abyss of consumerism and sexual liberty that ultimately ended poorly.

In Soyoung Kim’s article that we read for class, the author states, “Madame Freedom’s focus on the female character’s promiscuity articulates the notion of freedom implicit in Americanization as sexual liberation” (194), which suggests the film’s portrayed consequences of Americanization. I felt as if the film might have been saying that if women were to allow themselves to become westernized, initially with seeking employment and economic independence, then this is the type of excessive and sexualized lifestyle they would spiral into.  So is Americanization a bad thing? Are the creators of this film against the notion of adopting American customs and culture? Do they see the espousal of American freedoms as a pathway to corruption, materialism and infidelity?

If you recall the beginning of the movie, Chun Ho’s Western music playing in the background is a source of great frustration for the husband. He clearly doesn’t like it, and he wants it to be turned off. This is ironic as this is the very Western music and Western culture that steals his wife and leads to the crumbling of his private life and family. You might say that his wife’s adoption of Western culture and her “listening to the music” ultimately ruined his and his family’s life.

The entire dance hall is an ostensible replica of American culture. And with its English speaking live band and its scantily clad Mambo dancer, the dance hall is the film’s epicenter of sexual liberty. For example, the attendees are not even allowed to bring their own husbands, but must bring a “boyfriend” or a “lover.” But the fantasy and allure of this same Westernized dance hall is knocked off its feet when Yun Ju commits suicide on the dance floor.  In my opinion, this seems to be the film’s way of disillusioning the audience of the Western world and Western culture.

 

So back to my initial questions: is this film a critique of Korean women’s adoption of Western culture (amongst other things)? I think so, and I believe that the fates of all those women particularly influenced by Western culture clearly suggest that. What did you think?