Commodity

This movie compelled me to a different level. Out of all the movies we’ve viewed since the beginning of the semester, none of them have stroked me as innately Korean before this one.  The exposition to the culture of p’ansori has brought on a different aspect of South Korea.  I can’t help but wonder if Yubong’s obsession with this form of singing doesn’t only find its roots in the fight to keep Korean culture alive, but also from fear of western land over his nation. Koreans had once been dominated by the Japanese and the Chinese. So could this casi-pathological obsession with the proliferation of true p’ansori be caused by the fear of being once again dominated? Could this really be a fight to regain his masculinity and identity? If we were to follow that train of thought then culture itself becomes a commodity. Element only to be used validate Yubong much like Songwha does with her singing. He blinds her in the name of true p’ansori, in the name of culture. Culture a direct link to his identity.  It makes Yubong feel like less like a failure.  He violated the father-daughter bond they had by taking something as crucial as her sight, as one would wind the strings of piano to tune it.

This movie makes me wonder if alcoholism or drinking excessively to forget their problems is a trope in Korean cinema. On crucial element that I have noticed throughout the movies is that the men quite often result to alcohol in order deal with their feelings of loss. Except for Professor Park in Madame Oh, this man benefited from a higher socio-economic status and probably experience han in a different way. But in most movies, you see men struggling with their sense of self drowning their sentiment of inadequacy and oppression in alcohol.