Monday, November 11, 2013

State of Flux


Movies are reflective of the state, ideology, and values of the society. For me it seemed like “The Girl” from “My Sassy Girl” was representative of Korean women at the time in a state of flux regarding gender roles and femininity. Throughout the entire movie, the girl remains nameless and is only referred to as “The Girl”. Perhaps it is depicting that her identity is not yet fully structured, therefore unstable and unpredictable. The discrepancy between her feminine appearance and masculine personality portrays the clash between the past and the future. Her long shiny hair and flawless skin, her preference for shades of pink and knee length skirts is extremely feminine and is enough to make any Korean men view her as an “ideal women”, in which submissiveness and obedience follows. However her personality is the complete opposite of what can be perceived. She is not submissive but dominant, and her desires are always put first over her boyfriend Gyeon-woo, identical to the description So-hee Lee uses in her article Female Sexuality in Popular Culture to describe modern women; “…she gives first priority to her own individual self. This is what distinguishes her from older Korean women.” 

In the latter half of the movie, “The Girl” tries to resolve this contradicting discrepancy within her. She (indirectly) confesses on the mountaintop about her past and buries it underneath the tree. Then she sets out on a journey towards self-actualization apart from Gyeon-woo, as Hae-joang Cho describes in her article Living with Conflicting Subjectivities. “The image of independent and self-sufficient women was propagated widely. Women began to talk about “self-realization,” asserting that they wanted to be defined not by familial relations but as individuals.” When she had confronted her past, she could finally face the future. 

Whether she chose to conform to the past or the future I think can be read in both ways. In a way it seems like she takes on the stereotypical gender role from the past, being poised and rather vulnerable, bursting into tears when she finds out that Gyeon-woo’s number is no longer in service. Perhaps because the author of the original story and the director of the movie are both men, they wanted her to be changed into an “ideal women” along with Gyeon-woo’s regained masculinity.However, the confidence in her voice when she faces her ex boyfriend’s mother and the fact that she ends up with Gyeon-woo again could also suggest that she conforms with the idea of "modern women" in that she choses to be with someone who doesn’t force her into being feminine and just accepts her as who she is. 

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