Colonialism and Modernity in Korean Cinema: An Exploration - Essay Sample

Introduction

The Korean theatre and film scenes have undergone a great change since the colonization period, into modern times. The theater performances originally performed at the courtyards and another stage, have been moved to international stages and are being showcased in international cinemas. This essay is a discussion of the intimacy between colonialism and modernity in the colonial Korean cinema scene. It uses examples of films to showcase how modernism in the cinematic world evolved into literal modernity.

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Colonialism and Reality During Colonial Periods

The first analysis is that the colonial era cinema scenes were highly made up of the prominence of the Korean languages. The scenes were highly dramatic ones without plots. The entertainment industry including the cinema experiences was collectively regarded as plays, falling into similar clusters with, dances, shaman, rituals, and circus presentations.

There was an encouragement of the Korean public theaters during the co9lonial periods. The public theaters were venues for dances, where dancers and the performers wore masks to conceal identities and revolve their plays in satire and critique of government activities, economic and social injustices(Armstrong, Pp1-19). There was also an inclusion of a storytelling culture called Pansori that showcased aspects like mood, rhythm, and sound in a story being told.

During the periods of 1895 and 1945, there were fewer films in the industry due to the restrictions put in place. It was private industry. There was a limited source of funds during the colonial era, making it difficult for the performers to purchase the required props for the filming sessions. The absence of funds was, however, not considered as a major issue as many artists kept pressing for support by releasing short films based on the local lifestyles. These films slowly caught the attention of the intended audience, hence a chance to view them in public theaters was offered. There were other industries such as the food industries and the advertisement firms. That linked up with the filmmakers to support themselves and their products. There were major debates that were held before the first film could be aired. Korean cinema history starts with a film named Ariang. The hero of the film is named the father of Korean cinema, for paving the way in the history of film making in the country. The film narrates the story of a man with mental illness, involved in exploitation, from the agents of a landlord. Ki-ho the agent, faces an uproar from the tenants. The mad man, in the end, kills the agent, after a conflict, that involved the mad man's sister and the landlord's agent. The case is believed to be a homicide and Yong-jin, the nad man is arrested, for the crime, which the tenants view as justified and not worth the sentence. They sing him the song of a hero. This first cinema scene. There are several critiques on the scenes. There is a direct relationship between the peasant farmers, who are being tortured as the citizens suffering under the regime of colonization, while the landlord and the agent were the colonizers. Whenever such interpretations were made, the audience slowly began to envision the sense of pride in the belonging to their country and their ethical rights. Most often, the theater would be a place of incitement band whenever great reviewers of the cinema mentioned freedom, the audience would shout cheering and getting unruly, forcing most of them to be arrested and the cinemas postponed. The final awakening and the defeat of the Japanese tyranny ion Korea is credited to the film industry, which planted the seed of courage to rebel in the hearts of Koreans. The spirit has extended far beyond the colonial times and still exists even if the film itself is no longer available readily. There was a genre of movies and cinemas that followed the trend and showcased elements of torture and the final triumph during the age of colonialism. The trend was too much until the film historians tried to decolonize the films, especially in the south and regions of North Korea, which were subjects of ridicule for collaborating with Japanese. The films were viewed as anti-Japanese and years later despite the restoration of freedom, the storylines circulated torture, resistance, and collaborations. There were further speculations that the struggle cinematic scenes could have been directed by Japanese film directors, and there was a time when the north-Korean dictator was accused of possessing some outlawed films.

Examples of films with the taste of colonization include Obaltan, named strayed bullets. The film depicting a man named Cheolho.He is living under stress with a war veteran brother, a pregnant wife, and a mother suffering from psychological disorders due to the trauma caused when at war. He has a weird behavior of refusing to solve a problem he considers heroic. He chooses to stay with the pain of a toothache instead of paying the dentist. He values dignity over chances to earn money and even refuses to take an offer in a film. A journey top Mujin is an example of yet another influence of colonialism is being felt in reality. The author of the film narrates about a protagonist, who marries, a widowed daughter to a founder of a pharmacy. He needs to live affluently, hence compromises the world to be affluent. He loses all the purity and the innocence he was supposed to possess at his youth. It all turns around him and he is haunted by guilt and suffering, for his cold-heartedness. The story-line of the film has been greatly debated with most critiques, describing the film as criticizing the greed that came with colonization. It is viewed as advising the Koreans against the need to lose purity and innocence to gain the materialistic wealth only to come to the loosing ends with nothing to hope for, in life again.

The reception of this film was mixed and was always felt like, the post-armistice of North Korea, after the shame of collaboration with the oppressor. The Government ban was criticized by an American film producer based in Korea, who insisted that the film would make a fortune if it entered the San Francisco International Film Festival. Despite the rich characterization in the film, there was evidence of a resurrected past that threatened to divide people based on their reaction during the colonial era.

Evolution During 1930ies

The massive evolution of the film industry was witnessed in 1930. It was later classified as the later silent era which proceeded the age of oppression and cinematic themes showing oppression in their storylines. The domestic cinema and filming reduced drastically during this age, due to the governments oppressing the individuals producing such films in the affected regions. It was at this period that many filmmakers decided to escape from Korea and establish their filming career in parts of China. Due to the limits placed on the filmmakers, there was a great increase in the importation of films, strictly through japan, the films were of very low quality and looked blurry and so inactive(Yecies, Pp75-90). Films were created to have a nationalistic outlook in an attempt to unite people and make them forget about the events of the war and colonization. Slowly towards the dawn of liberation, there was a push for production of local films again, there were series of films, that were not standard but made, the audience happy because of the language used in the production. The film industry during these periods was still largely dominated by Japanese adverts and even news in an attempt to assimilate the colonized audience. Some corporations aimed at promoting the Japanese culture and even promotion of the benefits that the country would have if developed under the Japanese modernization. There were still restrictions of Korean films, and the narrators who used to interpret the film were silenced hence the silent era. The cultural colonization included the constant attempt to remind the audience that they were undergoing economic success with the Japanese government in leadership. The American and European films being shown alongside the Japanese ones were later censored during these periods due to the outrage that started with the film on the suffering of the Jews. China was invaded later during these periods, resulting in full control of film production. The assimilation guidelines were laid out with the aid of a film named you and me.A Korean filmmaker worked in the film, under a Japanese name showcasing the intermarriage between the two. He later escaped to Indonesia too, to avoid being branded as a traitor by his country. The full dominance of the Film industry during this period did not, however, stop the Korean actors from speaking their languages during production, despite the ban. Upon gaining independence, the film industry witnessed uprising again with several players in the industry purchasing production companies. Despite the flow in foreign films, the film-makers made streams of films with fewer restrictions and tax relief on all productions.

Limits and Potentials of Films in Arising Consciousness

Films can be a powerful tool in the struggle for the liberation of people. The themes of most of these films were largely a reflection of the beauty of Korea and the journey of rebuilding the country once again. The Bitterness of the war was still visible in the films even after the division of Korea. From the analysis of the films and history, one notes that the films were an effective way of ensuring that the Korean citizens were united all through the period of oppression and unity. There were problematic terms in the production, during this period as, it was difficult to separate between the masses and the reality of the times(Park, Pp,120). The masses, according to the writers were just the same people, in reality, facing oppression under colonial rule. The definition of the audience was the reason for the censorship of the films during the 1930ies era, as they were viewed as inciting and not serving the intended purpose of entertaining the masses. A review by a writer calling himself icecap reveals the personal doubts on the quality and quantity of film contents and how the interpretations varied. He argued that there was a need for all the films beaming produced in large quantities to showcase diversity and quality and avoid settling in one theme. The interest of the government and the colonizer was the impact it had on the citizens and not necessarily the number of films being produced. He described the films being produced as foolish and with a motive to call upon radicalization and disrupt the normal lives of the people. The author asserted that the films were never meant to arise consciousness but rather focus on entertaining people.

Conclusion

The cinema industry in Korea was more of a wave intended to raise the consciousness of the people and end the oppression, the later periods were more of criticizing of the collaborators and reminding the people of their ethical rights. The films were effective forms of reminding the people of the importance of independence and shunning away from foreign influence, which was being slowly enforced in the country. The Japanese were attempting to impose cultural assimilation through their movies but every time a local film was aired, It brought with it a spirit of fighting and defense of dignity. There is criticism, on the intentions of the film industry in Korea, largely not separating between masses and reality, and playing a role of consciousness awakening.

Works Cited

Armstrong, Charles K. "The origins of North Korean cinema: art and propaganda in the democratic People’s Republic." Acta Koreana 5.1 (2002): 1-19. https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Charles_Armstrong6/publication/313167508_The_origins_of_Nort...