Violence in Korean films - Assignment Example

Violence in Korean films Question one Alexander et al (2004) identify trauma as the main reason for regressive behaviorswithin a society and at an individual level. The main concern is how those affected get the chance to seek revenge hoping to achieve a certain objective. The effect of trauma may be in two categories. The first being a retaliatory attacks and the positive effect being peaceful resolution that is geared towards an amicable solution. Trauma in most movies is triggered about by violence. In this case the affected parties identify the social and individual effect of this violence and work on modalities that will guarantee their survival while at the same time ensure the event do not recur within their spaces. In A bloody Aria gender, based violence is portrayed as one of social issues culminating into trauma. The film also portrays historical injustices that culminate into violence. Jeong fall victim to this kind of violence from both her professor and the gang. The attempted sexual advancement portrays the nature in which the female within this community are perceived as far as opinion and social position is concern. In this case, the trauma inflicted by the attempted sexual advancement by her professor prompts her to escape. Alexander et al (2004) indicate that Trauma victims may formulate ways to avoid their victims. In this case, she flees opting to get a retrieve. However, she finds herself in the hands of a gang leader who redirects her to her previous tormentor. The initial perception for any trauma victim is to avoid such an occurrence from recurring. In this case, the actor fall victim of her initial oppressor and risk being subjected to new vise of violence. In Memories of Murder, sexual violence is also portrayed. In this case, a series of trauma related events are experienced when a number of women are murdered in cold blood. The first victim is subjected to torture and rape, the neglected event encourages the second and the third murder. The law enforcement agents are forced to investigate this situation. The movie also portrays a social problem majorly faced by the females. In this case, more than one victim is portrayed. The two movie indicted organized gangs and antisocial situations that triggered the murder. The vulnerability of the female in Memories of Murder indicates the social positioning of females. In this case, trauma is presented once the police take charge to control and investigate the serial killers. The movie presents the result violence as the action result to the murder of three females. The other sense of violence is presented on the hand of police when they mishandle suspects with an aim of retrieving vital information. In A Bloody Aria, the police become victim of violence as one police is poisoned. Trauma and memories are essential in determine the type action taken by a given character within a movie. Violence is triggered by factors associated with violence. In A bloody Aria memories, play an important role a number of characters in seeking revenge and planning their next cause of action. Alexander et al (2004) connects historical events to decision making of a number of characters within a movie. In this case, the boy subjected to torture and mistreatment contemplates on the next cause of action. In this case the boy uses his traumatize experience to seek revenge against the gang. On the other hand, the gang actions are triggered by their childhood life. In their school life, the gang leader used to be abused by the boy’s brother. The brother is currently a police officer. The historical injustices the gang leader was subjected him prompts him to take revenge on the boy. This is what Alexander et al. (2004) described as the second effect of violence triggered by memories. Some choose to forget historical injustices while others seek revenge. In Memories of Murder, the memories are used to connect between violence perpetrators, solutions, and justice for victims. The police is used to connect the murders to a number of suspects. The initial suspects where mishandled perhaps a measure to frustrate the investigation. The aim of these actions to arrive at a solution towards the problem at hind rather the violence escalate and the police are unable to establish the proximate cause of these actions. The film portrays memories as a vital element as a former inspector revisits the crime cite with hope that he may learn something. However, a number of contradicting report one even suggesting that an individual visited the site faces the inspector. The violence by police is evident as through this case it is evident that they played part in interfering with investigation. In both films, police connect memories of previous events with present solution. In the first film police triggers violence as those subjected to historical injustice seek to revenge. In Memories of Murder police frustrate the nature of investigation in the end justice is denied for both the victims and perpetrators. The two films indicate a social concept triggered upon by historic events. The solutions towards a certain occurrence depend upon the victims and the manner in which they would handle trauma. The two films depict female characters as being the victims while the male gender as being the aggressive party. The violence experienced are social related where historical injustice leads to gender base violence while at the same time limits the females from seeking justice. Jeun (2011) indicates social inequality is the reason behind the gender inequality. Those affected are unable to access justice simply because those tasked with law enforcement have failed in their duties. In some instances, they are the perpetrators of these crimes. The essence of violent base films is to highlight the consequences of violence to both the perpetrators and victims. In Memories of Murder, justice is not served. The film uses a storyline approach to present the sequence of violence experienced in the setting. The police are caught between quest for justice and their incompetence. At the end, the police suffer a leg injury that requires amputation. The injury is ironic in that it represents the untold suffering of the family’s victims. The film uses flashback to reflect on past injustices. The film uses the minority in this case the females to express the injustices within society. Those elite and vested powers to protect the public are highlighted as incompetent and even use their authority for their own benefits. The storyline deployed by film ends in anticlimax, as the real serial killers are not identified and at the same time the incompetent officer is faced with a leg infection. In A bloody Aria melodrama is the preferred style. In expressing historical injustices, reverse chronology is utilized. In this case, the childhood suffering of the gang leader under the hands of the then police is expressed through this model. In this scenario, the movie aimed at establishing the reason behind the sequence of violence experienced at present. Tension between the perpetrators of violence and victims is created as the past meet the present. In this case, the professor reunites with In Jeong. In this case they face a similar fate where they become victims of the gang. The irony is that the professor previously avoided the police but eventually runs to them for assistance. Flashback is used to express the ironic events; in that the available assistance turns out to the cause of their tribulation. The movie creates both social and ethical concerns in that the police seemed to be the cause of the current problem. The police run to their aid only after learning that the boy in question was his brother. Revenge creates the theme of the film. Question three Vengeance in most cases is the result of those subjected to torture and other form of violence. There is need to focus on event that trigger such types of actions. Those feeling offended may use their positions in society to seek vengeance based on historical injustices. In most case the vengeance is beyond expectations hence inflicting more pain than the previous crime perpetrators. In films the main character always work towards personal justice where they feel the existing justice mechanism would fail to offer the said justice. The events are triggered by both social and cultural concepts where victims derive models that aim at keeping certain events at bay. The consequences may be devastating to both parties in that after seeking vengeance the perpetrators always feel a sense of quilt. The aftermath of such event is what Koo (2007) describes as sequences of social and ideological inequities. Where those oppressed will derive channels that will enhance their pursuit for justice is attained. In a sequence of events, the revenge sequence would characterize the lives of both victims and initial perpetrators. The Korean revenge films are characterized by both success and regrets. In that the main victims are females and those seeking revenge on their behalf are lovers or people close to the victims. In I Saw the Devil the violence is triggered once Soo-hyun fiancée is murdered he begin a manhunt to establish the killer. The incident transforms Soo-hyun from an intelligent officer to a brutal person. This includes torturing suspects purported to have had a hand in the murder of her fiancé. The incident indicates the cultural wrongs portrayed by those in authorities. The psychological impact of this action is evident once the family gets involved. The effects of his actions are presented in the end where he becomes delusional. The movie portrayed police brutality and the existing social problems portrayed by the main actors. The consequences of the action are both social and psychological. In The Chaser there is the aspect of double standards and incompetence. Again the police is expresses a sense on brutality. The movie expresses the differences in social posting in the movie a mayor is attacked with human feces. This is symbolic in the sense that it identifies the major problems faced by commoners. In they are dissatisfied by the current authorities. The police are highlighted as being at the center stage of a conflict. The missing girlfriends indicate the nature in which females where portrayed. Joong-ho embarks in an investigation missing to identify where her girl friends disappeared. The movie portrays the essence human trafficking and the affected police seek vengeance by investigating the suspect different from I Saw the Devil where personal justice was administered, The Chaser portrays respect for justice in that the police follow a defined path in pursing the suspects. The lack of evident prevents the police from taking action. The movie portrays the essence of justice a different representation of other movies. The characters are triggered by historical and present events. The failure by current system to administer justice prompts many characters to improvise on personal measures and administer street justice. The inequality within society ensures that individuals use their powerful positions to seek vengeance. The result in most case could be positive if the desired goals are achieved. If the method does not ensure justice, the victims usually feel dejected and undergo psychological trauma. In the movie I saw a Devil, Soo-hyun is portrayed as being aggressive in his pursuit for justice. The movie indicates regrets portrayed by Soo-hyun when the family enters the room and he had committed an atrocity against his fiancée’s killer. In the end revenge is archived but justice fails take its place. Justice in this case implies that those seeking it should feel satisfied. The punishment administered by perpetrators should reflect the level of atrocity but in this case it creates psychological trauma to the police officer. In other case the characters are guided by the rule of law. In their effort to pursue justice they use the available legal means. In The Chaser, the police officer although bankrupt expresses elements of rule of law. He uses authorities to pursuing suspects. In this case the authority acknowledges the need to respect the rule of law. The characters in this case are driven by both personal interest and need to protect the rights of individuals. Different from other characters the police officer seeks justice legally. On the other hand the other place officers are adamant to take action since they are obligated to beef up security following the feces incident. The movie portrays the essence of selected justice. High end of the social class are seen being prioritized by the police. This is evident when all police department fight against each other in an effort to investigate a high profile case. This is contrary to the initial incident where Joong-ho is left to deal with his case. Cagle et al. (2013), acknowledges the fact that Korean film bases on revenge and those seeking it are driven by personal interest rather than societal interest. The social implication in this case is neglected as the personal belief overseas the psychological effect of a given action. The individuals involved work towards achieving a certain goal. In this case revenge is sweat to those administrating it but the moral concept is ignored. The police are mandated to ensure that the society is protected against any negative actions from individual or a given groups. In this case the police are caught between personal and social responsibility. The police seek revenge not to protect the society but to punish those who wronged them. This fact is evident in both I saw the Devil and the chaser. In both scenarios the initial victims are females who related directly with the officers. The result of the actions is explained at the end where their perceived goals are not achieved. The brutal force used while revenging is evident in both films. The final results in I saw the Devil is death as the perpetrator is killed. Violence in this case is dealt though blood chase. In the chaser the incompetence nature or the police force is portrayed when the failures to prosecute criminals result in unscrupulous dealings. The police is forced to ‘plant’ evidence in an effort to incriminate suspects. The objective of the main character is to inflict pain to those purported to have wronged them; in most cases the result is fetal. The level of satisfaction is presented by the manner in which they react. In I saw the Devil the main actor begins by seeking to avenge the death of her lover, he manages to avenge her death, but in the end he is involved in battle within himself. The psychological torture is more to bear than the death of his fiancée. In conclusion trauma is caused by both the perpetrators of crime and the victims. The effort to seek justice is what creates the revenge attitude among actors in Korean films. Historical event are used in the films to introduce the sequence of violence. Memories in the film prompt the actors to take certain action with an effort to seek justice. The level of satisfaction after their action is not described. The model of justice differs depending on the nature of crime and the mind of the justice seeker. Works cited Alexander Jeffrey, Eyerman, Ron, Giesen, Bernhard, Smelser, Niel, Sztompka, Piotr. Toward a Theory of Cultural Trauma. Berkeley: university of California press, 2004. Print. Cagle, Robert. ‘The Good, the Bad, and the South Korean: Violence, Morality, and the South Korean Extreme Film’, In J.choi and M. Wada-Marciano (eds), Horror to the Extreme: Changing Boundaries in Asian cinema, Hong Kong: Hong Kong University press,2011. 123-44. Print. Jeon, Joseph. “Memories of Memories: Historicity, Nostalgia, and Archive in Bong Joon-ho’s Memories of Murder.” Cinema Journal, 51.1 (2011): pp. 75-95 Koo, Hagen. “The Changing Faces of Inequality in South Korea in the Age of Globalization.” Korean Studies, 31, (2007): pp.1-18 Read More