2010년대 수사드라마에 나타난 1980년대 재현 양상과 젠더정치- <터널>, <라이프 온 마스>를 중심으로 -

Abstract

This study, focusing on the television dramas "Tunnel" (OCN, 2017) and "Life on Mars" (OCN, 2018) aired in the late 2010s, aims to analyze the representations of the 1980s within investigative dramas that involve time slips. The objective is to unveil the problematic gendered deployment of key narratives. Both "Tunnel" and "Life on Mars" adopt a narrative approach that involves returning to the 1980s either through a time slip or by contacting characters from that period. The memories of state-perpetrated violence are intricately woven with unsolved cases in these narratives. Therefore, this study highlights the unpredictable nature of time slips, coupled with the characteristic of slipping into an unforeseen time, aligning with the intention to rewrite history by bringing forth unresolved cases or histories that should have been forgotten in the past. Specifically, the gendered nature of history rewriting is examined through the analysis of these dramas. Initially, it is observed that both dramas transport the audience back to the late 1980s through time slips, creating a narrative in which the protagonists (sons) gain an understanding of their world through their fathers or pseudo-fathers, leading to a romanticized memory of the 1980s. The study then delves into the discussion of how the male serial killers in these dramas are portrayed as victims of state violence attempting to restore their damaged masculinity through acts of murder. It is pointed out that the male serial killers can establish their identity and restore their masculinity through murder, while women are depicted solely as victims, with their abject horrors being emphasized. Finally, the study analyzes the narratives of female perpetrators and the mothers of the criminals, arguing that within the dramas, all responsibility for male criminals is transferred to women who are mothers. Simultaneously, women without maternal roles are represented as criminals with capitalistic desires such as luxury and vanity. In essence, the dramas reproduce women within a patriarchal dichotomy of 'good' and 'bad' mothers.