탈/냉전기 미국주의의 굴절과 영화표상

Abstract

This paper was written to trace back the South Korean emotion or sentiment towards the US during the time when the atmosphere of the post-Cold War era was first being observed. South Korean cinema produced during the mid-1980s through the early 1990s witnessed the rise of cinematic narratives and visual factors which may imply an unusual change in the Korean popular recognition of America. These films not only recalled the memory of the Cold War starting from the US Army Military Government in Korea, the Korean War and up to modern history, but also have demonstrated high chances of being interpreted within a changed atmosphere due to the end of the Cold War. This paper aims to search for a shared South Korean attitude and sentiment towards the United States, and questions the internal drama corresponding to such sentiment. In order to come up with an answer to my research question, I have largely focused on films with two types of tendencies. If there is one axis of cinema which paints the overall aspectsof the American Dream using the military camp town or the US as a background, other films attempt to reflect on Korean-American relations and the Korean War through the lens of the Vietnam War. Be it the former or the latter, focusing on the fact that these films have confronted the existence of America or Americans and attempted to materialize the critical perspectives in this regard, these films are worthy of paying attention. Particular points that I have tried to make in the discussion includes the narrativization of memory regarding the unfortunate growth due to the absence of a family, the representation of ugly Americans, the violent revenge of Koreans towards the Americans, Itaewon as a space of military campsidetown. , Americanized spectacles, and the internalization problem of the American Dream, the self-punishment of Koreans. Most of the films express antagonism towards America, however, what becomes more problematic is that the generation which did not experience the Korean War shows duplicity or possibly a split mind in their view of America. The fact that Korean films have started to critically reflect the inner side of the Koreans which contain the antagonism as wellas the envy towards America clearly make films produced in this time period different from simple Anti-American films. This is an action which not only reflects the status of the US in Korea which was both a supporter and an assaulter at the same time, but also reasons Americanism which showed a discrepancy between the ideals and reality. Furthermore, such action critically reflects the Korean history which made strong efforts to resemble and pursue the ideals of America as a universal good. At the same time, it is also meaningful considering the fact that it brought about the pain of separation and war which were largely hidden by the American fantasy during the prolonged Cold War period. It is also a significant step forward in Korean cinema which began to ques tion the responsibility about such action.