1970년대의 검열 정책과 대중 저항으로 대중소설 『바보들의 행진』의 영화화 과정에서 창조된 ‘영철’ 캐릭터에 대한 연구

Abstract

Since the public tends to be disorderly and easily manipulated by external forces, a new form of the public can be shaped through the mass medium of film. Therefore, state authorities use films to propagate ideologies to the public and as a means to establish the public’s identity. On the other hand, films also serve as a medium that reveals the emotions and psyche of the public. This is because popular films target the public as their primary audience, and the production process inevitably tries to align with the public’s emotions or express the public’s beliefs and sentiments through the film. In short, films are by the public, for the public, and directed towards the public. This paper focuses on the film “March of Fools” (1975), based on the 1973 popular novel of the same name by Choi In-ho, and examines the new character “Young-chul” introduced in the film adaptation. First, the paper explores the historical context of the 1970s, discussing the conflicts between the “foolish” youth of the 70s and the authorities who sought to render them as such, and how “March of Fools” came to be shown “inevitably” in that context. Following this, the paper reviews previous studies on the film and the original novel to highlight the necessity of this study. Who is “Young-chul”? Why was a character named “Young-chul” absent in the original novel, created for the film? How was he “castrated”? How Is His Death Identified with “Becoming-Ghost/Becoming-Whale”? This paper seeks to answer these questions by discussing the symbolic meaning of Young-chul’s “birth”, “castration” and “death”, reflecting on the era of the “fools”. Young-chul, who maintains purity amidst a public tainted by state power, symbolizes the idealistic and romantic youth spirit lost due to the oppression experienced by the youth in the 70s. Furthermore, Young-chul is a character castrated by the state, represented by figures of authority such as the father symbolizing patriarchy, the officer symbolizing military power, and the professor symbolizing educational authority. Young-chul’s “death” is ultimately a form of resistance against state power and an expression of hope that “our time” will come, making it a “death that does not die”. This spirit of resistance and hope continues to exist in the hearts of the youth of the 1970s and also in the “youth spirit” of today’s youth.