대중영화 속 여성 표상과 초국적 페미니즘 연대의 전망 -영화 <박열>에 나타난 가네코 후미코의 표상을 중심으로-

Abstract

This essay examines the representation of Kaneko Fumiko in the popular film “Anarchist from the Colony”. The paper confirms how women’s representations are reproduced in popular film and discusses the prospect of transnational feminist solidarity suggested by this film in the tide of feminism between Korea and Japan. Before the film was released, the solidarity between the two countries towards Kaneko was linked to the area where she had lived. There were also representations of Kaneko in other artistic genres such as novels and plays. However, it is characteristic that the film has aroused public interest in her both in Korea and Japan. The depiction of Kaneko Fumiko in this film can be understood in three ways. First of all, the film does not focus on reproducing her thoughts. Nevertheless, it describes Kaneko as a subjective and dignified woman. This is due to the fact that the film made use of Kaneko’s handwritten notes and trial records while emphasizing historical evidence. On the other hand, there is also an emphasis on film directing, which is thought to be due to the consciousness of the tide related to feminism in Korean society before and after the release of the film. While presenting both the aspect of Kaneko’s feminism and making it invisible at the same time, it presents a new image of women that is different from the earlier representation of Kaneko Fumiko and the depiction of Japanese women in Korean films. Secondly, the film focuses on the love of Kaneko and Park Yeol. Although this is similar to existing representations of Kaneko, it shows the solidarity among subordinate subjects through the description of Kaneko’s and Park’s pledge to live together. Kaneko was able to sympathize with Koreans through her experience of discrimination as an unregistered person. Through this empathy, she finds herself in Park as an “enlarged ego”. In addition, the pledge to live together proposed to Park by Kaneko shows not only solidarity beyond nationality but also solidarity beyond gender. The content of the pledge that Kaneko proposes to Park, and the process of filing a marriage in prison shows she struggled to resist the modern family system as a woman. Finally, the film symbolizes the relationship of Kaneko and Park as companions and lovers through a photo depicting the two as a couple. After Kaneko’s death, the photograph was interpreted obscenely by Japanese political forces. However, the image of the two has been reinterpreted positively, as their image is popularized. The film was released at the beginning of the tide of feminism in Korea, and was introduced in Japan when the wave of feminism was reverberating through Korean literature and books. The representation of Japanese women produced by Korean films suggest the possibility of seeking interchange of transnational feminism through popular films.