Transnational interaction of socialist realism and ‘Juche realism’ through Hungarian movie titled ‘State Department Store’ 'Állami Áruház' (1953) and North Korean movie titled ‘My Favorite Young Man’ '마음에 드는 청년' (1989)

Abstract

This paper aims to examine how transnational interaction has been depicted through theories of socialist realism via Hungarian movie ‘State Department Store’ <Állami Áruház> (1953) and through ‘Juche realism’ via North Korean movie ‘My Favorite Young Man’ <마음에 드는 청년> (1989). The comparative analysis explains how main characteristics of core theories have been reflected on screen. Furthermore, the research method points at two key local specifications, notably (1) the occupation of the protagonists and (2) the location-based narratives. Nevertheless, the study does not focus only on the general similarities, but the major part goes beyond this dimension in order to highlight the discrepancies between the two theories and their film implications. Despite the commonly shared ideologies along with similar contents and forms, there are significant contrasts between the movies on theme approaches and symbology. Therefore, the paper describes how (1) the relation between protagonist and community, (2) the portrait of the antagonist and (3) the image of romance have been visualized from various aspects in the two analyzed works. In conclusion, the chosen movies will be helpful tools to understand the cultural structure and mechanism of these modern totalitarian systems. Moreover, the goal of the study is to illustrate how the related symbols, motives and political messages have been screened from different perspectives, regardless of the similar theoretical frameworks.