The film "Kim Ji-young, born in '82", adapted from the novel of the same name, reveals that the oppressed lives of Korean women resonate across Asia; the hardships faced by women, even the common traits that exist across cultures.
It is known as the most representative feminist work in Korea.
From Shirley and Gu Hola to "Kim Ji-young born in 82", women who speak for themselves have been attacked by strong bad reviews by Korean netizens, why do these people have such a big hatred for women? What diseases have caused in society?
Behind the deconstruction of the female Jin Zhiying's "mental disorder" is actually an abnormal society.
Jin Zhiying's life course is both ordinary and familiar, and there is no special wonderful story that is so touching, probably because her story is also the story of most of us women, not only in South Korea, but also in China, and it can even be said that the Chinese world has been deeply influenced by the concept of male superiority and female inferiority.
Although the society 's feminist consciousness is on the rise" and continues to promote the concept of gender equality, as Jin Zhiying said - this society seems to have changed a lot, but a closer look at the internal rules and conventions will find that in fact, it is still stuck to the old habits.
So as far as the result is concerned, it should be said that this society has not changed at all.
In addition, when Jin Zhiying signed a marriage contract with her husband, she mentioned that "whether it is the law and system that change people's values, or whether people's values will lead to laws and systems." This sentence also makes people think about it.
The name "Kim Ji-young" may be casually called on the streets of South Korea, and dozens of girls will turn back and say yes.
"Kim Ji-young" is also the name of the women's market in 1982, and it can be said that "Kim Ji-young" is the female image of the author who depicts that era.
Ordinary names, ordinary academic qualifications, even ordinary experiences, ordinary to the point of being like the people who happened around you and me...
Chris White, senior editor of Schuster, said in an interview with the media, "Novels are changing the world through translation, and in all aspects, not only South Korea, but also the United Kingdom will resonate [with books]." ”
However, in South Korea, with the release of the remake of "Kim Ji-young born in 1982", this response is not a review, but a worsening attack on malicious remarks.
When the novel was published in 2016, a random killing in Gangnam Elevator, which caused outrage in South Korea, was committed by the murderer, who called himself a misogynist. In 2018, South Korean girl singing group Red Velvet captain Bae Joo-hyun said at a fan meeting that she read "Kim Ji-young born in 1982", and some fans tore up or burned her photo in protest...
Even when the film producer announced the heroine, the actor Zheng Youmei's social network website was attacked by bad reviews. Surprisingly unanimous voice: "Why do you want to play a feminist movie?" We will resist to the end. ”
Not to mention, before the official release of the film, it was wildly brushed with low scores, and the relevant female artists were still repeatedly attacked and "asked to be banned".
Here I can't help but ask: why does the story of how women born in 1982 grew up in a patriarchal family, and how they left the workplace for childcare, but were despised by society and lost themselves, why did they attract so much attention?
What is the status of feminism in Korean society?
Born in 1982, Kim Ji-young, a woman about 37 years old, uses Kim Ji-young's life in movies and novels to tell the differences and reincarnations brought about by the deepening of gender roles.
The description of Jin Zhiying's life from infancy, schooling, employment to marriage is similar, and none of the stories are sharp and unpredictable developments, but they have aroused deep resonance.
The author Zhao Nanzhu uses delicate techniques to vividly present the living conditions of women in various fields, even if the age, environment and country of growth are very different, but we have faced similar situations: the physiological period that is difficult to tell others, just like parents often say "girls should know how to protect themselves", these familiar sentences and stories seem to happen around themselves, ordinary and profound.
Jin Zhiying felt himself like this:
She seemed to be standing in the middle of the maze, and had been looking for an exit on her feet, but today someone suddenly told her that in fact, from the very beginning, this maze had not set up an exit.
The movie "Kim Ji-young born in 1982" has a clip at the beginning:
Jin Zhiying, who left the workplace for childcare, had a rare moment of free time, pulled the doll car to the park to drink coffee, and did not expect that the office man who was chatting on the side laughed at her as a "mother worm" who took her husband's work money to enjoy.
The so-called "mother worm" is a new word that combines the English "mom" and the Korean word "worm" to describe and belittle young mothers who cannot discipline young children and let them make loud noises in public.
South Korean netizens who use this disgusting, dehumanizing term believe that "motherworms" will think that mothers are privileged and therefore rude to others; moreover, they also believe that "motherworms" have nothing to do all day and enjoy leisure time, and are "bloodsuckers" who rely on their husbands. Netizens even applied the term to most South Korean mothers, causing great harm.
In her 1990 book Patriarchy and Capitalism, the Japanese sociologist Chizuru Ueno mentions a description very similar to the "Mother Worm Theory":
"Professional housewives who are busy with housework and childcare, even if they are busy every day, are ridiculed as idle people who eat white rice and sleep. If someone protests, "Me! It's like a guinea pig on a round wheel, and it doesn't stop from morning to night," the prospect replied, "The things you do are not work at all." Since family affairs are not counted as work, women in the past can only give up on it..."
Isn't the idler who eats white rice and sleeps a lot "mother worm"?
Chizuru Ueno also mentioned that the so-called "love" is actually to hope that women will take the purpose of their husbands as their own purpose, and the so-called "motherhood" is only to encourage women to regard the growth of their children as their own happiness.
Women's love for the family and motherhood is really just another absurd reason to trap them in the family; the value of the family is the value of women, and no one regards it as labor, and clothes and ingredients seem to run into the washing machine and kitchen utensils by themselves, and there is no need for compensation. Women also feel that they are natural, and they can only stop there.
Jin Zhiying was originally a fresh graduate of college, and his job performance was not inferior to that of men of the same generation. However, because she got married and pregnant at the age of 30, she had no chance of working and career, and she also suffered from postpartum depression and parenting depression, and occasionally became another person, and this is how the story began. I think the morbid thing is that this is actually no longer a situation that can be explained by mental disorders, mental disorders are often a matter of one person, and the cause of mental illness can be a matter of a whole society.
During this process, no one ever asked her if she had other life goals and gave her appropriate help.
How can such a woman not be depressed? How can you not be depressed? This kind of "mother's melancholy", Hsu is the life story of Kim Ji-young and her mother, generations of women, and I don't see that reality is better than the movie.
According to data from a Survey by Gallup in November, there are huge differences in gender equality among men and women in the 70s, 80s and 90s of South Korea.
The report found that only 33 percent of men and 48 percent of women consider South Korean society to be "more friendly to men," while about 27 percent of men and only 11 percent of women consider Korean society "friendlier to women." In men's cognition, women who are obviously inferior in objective conditions enjoy more friendly treatment.
"To most female interviewers, it seems that they are victims themselves, but women born in 1982, not women born in 1962, where is the obvious gender difference? They think [men] are the ones who are discriminated against by feminism," South Korean popular culture critic Hwang Jin-mi said in an interview with the Hank-minh daily.
"Therefore, these men cannot stand it, and then attack the paranoia of victimization, and even criticize the mothers born in the 80s as "mother bugs" and so on."
I did not expect to remember that the British novelist Wu Erfu's long essay "My Own Room" mentioned that if Shakespeare had a sister of comparable talent, she would only end up because of society's suppression of women, unable to play her strengths, and finally kill herself.
It can't be said how similar "Jin Zhiying born in 82 years" is like it, but such a story, many years later, is still a true portrayal of the real life of many women.
In the 2018 "Glass Ceiling Index" published by the famous British magazine "The Economist", South Korea ranked last in 29 countries (10 years of standing still), which means that women in the workplace face serious gender discrimination in terms of salary level and promotion opportunities.
It can be seen that in fact, it is not that the "mother worm" relies on the husband, but the whole social culture does not encourage women to continue to work after marriage and pregnancy, and even regards the biological characteristics of women's pregnancy as a threat, and men who do not need to be pregnant can continue to develop their careers, regardless of themselves.
As a result, the workplace is tilted towards men, and women's access to jobs is greatly reduced under obvious gender discrimination, often only seeing the family as their career, unable to play their best in the workplace.
Of course, the gender inequality that women face in the workplace and at home is not a phenomenon unique to South Korea. The more fundamental and universal cause of the "mother worm theory" lies not only in the role of mothers, but also because housework is never regarded as labor, women's efforts and sacrifices are reduced to "love", and no one thinks about how they work hard and how they are not compensated.
Although society has been changing, such as improving women's social status, increasing maternity benefits, and encouraging women to find second employment, sometimes as Jin Zhiying said, "This society seems to have changed a lot, but if you look closely at the internal rules and conventions, you will find that in fact, you still cling to the old habits, so as far as the result is concerned, it should be said that this society has not changed at all." ”
It is difficult to change, especially the concept that has been passed down, and the social atmosphere is difficult to say that it will change, but it can also be used to remind women to realize that they should not suppress and ignore the unequal treatment of women in society because of the relationship between the environment and take it for granted.
Earning money to get a sense of accomplishment, recognizing that your existence is valuable and meaningful, is part of the right to work. Housework and child-rearing did not bring Kim the dignity and sense of accomplishment she deserved, only humiliation, denial, alienation and frustration. It's not that she didn't do a good job, it's that the job is stigmatized.
From the stigma of being a woman, the stigma of women's employment has arisen, and the stigma of women's housekeeping and maternal work, the twins are not opposed to each other, but mutually reinforcing, ensuring that no woman does the right thing.
Socialized sexism is the process of castrating women, knowing that obedience will cause pain, using taming in exchange for peace, pulling teeth and claws, and wearing nose strings.
How Jin Zhiying learned to go against the grain is difficult to perceive, like the small gravel that cuts the beach, always submerged by the waves, and buried in the ground by layers of sand currents. People rightfully abuse women, making them unable to speak up.
Once the woman denies being injured, the mother believes that it is right to drop out of school from an early age to earn money to pay for the brothers' tuition, the sister should give up going abroad as a teacher to support the family; the sister should be exploited by housework and childcare; the grandmother and father should also be more son-oriented, silent, she began to forget her pain. What the outside world sees is that because they don't protest, they don't feel it, so it doesn't matter if men do it.
When will they speak out about their grievances? As long as no one listens and no one speaks for her, she will never. As long as she's under the control of reason for a day, she never will. Emotions surface, words are spoken, and you feel that you have become a bad person, a woman who has failed, will be punished, will be hurt and painful, and a crazy woman will be expelled.
"Jin Zhiying, born in 82 years", buries these small gravel-like discrimination buried under the woman's skin, and one by one is picked out with a needle, and the process is like blood.
In fact, women as mothers are not idle, and housework always takes up most of their time.
The stereotypical gender concept of "outside the male, inside the female" still further suppresses women's social participation, trapping them firmly in the role of housewife.
In 2018, 49% of South Korea's population was female, and 73.5% of women went to university, but the employment rate in the workplace was only 51%. The reason for the 20% gap is that many women choose to give up their jobs and take care of housework full-time after getting married and pregnant; many enterprises will also regard women's marriage and pregnancy as an unstable factor that is not conducive to the interests of the company, so they tend to hire and promote male employees preferentially.
On the road for women to fight for equal rights, the front thorns have not been cut, and new stones have continued to fly, which makes people feel overwhelmed.
This may also be the reason why Korean male rising star Kong Liu specially starred, and many male role settings were adapted to be more inclusive and warm.
The "I thought I knew" line reminds men of unapologetic guilt in addition to extremely heated rhetoric.
"It's not a gender showdown, it's a family story." Kong Liu said in an interview.
"I don't quite believe that movies can change the world, but I know that movies can change the audience's heart a little bit, or self-reflection, and 'Kim Ji-young, born in '82,' is such a movie."
It can be said that "Jin Zhiying, born in 1982" can be so popular, and the actors and behind-the-scenes staff have paid a lot of hardship.
Zheng Youmei received thousands of abusive messages in one day, and even maliciously cursed: "This is Zheng Yumei's last work." ”
But in fact, most Chinese male audiences give movie ratings as high as women after watching the movie.
"Whoever it is, there is a mother!" Zheng Youmei, the actress who survived the bad reviews, said. "I think there will be a variety of reactions. Although I was scared, I only wanted to participate in this work and finish this movie in this state of mind. I think it's a work that resonates with a lot of people and brings comfort. ”
At the end of a brighter movie, I hope to make everyone find empathy and courage. Maybe that's the best ending.
"Jin Zhiying born in 82" is a work that seems to be very light, such a light, but also created the heaviness of the meaning, there is no excessive fancy dog blood lines or background music, completely rely on the actor's acting skills to enrich the level of the role, Zheng Youmei's performance, from the eyes to every small action is admirable, from ambitious to decadent psychological layer, let people feel empathy.
Although the main perspective is still based on the heroine, Kong Liu's helplessness on the side, wanting to help but not knowing how to help, is not only delicate and profound, but also highlights a male office worker, while working, while taking care of the bitterness of the sick wife.
The excellent tacit understanding between the two actors, whether in word of mouth or box office, "Jin Zhiying born in 82" has received high praise.
The more successful part of the film is that in addition to the protagonist Kim Ji-young, surrounded by women whose appearance, identity, age and personality are very different from her.
Even her peers, her grandmother, mother, and aunt are very different people. In the workplace, her boss and girlfriend colleagues are two very different kinds of people. There is also Jin Zhiying's sister, the two sisters from appearance to personality, none of them are similar.
But women of all ages and identities suffer from unequal treatment of men and women in the film. Some are obvious, such as the scene where her boss presides over the meeting; most are more subtle, such as her sister talking back to her aunt. The director and screenwriter use the phenomenon of male superiority over female inferiority throughout the various paragraphs, and the theme is clear but natural.
The ending of the movie is very fairytale, a little too good, not very real. However, this ending somewhat explains why the main symptoms of Zhiying's depression and emotional illness are incarnated into another person to speak, and it is also a thoughtful ending.
But I especially like the mention at the end of the book that French actress Emma Watson once reiterated her core idea on International Women's Day that "it is not women's rights that is fought for, but freedom for both sexes", and clearly pointed out that "feminism is never the same as misogyny, and everyone who believes in equality is a feminist." ”
What we really need is an equal social environment, a society that is not discriminated against by sex, an ideal country that will not lose opportunities, resources or dreams because of being a woman, and hope that it can be truly realized that day, not the superficial equality.
Resources
Woolf, England, My Own Room, pp. 103-106