I am always a fan of Korean movie because I believed that there are always unique genres of Korean movies and in general Korean movie = Hong Kong movie+ Hollywood movie. On the subject of film selection, Korean movie inherited the narrative tradition of Hollywood commercial blockbuster on the one hand, and on the other hand had the feature using small characters as protagonist in golden age of Hong Kong film. However, it does not have the mundane matters in Hong Kong films, nor the personal heroism in Hollywood films, but uses complex political and social backgrounds as the basis to expose the dark side of society.
The film “Silence” is modeled after sexual violence in a deaf school in South Korea in 2001. It describes the tragedy happened and how the school teachers and human rights activists working together to uncover the behind-the-scenes story. I personally admire the director's courage. The process of deaf child's death was not ended by three or two shots nor a few voiceovers. Instead, he chose to show the audience the most painful and depressing footage while the children "recounted" the victim's experience to the teacher. During the whole process of recording, it is very cruel to ask children to remind how they were humiliated. And that might be the reason why the protagonist decides to protect these children whose crys are swallowed up in the silent world.
“Silence ,” the film depicting real-life cases of abuse in a school for deaf children, has moved beyond the box office into the legal arena. The revised bill allows for heavier punishments for sexual offenders, particularly those who abuse children aged 13 and under, and the disabled. Under the new law, the prison terms for rape against the disabled and young children will increase from its minimum of seven to ten years. The new law also allows for offenders to be sentenced with life imprisonment.
The data listed on the official US website tell us that more than 90% of people with developmental disabilities, including men and women, have experienced at least one violation in their lifetime, and 49% have experienced it more than 10 times. The incidence of sexual assault is so high, but only 3% are reported.
Besides increasing the legal protection of children, school sex education is also crucial. Schools should teach children to know their own body in order to protect their privacy, and distinguish between public behaviors and privacy behaviors. Children need to learn to maintain different physical distances from people with different relationships and strictly express and defend themselves when necessary.
At the end of the film, the words of protagonist Mr. Ren are very touching: "We fight all the way, not to change the world, but not to let the world change us!" Maybe we cannot change this world and change others, but at least we do not choice to become them, and there are countless righteous people, upholding the faith in their minds.
Comments
I think that this post is really interesting! I really like how you watch media that isn't necessarily entertainment based, like variety shows or K-Dramas. South Korea produces so many interesting films that make really deep comments about how flawed Korean society can be. I hope you can watch more Korean movies in the future!
I really enjoy reading your culture post. From your description, I think Silence must be an amazing film to watch so I decide to watch it when I fly back to China. I agree with your opinion that Korean movie inherited the narrative tradition of Hollywood commercial blockbuster on the one hand, and on the other hand had the feature using small characters as protagonist in golden age of Hong Kong film. That's why I become a really big fan of Korean movies!
I really appreciated how Korean movies demonstrated social problems. I watched this movie before and I was so mad about how they treated those kids. They destroyed the whole life of those kids. I always believe this is a huge problem in today's society. I really hope one day this situation can become better and people would try their best to protect those children.
I really enjoyed reading your post. I think it is great that you could connect Korean culture with Korean movies. I also like how you use statistics to support your opinion. We should all pay more attention to sex violations and school sex education regardless of countries or cultures.
This cultural post is fascinating. I am amazed and very interested in watching this movie. I have never heard of this movie, but I will definitely check it out. The statistics you uploaded surprised me, and I think it is because not many people pay any attention to this field as much as they should.