While I was making this video, I realized that in the last few years, there has been a certain shift in kdramas with the emergence of more and more revenge dramas. With My name, The Glory, Revenge of others, Weak kero, D.P... Even if there were already some before (Pinocchio...), it seems that revenge dramas are taking more and more importance. But I also noticed that there are very few dramas that are about rebellion against the government or police violence. You may say that there are Mr Sunshine, Chicago Typewriter, Youth of May about resistance, colonization and Gwangju uprising. But these dramas are "historical", in the end, I had a hard time to find dramas that dealt with resolutions against the government nowadays. In fact, I did not find any. There is D.P. which talks very well about harassment and corruption in the army. There's Military Prosecutor too, but it's all from the perspective of the military itself, with the main characters being from the military themselves. There is When My Love Blooms and Youth of May, both about police violence but set in the 1980s. There is Live, the only drama that takes place in 2018 that shows the arrest of a group of students by force, but from the point of view of the young, constrained, forced, non-consenting police officers, a very interesting drama but one that aimed at the time to revalue the image of the police. And then... that's all. This lack of representations makes me wonder, and I have a hard time finding people who talk about it. Why this lack of representation? Koreans are demonstrating, right now for example, for the rights of disabled people. But in dramas, they are often represented as small groups that throw eggs on celebrities, politicians, as a minority, as ridiculous, as useless. This is only the impression I have when I remember the few protests represented in kdramas. But why this lack? Why so many dramas about personal revenge but so few about a social uprising, about solidarity? I must say that I ask the question sincerely, because I am interested in what you have to say about it. I read someone once who said that dramas had a cathartic role (it's debatable) and that these revenge dramas catharized people, purified them of their passions (cf. Aristotle) and their own desires for revenge. Is the lack of social uprising a lack of desire for rebellion from Koreans or on the contrary, a fear of imitation from the producers? Tell me what you think!
Another thing to consider is that korean dramas have a lot of censorship and most likely are "kid-friendly," I wonder if the Korean public/govt. sees it as appropriate to display protests for children - also how strong is the govt.? Maybe the govt. itself doesn't allow dramas to display a lot of anti-govt. behavior? I am not too well read on this so this is more open-ended
I feel like it may be because personal revenge focuses on the victim getting on the same level as the villain. often achieved through means such as wealth or influence. So I feel like personal revenge kdrama so don’t target the system, such as protests do. Instead of advocating for collective actions, such as mass protests rather, they encourage individuals themselves must improve to overcome their struggles. However it could just be to serve as escapism to people who have suffered bullying as there is probably a bigger audience for that.
I recommend Silenced the movie. It's based on a true story and is quite graphic since it was meant to criticize the judge's decisions based on the case and make the message to the audience that the sentence for the perpetrators should've been extended. At the end there is a brief scene where there is a protest and the police assault the protesters
Oh my god, this is truly a masterpiece! Kind of disturbing considering the fact that there are a lot of riots and protests going around the world as we speak but damn, our voices should be heard. Keep up with the good work.
An edit that arrived right on time considering the actuality of our country 😂 More seriously, this is a great reminder that edits are a form of art and that they can be political as well. Sending hugs to everyone fighting for their rights today ❤
![Marie TB [유토피아]](http://yt3.ggpht.com/u1BQ5n5qs0nckgLOzdHrGcLd-45qmyS9B75DkMNckCJO-aeH9XuqHITIpOoMx1uaGOjrur01=s48-c-k-c0x00ffffff-no-rj)