[The Good, the Bad, the Weird]

The film The Good, the Bad, the Weird, directed by Kim Jee Woon in 2008, introduces a story of three Koreans (Joseonin) in the setting of Manchuria. After Korea was taken over by the Japanese imperial power, many Koreans moved to Manchuria as a result of losing their homeland. For this reason, unlike the previous movies that were screened, this film showed not only Japanese and American influence but also Chinese influence during the colonial period. However, even though Americans were present in other film such as YMCA Baseball Team, this film was unique in a sense that the genre resembled much of what can be characterized as a “western cowboy film”. For instance, the open wilderness of Manchuria very much reminded me of the vast desert in Western films. Park Do Won’s clothing (the cowboy hat, his long trench coat, the boots, the horse, and the use of rope) resembled the features that are commonly seen in cowboy films. In addition, the soundtrack also helped; there were many scenes in which the background music featured a typical western film song.

Other than the genre of the film, the division within the Korean national identity was interesting to note. In YMCA Baseball Team, the whole team worked in bringing the Korean identity together during time of loss, and the broadcasting team in Radio Dayz form a strong bond when they fight against the Japanese authorities. Looking from a (Korean) patriotic spirit’s perspective, it makes more sense for Koreans to be united to fight against the “enemy” (Japanese imperial power). However, the three Koreans (Park Do Won, Park Chang Yi, and Yoon Tae Gu) are hostile to each other. Since the three of them were famous for their “skills” (bounty hunter, bandit, and a robber), they might have had great influence if they worked together as fighters for independence. Unfortunately, the three men are more interested in living their own lives than working for a “greater cause”.

Before ending the post, I wanted to raise one question. As the title of the film suggests, the three men are depicted as The Good, the Bad, the Weird. At first, I was able to relate Park Do Won as the good, Park Chang Yi as the bad, and Yoon Tae Gu as the weird. However, as the movie progressed, I got a bit confused; would it be correct to associate them with one type of characteristic? If not, how should The Good, the Bad, the Weird be classified as?

***GUEST LECTURER***

<Imperial Sovereignty and Colonial Violence>

By Professor Max Ward, from Middlebury College

             During his lecture, Professor Max Ward talked about his analysis of Japanese peace preservation law during the Japanese imperial era. As soon as I heard the name of the law, I thought, “Peace? For who?” – Since the colonial period itself would have been very far from “peace” for the colonized countries. What was interesting to note was the fact that the peace preservation law was not only applied to the colonies, but to Japan as well (so, the law was effective throughout the whole Japanese empire). The three key terms for Peace Preservation Bill (1925) included kokutai (“location of sovereignty”), seitai (“state form”), and shiyu zaisan seido (“system of private property”). However, in 1928, the bill underwent revision, where kokutai became the central category of the law. Professor Ward also talked about how suppression of the communists shifted to rehabilitation. To be more specific, ideological conversion occurred to prevent any ideological recidivism, and to “rehabilitate” the communists as imperial subjects.

             To be honest, I found the talk quite difficult to follow since I am not familiar with colonial period Japanese law. However, it was interesting how Professor Ward noted that there is no one specific way of defining kokutai. (In some sense, it reminded me of how han could not be defined simply as “grief”. Cultural contexts cannot be simply translated to another language, but again, the process of trying to understand those culture-specific terms is amusing! )