I did. We all did. Still happy to see it.
Korean cinema has really seemed to break through in the US since Parasite. I will say I am not very exposed to Korean culture outside of what makes it over the Pacific to bleed into US culture. Which in my opinion makes it all the more impressive that two anti-capitalist Korean productions became international sensations after exploding in the US.
Can you all feel it? They tried to make us feel like the energy was gone, but itâs still there, and itâs not just Squid Game thatâs showing it.
EDIT - on a show related note, Oh-Il Nam was a total surprise to me, biggest twist Iâd say.
Maybe I am just looking for it but I feel like every piece of korean media I see is about it being a hyper capitlaist hellscape.
Korea is a hyper-competitive society thatâs also very rigid because for a long time, the economy was dominated by a handful of conglomerates and performance in life was heavily tied to school exams. Itâs not strictly âcapitalistâ competition because itâs not leaving people to the forces of the market per se, but there is a real âsurvival of the fittestâ mindset when it comes to shit like school exams because of the idea that it has such an effect on your future. Two years of mandatory military service for men doesnât help things.
I mean it would make sense, theyâre right on the border of a non-capitalist (marxist) experiment with which they share much of their cultural heritage with.
