Participación ciudadana en el programa “barrio seguro”

A historical text is the result of much research using, among other kinds of sources, books, manuscripts, photographs, paintings and film and video recordings, of both the primary and secondary kind (Elena et al., 2011). In order to create historical texts, historians utilise what is known as the historical archive methodology to analyse primary and secondary sources for relevant information on their chosen historical period (Elena, 2001, p. 4). Naturally, while historical sources were created in the past, when the historian studies them they are necessarily interpreted in the social and cultural context of the present. For example, a Japanese propaganda film produced during the Japanese Occupation of Korea which is seen in the twenty-first century will be unavoidably associated with the knowledge of South Korea’s and Japan’s ongoing struggle to reconcile atrocities perpetrated during the Occupation, such as the so-called ‘comfort women’ crisis.²⁴ In regards to the historical film, the socio-cultural context of

production has an impact on the filmmakers, the creative works and those who analyse the films. The filmmakers, when producing their creative work, may be influenced by their contemporary environment and include symbolic connections between the

historical period the film depicts and the socio-cultural context of the film’s production.

This would result in representations of the past that could, either deliberately or inadvertently, politicise its depictions of the past to include allusions to the present political hegemony. An example of this is the South Korean film Nambugun (Jeong &

Jeong, 1990), which can be interpreted as recontextualising the Korean War as a

‘people’s struggle’ in order to reflect the dominant minjung ideology in early 1990s South Korea (as it will be discussed in Chapter 5). However, film analysts may also be affected by their own socio-cultural context, potentially imparting historical foresight and their own political ideals onto the text, influencing how the film is discussed. For example, a film analyst studying the anti-communist South Korean film Five Marines

24 The South Korean comfort women crisis will be explored further in Chapter 4.

could be critical of the demonised depiction of North Korea due to their knowledge of 2000s Sunshine Policy through which South Koreans became largely sympathetic of North Koreans (as it will be discussed in Chapter 5). Furthermore, as cultural codes change, so does the interpretation of history presented in historical films. Therefore, the impact and influence of the socio-cultural environment on both the creative practitioner and the film analyst will inevitably anchor both the historical film and its interpretation in their respective present. Focusing upon the creation of the historical film, André Bazin expresses, ‘soon as it is formed, the skin of History peels off as film’ and the films that are created to reflect the idea of history are permanently conjoined in the context of the films’ production (cited in Burgoyne, 2008, p. 1). Since all films are artefacts of the present in which they were created, the cultural landscape, the ethics, values and

concerns of the period of production are discernible within the narrative and style of the historical film (Vonderau, 1999). As a result, while the historical film’s representation of historical events and eras, as generated by its formal construction, may present itself to be an unbiased depiction of the past, the film always contains symbolic connections to the present socio-cultural context in which it was produced. In other words, the historical film’s function is to give meaning to history; to make past events relevant in the present.

Yet, at the same time, the film acts as a commentary of the period of its production.

Brian Le Beau affirms that some films:

were not regarded as historical when they were released, but, like Dr.

Strangelove (1964), explore social or cultural themes of the times. Similarly, films like The Ten Commandments (1956), although explicitly historical, are included less for their historical content than for what they say about the era in which they were made (1997, p. 152).

While historical films may not attempt to do so, they have as much to say about their present as they do about the past they depict. This is because each historical film contains symbolic links to its present socio-cultural context, which can be revealed through an analysis of its fictional and dramatic elements. In this sense, the past cannot be separated from the present (Nelson, 2015). On the contrary, the two are highly

intertwined, and while the present gives meaning to the past, the past also gives meaning to the present.

Thus, the historical film is never an unbiased depiction of the historical period or event it is attempting to represent. But this is not as obvious a statement as it may sound. As previously established, the purpose of the historical film is to concede meaning to the past. Often this meaning is exceedingly contemporary and of only fleeting relevance to the time the film was created. In this way, the past may be depicted on screen through mise en scene, for example, clothing, objects, body language and architecture, but the film’s fictional, dramatic narrative is purposely contemporary, as conveyed through political ideas, cultural values and concerns. For example, while the South Korean historical film The Sea Knows (Kim & Kim, 1961) creates a representation that is sympathetic of the historical struggles of Korean soldiers in the Japanese army during World War II, thematically the film, it can be argued, is also about the call for warring nations to coexist peacefully. Indeed, the film was made in 1961, that is, eight years after the end of the Korean War, a period where the tension between South Korea and North Korea could have resulted in continued warfare. Therefore, while the film may present itself to be about the past that it is depicting, it also creates symbolic links to the socio-cultural context of its production by embodying contemporary societal and cultural concerns, fears and anxieties. The past is largely signified through the film’s formal components, while the politics of the present are generally conveyed through the film’s narrative content. In this way, the film’s formal construction can be analysed to be representative of both the past and the present, enhancing the historical knowledge of the historical film as a result. A similar occurrence is commented upon by Burgoyne:

The historical film, like the mythic figure of Janus, looks both to the past and the present. On the one hand, Hollywood historical films carefully and insistently cultivate a sense that they faithfully represent the past, in some cases by using documentary images of the actual occurrences and figures […] On the other hand, every historical film constructs the past in a way that is shaped and informed by its own context, its own way of imagining the past. (2008, p. 11)

The method of temporal narration that Burgoyne describes has consequently come to be referred to by historical theorists as ‘Janus-faced’ because it would allow the past and the present to speak concurrently through the historical film’s representation of past events. This method certifies that both historical information, through the visual and sonic depiction of historical events, and contemporary concerns, through the film’s narrative and themes, can be voiced simultaneously (Kremmer, 2015). Ron Burnett alternatively denominates this method of temporal narration as ‘present-past’ (1987).

The present-past method of narration, a process of representing the past in the present, is in this sense founded upon the idea that historical knowledge can only be created by placing information about historical events in a present socio-cultural context (Landy, 2001). The claim that the historical film is less about the past than it is about the present does not make the film’s representation of history any less relevant, but it does change its focus. For example, the fact that the representation of the Korean War varies between pre-democratisation and post-democratisation South Korea does not dampen this

representation. Instead, this change gives these historical films a dual focus. These South Korean films not only provide historical details on the war but also on the films’ time of production, such as South Korea’s pre-1987 anti-communist policies and their removal after 1987.²⁵ By comparing and contrasting the narratives of films from different eras that depict the same historical event, the Janus-faced or present-past method of temporal narration can reveal vivid details of how society and culture evolve over time.

As previously established, as a representation of the past, history is not entirely objective, nor entirely authentic, but the constructed result of an ongoing negotiation.

Historians, and by extension, filmmakers, have always utilised their own context and personal interpretation to select and omit details from the historical archive to give shape to their narratives. This interpretive narrative can include commentaries on

contemporary conflicts or criticisms regarding the present treatment of minorities. As Fuat Firat stresses, it is impossible to understand ‘the past directly, without the

interruption of "interpretation" based on the perspectives and the consciousness of the

25 South Korea’s anti-communist policies and its progression from a military dictatorship to a democratic political system will be detailed further in Chapter 2.

present’ (1987).²⁶ The historical film is not free from interpretation, yet within its images the imprint of the present is not easily identified. As a result of this imprint, representations of the same historical event can be vastly different due to the constantly evolving cultural codes of the society that produced these texts. Regardless of the specific year of production, if two films that are made in separate decades depict the same historical event, their antiquarian history will remain similar. For example, two South Korean films that depict the Korean War, namely, Five Marines and The Front Line possess different narratives but both provide the image of soldiers working under an established military command hierarchy in the standard South and North Korean infantry uniform, while fighting against a Korean landscape (figure 3 & figure 4).

Consequently, given that the mise en scene and iconography of these films are near identical, the visual information that can be drawn from these texts is virtually the same.

Due to this commonality, the discursive imprint of the present, as perceptible in the historical film, is predominantly found within the film’s fictional narrative and thematic content, which encompasses the majority of the differences that are discovered between historical films of the same topic. Once the film’s connections to its present

socio-cultural context has been determined, such as the abovementioned call for

peaceful coexistence in The Sea Knows, the representation of the same past events found in films made decades apart can be compared and contrasted. Through this comparison, similarities and differences in terms of ideals, cultural values, and ethics can be

identified between two different eras. For example, while Nameless Stars and General’s Son contain, respectively, an optimistic and pessimistic outlook on the Korean rebellion against the Japanese, a common factor in both is the demonisation of the Japanese in response to their treatment of the Korean people during the Occupation. Thus, an understanding of a society’s cultural change over time can be formed through the examination of the differences between each film’s representations of the same history.

In fact, the process of comparing and contrasting Nameless Stars and General’s Son provides an insight into how the history of the Japanese Occupation has been shaped, and as a result, a commentary develops on how South Koreans view Japan today. The comparison of these two films can illuminate how certain ideas have evolved through

26 Emphasis in the original.

South Korean culture in order to make meaning in the contemporary world.

Consequently, historical meaning in film is not static but changes depending on the context in which it is produced (Vonderau, 1999). Nevertheless, it needs to be stressed that while films from two different eras can represent identical historical events, two different versions of history can be drawn from them and, thus, the idea of the historical film as an artefact both in and of history is evoked (Martin & Wall, 2013).

Figure 3: Screenshot of Five Marines (Dir. Kim Ki-duk, 1961)

Figure 4: Screenshot of The Front Line (Dir. Hun Jang, 2011)

Upon exploring the similarities and differences between the representations of the same historical period as found in older and more recent historical films, the social and cultural changes that can be recognised within a nation’s history can also be used to identify how the cinema of this nation has reshaped and, potentially, rewritten the memory of that past. Similar to Burgoyne’s theory of the cinematic rewriting of history in relation to the film Forrest Gump (Finerman, Newirth, Starkey, Tisch & Zemeckis, 1994), over a given period of time, certain aspects of a nation’s history, society or culture can either consistently gain a greater focus or be downplayed or omitted within an increasing number of films (1999). Thomas Keirstead readily identifies this tendency in the Japanese Samurai film, which, as he articulates, ‘centered on the warrior class and its values: self-abnegation, honor, sacrifice, suicide, unquestioning obedience, violence’

(2013, p. 426). The Samurai period film came to represent the Japanese historical film broadly, even though the iconography associated with it, such as clothing, architecture, the tea ceremony, and the samurai and his sword, represents only one era of their past, namely, the Edo period (Keirstead, 2013, p. 426). As a sizeable number of Samurai films saturated the Japanese historical genre, now the image of the Samurai and the history of Japan are irreparably linked; as a result, the image of Japanese history no longer exists without the character and customs of the Samurai (Keirstead, 2013, p. 426). However, as

Keirstead continues, at the onset of the twentieth century, before this cultural process started, the common view from the international community was rather that Japan was passive and feminine (2013, p. 427). The flood of Samurai films from Japan since 1912 has over time rewritten this view into one where Japanese culture is associated with masculine honour. When this type of cultural process is identified in a Korean context a similar result can be observed, but in this case it is neither as drastic nor as patriotic. For example, in Nameless Stars and other films produced prior to the beginning of South Korea’s democratisation, the Korean rebellion against the Japanese is elevated to a position of reverence and victory is almost assured. The films of this period place Korea in a position of power and express a belief that this nation was never truly under

Japanese control. Conversely, the films produced after democratisation, such as General’s Son, remove this sense of power from their representation of the rebellion, portraying the Koreans as foolish and naïve for resisting the Japanese. In addition, in these more recent films, Japan’s eventual departure from Korea is not ensured. Even though the representations of the films of both periods reshape perceptions of the past, Korean films made prior to 1987 place Korea in a position of strength and dignity—not unlike what the Japanese Samurai films did for Japan—while those made after 1987 position Korea within a framework of passive acceptance and nihilism.

The consistency of the Japanese Samurai film in their reshaping of the nation’s history is curious. While historical films contain the filmmaker’s unique approach to the

representation of historical periods, there is no way of directing this vision into a

coherent, consistent history (Raak, 1983). In other words, there is no national council of filmmakers deciding what is and what is not appropriate in terms of shaping a collective perception of history. As Rosenstone specifies, filmmakers neither envision nor create their own theories about historical events, they only create films (2006, p. 19). Once produced, a film stands alone and embodies all the historical and cultural information that can be drawn from it. The reshaping of history that Keirstead identifies epitomises the films of Japan. Collectively these films create a body of work that forms the identity of the cinema of Japan, displaying the specific themes and narrative approaches

favoured by their cinema. Every national cinema employs certain stylistic and narrative approaches and changing historical influences contribute to shaping the film styles and

narratives a national cinema prefers. For example, contemporary Korean cinema often contains extreme violence, drab interiors, gangster characters and downbeat endings.

However, as it will be discussed in the next chapter, South Korean cinema pre-1987 was defined by anti-communist ideologies and also by the inability to criticise the South Korean government. These films showcased the good of the Korean lifestyle, often containing patriotic overtones and narratives that led the main characters to embrace the South Korean nationalist ideology. In comparing earlier South Korean films to their contemporary counterparts, as mentioned previously, it becomes evident that as the country’s cinema evolves so does the nation’s representation of history. According to South Korean filmmaker Lee Joon-ik, a historical film’s multi-generational audience can potentially open a dialogue about the depicted historical period. As he states: ‘A modern society witnesses a bigger gap and difference between the generations as people live a longer life. Having the different generations living in the same era watch a historical film together, I believe that it can help promote intergenerational understanding and communication’ (J. I. Lee, personal communication, November 12th, 2017).

Consequently, through a multi-generational audience, the past and the present can be further put into conversation, potentially forming a reflexive, critical understanding about how films construct representations of history and why these depictions change over time.

As an effect of the links that can be drawn between the historical film and the

socio-cultural context of its production, the meaning placed upon the historical film’s representation of the past does not remain unchanged. As the temporal distance between the present and a historical event grows, the historical film’s representation of this past event is always being refocused. For the historical film genre, this means that while mise en scene and historical iconography remain largely consistent across films that depict a single historical event, the narratives and thematic representation of the event is not static and differs from film to film. Consequently, the historical film’s representation of past events is always connected in some way to the present through symbolic links created by the film’s narrative and formal construction of history. As Maria Pramaggiore stresses, older accounts of the past will always be overridden by newer accounts (2013).

One only needs to examine pre- and post-1987 South Korean films, as the next chapter

will do, to realise the extent of this cinematic process of historical revision. The process by which the historical film comments on the present, through its fictional and dramatic narrative, transforms the genre from a static vision and fixed historical information to a present-past palimpsest of great complexity. Consequently, the films’ historical

knowledge, as granted by the concept of historiophoty, includes these symbolic connections between the historical film and its socio-cultural context. Considering the theories discussed in this section, it is clear that the dual purpose of fiction is emphasised

knowledge, as granted by the concept of historiophoty, includes these symbolic connections between the historical film and its socio-cultural context. Considering the theories discussed in this section, it is clear that the dual purpose of fiction is emphasised