The Historical Making of the Contemporary South Korea through the Film Noir: the cases of Nameless Gangster (2013) and Gangnam Blues (2015)
Abstract
South Korea faced its democratic transition in the second half of the 80s after decades of military dictatorship. Its current political and economic situation is strongly influenced by this stage, which was characterized by institutional corruption and the rise of organized crime. The best representations of that era in the South Korean cinema have been made in the film noir, which has been capable of make these matters more commercially approachable. That is the case of Nameless Gangster and Gangnam Blues, two films set in the 80s and 70s, respectively, that deal with the political corruption and the growth of mafia organizations at that time in the country. This paper analyzes how these two films have represented those two decades that are fundamental for South Korean recent history, focusing fundamentally on their exposure of poverty, inequality and corruption.
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