I don't want to save the world I just want to save my children

Agustina 2022-12-25 15:15:21

Inexplicably, I woke up so early in the morning~

Last night, my girlfriend suddenly wanted to watch a movie, so she played for her. As a result, she only watched more than 20 minutes as usual, so I just woke up this morning and continued watching.

Monster movies are a genre, and the Hollywood model is usually: a
behemoth suddenly appears, and
then the hero saves the beauty and saves the world
. Usually there are two supporting characters: one is responsible for acting cool and the other is responsible for laughing
. Explicitly revealed. Each film can be added with this sentence: "You were born to be saved by Lao Tzu!"

Compared with this, "The Monster of the Han River" is a slap in the face of the American emperor. The whole film is also a sentence:
I'm sorry, I'm not here to save the world. I just want to save my children~
The director of "Han" did not intend to make the protagonist a hero, but to create ordinary people:
a grandfather who worked hard, a father who was a little stupid, an unemployed and alcoholic uncle, an aunt who was a sports player, pure and kind The children of , every character seems to be found around us, close and lovely, but they all have a past.
They have no missionary zeal for salvation, no lower-body thinking, no muscles, and no big breasts. Some are just the feelings of an ordinary person, a feeling for "home". For them, the monster's harm is not in destroying the world, but in hurting his family.

In traditional Chinese culture, "family" is the core of all ethical relationships, and the entire social relationship is an enlarged relationship between family members. So we have to add the word "home" after the word "country". The status of "home" in Chinese culture is evident. South Korea's inheritance of traditional Chinese culture also reflects its understanding of "home".

"The Monster of the Han River" introduced the concept of "home" into this type of film, which was a huge breakthrough as an Asian film. But the director contrasts "home" with "country", which strengthens the characters' feelings for home. The political metaphors in it, I don't have enough ability to talk about. But at the end of the movie, the hero turned off the TV with his feet, as if telling Hollywood: The world is left to you to save, I just want to save my children.

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Extended Reading

The Host quotes

  • Park Hie-bong: I received a complaint from Mat Number 4. Their squid had only nine legs. Did you eat one?

    Park Gang-Du: No.

    Park Hie-bong: Don't deny it. Why touch other people's things? Think of it from the customer's perspective. A squid. The torso tastes delicious, but the legs, especially the longest one, has something special, right?

    [He pulls a half eaten squid leg out of the pocket of Gang-du's hoodie]

    Park Hie-bong: [Thrusting a tray into his son's arms] Take this to Mat Number 4. Tell them it's on the house.

  • Park Nam-il: [grabbing a grieving Gang-du by the arm] So you screwed up, huh? I heard everything. You grabbed some other girl's hand?

    [He claws at his brother's head]

    Park Nam-il: You left Hyun-seo on the ground?

    [He takes another swipe at Gang-du but Hie-bong holds him back]

    Park Nam-il: Your own daughter? You call yourself a fucking father?

    [as he says this he manages to kick Gang-du]

    Park Nam-il: You son of a bitch!

    Park Gang-Du: [bawling] I thought it was Hyun-seo's hand!