Criticism of government is covered by various media such as TV, radio, and newspaper. Even, movies criticize the government and public figures. Recently, movies such as Train to Busan and Tunnel in 2016 and Monster in 2006 reveal the severity of government. People watch movies that criticize the government covertly will become aware of the serious problem in the government. That is what the movies aim.
Which movies show criticism?
‘Monster’ is a story of a monster living in Hangang River. In the movie, Kang-du, father of Hyeon-seo, is going to deliver dried squid; one the way, he saw his daughter Hyeon-seo being caught by a monster that appeared from the Hangang River. The sudden appearance of the monster led to the river, being spoilt and the city, paralyzed. Kang-du lost his money, house, and daughter that night., Kang-du, grandfather, aunt, and uncle went to find Hyeon-seo.
The ‘Train to Busan’ is another movie that criticized the government. It is about a zombie. A unknown virus has spread all over the country, and emergency disaster warning is proclaimed. People boarding the train to Busan fight desperately; Busan is the only safe city and free of virus. From Seoul to Busan, the distance is 443km. People have to protect their own survival and their precious family’s and friends’ survival.
How these movies show criticism?
In ‘Monster’, a lenient government is uncovered. In certain scene, people throw beer anywhere and throw their trash in Hangang River and the streets. These scenes prove that people has no environmental awareness. Owing to the government’s and people’s carelessness, the monster was created and damaged the city. However, people are busy protecting themselves from the monster. To protect themselves, they push and knock each other down. In this scene, people’s egotism is apparent, and the movie depicts people’s selfishness. Problems in the government are also portrayed. Certain parts of the movie show an announcer reporting on TV that the monster has come out. In an emergency situation, the government only responds to the media coverage cover does nothing to calm the citizens. The government is not interested in solving the problem that the monster has created. These scenes show the incompetence and inaction of the government in handling crisis.
The‘Train to Busan’ also reveals the incompetence of the government. In this movie, egotism is showed remarkably. In situation when a zombie appeared, the main character, Seok-wu, tells his daughter, Su-ahn, “You don’t need to pay attention to other people. Always you are the priority.”. In response, Su-ahn tells his father “Father, you know only you. You are bad.”
Another character Yong-seok struggles to protect himself. In that process, he blocks the passageway, so that people who survive from the zombies cannot go into the safety zone. Moreover, people are quarantined on the ground that they fight with the zombies. Those scenes show selfishness of adults toward children and depict problems in real. In reality, people are concerned for themselves and harm to protect themselves. By showing people’s natural tendency to become selfish, the movie makes the people become aware of their bad attitude.
The movie also demonstrates problems in the government. In Train to Busan, the government is not interested in searching the cause of virus. The government officials do nothing and are busy protecting themselves from becoming a zombie. Without government measures, people become zombies. Zombie stride down the street, but the government makes a false report on riot and hide the truth. They bind people to secrecy
In this movie, fear of zombies is not the disaster, but the irresponsibility and incompetence of the government and people. That is real fear.
What those movies imply by showing the incompetence of the government?
The movie implies the government’s chronic problem in real life. In reality, people express discontent with the government. Two years ago, a shocking accident occurred. Sewol ferry sank. Students and teachers form Danwon High School who were on board that ship died. The government took action immediately after the incident, but the accident was actually caused by its carelessness. Untill now, the bereaved families want a sincere apology. Moreover, when the Sewol ferry sank, the captin of the ship escaped, showing egotism.
Due to the incompetence of the government, many citizens suffer. The movies show these government’s incompetence and irresponsibility indirectly and inform their audience of the seriousness of this problem. People want their government to change: pay attention to its citizens voice, show care for society, and eradicate among members of the parliament.