Exploring Themes of Redemption and Revenge in Asian Cinema

8min Snip

00:00

Play full episode

Summary

Transcript

Episode notes

The chapter dives into a South Korean film from the vengeance trilogy, examining complex themes of redemption, identity, and loneliness. The hosts compare the movie to other works by Asian directors, highlighting the protagonist's moral dilemma and the consequences of vengeance. They emphasize the importance of viewing the film to appreciate its narrative depth before delving into a discussion on the illusion of control and the intricacies of seeking revenge.

David and Tamler dive into the mysteries at the heart of Park Chan-wook’s deeply disturbing masterpiece "Oldboy" (2003). An ordinary man, Oh Dae-su, is imprisoned for 15 years in an old, windowless hotel room. After being abruptly released Oh Dae-su embarks on a mission to discover why he was imprisoned and to get revenge on the man who did it. But does Oh Dae-su really want to know the answers? And is he asking the right questions? (SPOILER HEAVY EPISODE! See this movie before you listen! Available on Netflix in the US.) Plus, how familiar are you with words the words azimuth and espadrille? Turns out that the answer may depend on your gender.

Brysbaert, M., Mandera, P., McCormick, S. F., & Keuleers, E. (2019). Word prevalence norms for 62,000 English lemmas. Behavior research methods, 51, 467-479.

Oldboy (2003 film) [wikipedia.org]