“My Sassy Girl” As An Attempt To Promote Women’S I

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Girls Rule: “My Sassy Girl” as an Attempt to Promote Women’s Inequality By Olga Fedorenko “My Sassy Girl” is a hilarious comedy, which invites the audience to laugh at the misadventures of Gyeon-woo, who regularly gets beaten by his mother and by bossy girlfriend. Jae-young Kwak, the director of “My Sassy Girl,” seems to question the traditional gender roles; however, from another perspective, the movie can be interpreted as reinforcing the double standard for men and women and thus endorsing gender inequality. In this essay, I will argue that Kwak promotes gender inequality by portraying it as women’s secret weapon. While looking into how gender relations are presented in “My Sassy Girl,” it is important to keep in mind the social context of South Korea. Though the feminist movement took a strong hold and the ideas of gender equality are promoted within the educational system, women still have limited opportunities for self-realization outside the family (Cho, 2002; Janelli & Yim, 2002). This situation naturally results in tension between the ambition of women who were educated to believe in gender equality and the realities of a male-dominated society. One possible reaction is to rebel and challenge the rules of the game; the other way is to accept the rules, master them and twist them to women’s advantage. The main female character, known as “the Girl,” chooses to do just that—and succeeds spectacularly. Not only she gets away with extreme sassiness and abusive behaviour, in the end, she gets rewarded with a caring guy who is willing to accommodate her crazy whims and temper tantrums. In “My Sassy Girl,” the issue of gender equality explicitly comes up only once. Gyeon-woo and the Girl are riding the subway and seem a bit bored, when a little boy draws a line across the floor of the car with his mom’s lipstick. The Girl then suggests a game: if someone

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