Gender Representation in the Gwangju Democracy Movement (Gwangju Uprising): A Discussion of the Films A Taxi Driver (2017) and A Petal (1996)

Abstract

Between 18 and 27 May 1980, South Korea witnessed what became known as the Gwangju Democracy
Movement or the Gwangju Uprising. On this occasion, South Korean citizens, especially young people belonging to the
student movement, took to the streets of the city demanding democracy and were violently repressed by the
government, resulting in a death toll that is still unknown today. This paper aims to analyze two films that deal with the
Gwangju Democracy Movement, A Taxi Driver (Hun Jang, 2017) and A Petal (Jang Sun-woo, 1996), focusing mainly on
gender issues as the two films differ in this regard: A Taxi Driver has a story centered on male characters and
brotherhood between men, while A Petal has as its protagonist a girl who is the victim of various forms of violence as a
result of the Gwangju Uprising. We will try to show that the films construct a masculinist representation of the Gwangju
Democracy Movement, even when they use female characters. The methodology used is based on Pierre Sorlin's
sociology of cinema.