The Power of Cinema: Rectifying Injustice

Oct 29, 2011 17:56

I just read about the re-vamped South Korean legislation on rape of minors and people with disabilities. I don't know much about Korean law, but from what I've read, this law has been overripe in its coming. Rapist were getting away with sentences far too light, and victims were afraid to come forth because of that entrenched culture of self-blame we often see in Asian countries. I may not live under Korean jurisdiction, but all the same, I am relieved that the Korean policymakers are enacting a stronger support system for some of society's most vulnerable and defenseless.

Course-changing aside, I also find the passage of this law remarkable because of the events leading up to it. The legislation had languished in the Korean National Assembly for some time, but the release of the movie "Crucible" sparked enough public outrage that Korean politicians were compelled to revisit the law and pass it.

"Crucible" stars Gong Yoo as a new teacher in a school for the disabled. He soon finds out that the students of this school are being abused and raped by the instructors and principal of the school. With the help of a human rights activist, he sets out to deliver justice to children, but in the end, the rapists get off with light sentences and rumors of a cover up engulf the case. Just the synopsis is troubling on so many levels, but it's encouraging that the victims fought for an appeal and that there is concrete change coming about.

It doesn't seem like the movie was overtly political, but it has definitely had a political impact. I was appalled by the details of the case, but I am also awed by the power of cinema to affect change.

I'm really hoping "Crucible" will come be released around here somewhere so I can go see it.

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