• Title/Summary/Keyword: Cultural Critique

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The Violence of Neoliberalism Represented in the Works of Eduardo Galeano (에두아르도 갈레아노의 작품에 나타난 신자유주의의 폭력성)

  • Yoo, Wang-Moo
    • Cross-Cultural Studies
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    • v.41
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    • pp.199-227
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    • 2015
  • In the twenty-first century, one of the most controversial issues concerns neoliberal policies and its results. In particular, since the mid-1980s, the United States and international financial institutions have imposed their programs on Latin American countries. The result is a deepening social inequality in Latin America that puts an emphasis on financial stability instead of social security. Consequently, social inequality is worsened and an imbalance in income distribution took place. Because of the flexibility of labor, the middle class is destroyed. For the poor person deprived of the opportunity to rise, violence is a common occurrence in daily life. Thus, in this context, Eduardo Galeano raises the necessity of a critique concerning the values that neoliberalism regards as important. Furthermore, Galeano is also wary of the "militarization of neoliberalism." This is because the neoliberal multinationals motivate a war without borders under the guise of peace. Neo-liberal policies also contribute to environmental pollution. However, environmental vandalism, which happens in partnership with large and international organizations, is not readily apparent to the public because those perpetrators wore a "green mask." Hence, Galeano assiduously endeavors to undercover the false consciousness hiding behind the green mask. Thus, in brief summary, Galeano represents in his works a depiction about Latin America where violence often happens in daily life.

A Becoming-Nonhuman Animal in the Neurological State of Exception: Black Swan and Birdman (신경학적 예외상태에서 비인간적 동물-되기: <블랙스완>과 <버드맨>)

  • Park, Jecheol
    • Cross-Cultural Studies
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    • v.50
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    • pp.1-29
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    • 2018
  • In the contemporary American cinematic landscape, there is a distinctive tendency to depict the disturbing ways in which characters with brain damages perceive, remember, and think about the world. Despite its attempts to examine the socio-political implications of these characters' subjectivities, the previous scholarship on this trend of film was limited in being either too pessimistically deterministic or too euphorically optimistic. Critically reading neuroscientific discourses on the brain-damaged subject from the perspective of Giorgio Agamben's critique of biopolitics, this paper explores how the contemporary American cinema of the impaired brain attempts to mediate the neurologically inexplicable affects of those subjects who are in the neurological state of exception and to express their experiences of a becoming-nonhuman. By closely reading Darren Aronofsky's Black Swan and Alejandro $Gonz{\acute{a}}lez$ $I{\tilde{n}}{\acute{a}}rritu^{\prime}s$ Birdman in this regard, I show how the two films, by employing different sets of cinematic free indirect techniques, express the neurologically impaired subject's affective experience of a becoming-nonhuman animal in different ways, and thereby to a more or less extent act as 'profaned' neuro-biopolitical apparatuses.

The Task of Reformulating University System and a Critique of the Discourse for Networking National Universities: In Reference to Paris University and the California Higher Education System (변혁기 대학체제 개편과 국공립대통합네트워크 담론 비판: 미국 및 프랑스 사례와 관련하여)

  • Yoon, Jikwan
    • Cross-Cultural Studies
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    • v.49
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    • pp.181-199
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    • 2017
  • One of the most lasting and influential projects for radical reform of Korean universities is a discourse on networking national and public universities. The discourse, proposed with a level equalization of universities as its ideological basis has raised various discussions and suggestions in the past 20 years. It was proposed as a fundamental solution to the 'disastrous' hierarchical structure of universities and 'hellish' entrance exam competition. This paper aims at reexamining the efficacy of its ideological proposition and its practicability at the present time in reference to such foreign cases, which have worked as model cases for this discourse: the reformation of the University of Paris and the California master plan for higher education in the 1960s. The two different contexts, however, should be considered in applying the cases to Korean university reform. 1) The foreign cases of united universities were formed 'naturally' in the expanding phases of higher education while the Korean project pursued 'artificially' in the midst of reconstructing process. 2) The foreign cases had an overall influence on education in general as most of the universities in those countries were public or national, while the effect of Korean project will be very limited as most of the university students attend private universities. Besides those differences, the new situations surrounding universities such as globalized competitiveness and technological innovation is making the idea of standardization of universities obsolete. Korean university reform should not be centered on the integration of universities but on their characterization and enhance the specific strengths of each group of universities.

Decoding the Persuasion Strategies Used in the Advertising Targeted for Children (어린이 광고의 설득전략에 대한 기호학적 해독 연구)

  • Lee, Du-Won
    • Korean Journal of Communication Studies
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    • v.18 no.4
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    • pp.31-50
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    • 2010
  • This study is designed to decode the persuasion strategies in the advertising targeted for children from a semiotic perspective. Semiotic approach to "decoding advertising text" allows us to classify advertising signs and sign systems in relation to the way they are transmitted and communicated. In this strategic process of advertising production, the producers use various "expressive techniques" and "persuasive appeals, premises, and ideology" shared by the members of the society. This study investigates Korean print media advertising for children with the following research questions: ① What types of expression techniques are employed in the print media advertising for children? ② What types of persuasive appeals(consumption values) are used in the print media advertising for children? ③ What are the persuasive premises(cultural premises) underlying those persuasive appeals? ④ What is the structure of ideology that governs those persuasive appeals and premises in the advertising for children? The study result reveals seven most frequently employed expressive techniques, ten major types of persuasive appeals and premises, and the structure of ideology governing the signs and signification systems in the advertising targeted for children.

The Critique of Hallyu, or K-Entertainment as a Gendered Meta-narrative -Focusing on Female Fans, Girl Groups, and Young Women (젠더화된 메타서사로서 한류, 혹은 K-엔터테인먼트 비판 -여성 팬, 걸 그룹, 그리고 여성 청년을 중심으로)

  • Ryu, Jin-Hee
    • Journal of Popular Narrative
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    • v.26 no.2
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    • pp.9-37
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    • 2020
  • The present study examines the transnational "Hallyu" (the Korean wave) phenomenon after the 1990s in the context of a solidarity movement of East Asian women. It also focuses on the passion for the world stage given the cultural industry was supported by the government as a "chimney-less factory" during the IMF financial crisis. Over the past twenty years and through Hallyu 1.0, Hallyu 2.0, and Hallyu 3.0, "K-entertainment" has been advocated, as a concept that encompasses K-drama, K-pop, etc. in the cultural industry. Furthermore, everything Korean, through K-culture, is being put at the forefront. However, there is insufficient discussion regarding the actions of the women who led the Korean wave. This paper examines the female fans and girl groups who played leading roles in the rise of popular culture and its transnational prominence within the context of the female agency and female labor involved. The lack of acknowledgment of their roles is linked to the current erasure of the discussion on the female youth. Discussion on "woman" is still limited to the domain of reproduction in the generational discussion that has replaced the existing nation-state or class led discussions in the current era of neoliberalism. However, since The reboot or the popularity of feminism in recent years, the interest in the female narrative, in works such as 'Kim Ji-young, Born 1982' has been expanding beyond East Asia to the rest of the world. Just as Hallyu was created by women in the beginning, there is a new trend in which women across national borders are joining in solidarity. As such, the present study attempts to prove that the female fan, girl group, and female youths must be one meta-narrative through a feminist reading, rather than individuals with separate identities.

Logosphère de G. Bachelard et les rêveries de langue (바슐라르의 Logosphère와 언어적 몽상)

  • HONG, Myung-Hee
    • Cross-Cultural Studies
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    • v.25
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    • pp.679-694
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    • 2011
  • La langue est un des ${\acute{e}}l{\acute{e}}ments$ $privil{\acute{e}}gi{\acute{e}}s$ de la $r{\hat{e}}verie$ chez Bachelard. La langue est une force fondamentale de l'imagination. D'une part, elle garde son propre valeur dans le processus de l'imagination, et d'autre part elle forme sa propre image. La $priorit{\acute{e}}$ de langue chez Bachelard a, en effet, quelque liaison avec la notion de Logos qui avait ${\acute{e}}t{\acute{e}}$ $trait{\acute{e}}$ depuis longtemps comme $v{\acute{e}}rit{\acute{e}}$ ${\acute{e}}ternelle$ dans la $m{\acute{e}}taphysique$ occidentale. Cependant, la notion de logos de Bachelard se $diff{\grave{e}}re$ de celle de $m{\acute{e}}taphysique$ occidentale. Tandis que la $m{\acute{e}}taphysique$ traditionnelle traite le logos comme un but ${\acute{e}}ternel$ de sa $m{\acute{e}}ditation$, Bachelard donne l'importance sur la $capacit{\acute{e}}$ linguistique et imaginaire du logos. Le $logosph{\grave{e}}re$ est un des exemples qui montre bien la $diff{\acute{e}}rence$ entre la notion de logos de Bachelard et celle de $m{\acute{e}}taphysique$ traditionnelle. Le $logosph{\grave{e}}re$ est un $n{\acute{e}}ologisme$ de Bachelard qui est fait pour $d{\acute{e}}signer$ $l^{\prime}atmosph{\grave{e}}re$ verbal de la $soci{\acute{e}}t{\acute{e}}$ contemporaine $gr{\hat{a}}ce$ ${\grave{a}}$ l'emission de radio. Bachelard comprend le $ph{\acute{e}}nom{\grave{e}}ne$ de radio en tant que $r{\acute{e}}alisation$ de $Psych{\acute{e}}$ dans la vie quotidienne. C'est $gr{\hat{a}}ce$ ${\grave{a}}$ la technologie moderne que nous pouvons avoir l'univers de langue plus facilement par rapport aux $si{\grave{e}}cles$ $pr{\acute{e}}c{\acute{e}}dents$. Selon Bachelard, la radio n'est pas un simple instrument de communication. C'est une porte pour entrer dans la $r{\hat{e}}verie$ universelle. La radio est une voix du monde qui exprime notre inconscient. Quand un $r{\hat{e}}veur$ $r{\hat{e}}ve$, son $r{\hat{e}}verie$ se $d{\acute{e}}veloppe$ en se discutant avec le monde. Alors, quand nous $r{\hat{e}}vons$, nous parlons au monde et nous ${\acute{e}}coutons$ du monde, de sorte que nous devenons les citoyens du $logosph{\grave{e}}re$. Dans son oeuvre Sur la Grammatologie, J. Derrida critique la $m{\acute{e}}taphysique$ occidentale en la intitulant logocentrisme. Derrida pense que la philosophie occidentale a comme le but final la $pr{\acute{e}}sence$ de logos. Cette $pr{\acute{e}}sence$ de logos ne peut ${\hat{e}}tre$ $r{\acute{e}}alis{\acute{e}}e$ que par la langue de la voix, non pas par la langue de $caract{\grave{e}}re$. $D^{\prime}o{\grave{u}}$ vient le logocentrisme ou le phonocentrisme de $m{\acute{e}}taphysique$ occidental. Mais Derrida pense que le logocentrisme n'est qu'un autre aspect de l'ethnocentrisme ${\acute{e}}troit$ de l'occident. La notion de $logosph{\grave{e}}re$ de Bachelard a quelques ressemblances avec logocentrisme par ses apparences. Cependant, elles ont une $diff{\acute{e}}rence$ fondamentale depuis leur $d{\acute{e}}part$. Tandis que logocentrisme $tra{\hat{i}}te$ la parole en tant que $mani{\grave{e}}re$ d'expression de raison qui est une puissance fondamentale de l'homme, Bachelard pense que la parole est un $r{\acute{e}}sultat$ d'une opposition et fusion de notre raisons et parole. Bachelard pense que la parole est une $r{\acute{e}}alisation$ de l'image qui est l'essence de notre $psych{\acute{e}}$. Pour lui, la parole, la quintessence de $logosph{\grave{e}}re$, est le champ de l'imagination $d^{\prime}o{\grave{u}}$ jaillissent les images. C'est pour cela que $logosph{\grave{e}}re$ se situe ${\grave{a}}$ l'antipode de logocentrisme. $Logosph{\grave{e}}re$ nous fournit un espace de $r{\hat{e}}verie$ de langue. Notre $soci{\acute{e}}t{\acute{e}}$ contemporaine $fourr{\acute{e}}e$ des images visuelles creuses est $d{\acute{e}}pouill{\acute{e}}e$ de plus en plus des espaces de $r{\hat{e}}veries$. C'est une des raisons que le $logosph{\grave{e}}re$ de Bachelard doit ${\hat{e}}tre$ $r{\acute{e}}activ{\acute{e}}$ aujourd'hui.

Gender politics and the monster-abject representation method of the posthuman age. - Focused on works by Kim Eon-hee and Han-Kang - (포스트휴먼 시대의 젠더정치와 괴물-비체의 재현방식 - 김언희와 한강의 작품을 중심으로 -)

  • Baik, Ji-yeon
    • Cross-Cultural Studies
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    • v.50
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    • pp.77-101
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    • 2018
  • Even in our modern era, the projection of monsters in the recent literature contains the critical imagination of human existence for the posthuman age. The meaning of the monster-abject, especially as from the perspective of feministic criticism, contains criticism of the violent and oppressive patriarch as observed in the modern times. This article focuses on the gendered imagination of the discussions of the "abject" discussed by Julia Kristeva, and the "monstrous femine" discussed by Barbara Creed. Kim Eon-Hee's poems and Han Kang's novels, which have been examined extensively for analysis, show that the practical strategy of abject that goes beyond hate and sublime, wonder and joy through the imagination and concepts of monsters. The monster-abject strategy of Kim Eon-Hee's poem can be summarized by the narrative method of mirroring and the imagination of the truncated body. Mirroring falsification, which mimics the male speaker, is a method that some feminists strategically utilize in relation to the problem of female aversion in recent years as noted in the literature. In Kim Eon-Hee's poem, "becoming a man" and "imitating a man," through the method of mirroring appear as an image of cutting to dismantle the body. In that way, the narrative strategy of the abject that draws out abominations and bizarre effects which contains a strong critique of the patriarchal dominant ideology. The monster-abject strategy of Han-Kang's novel is embodied through the being of plants and the process of vegetarian-anorexia process. The world of the adject which was oppressed in the Han-Kang's novel, returns to the senses of the body through the symbol of the body. It is noted that the fictional characters who realize the repressed desire through the pathological symptom expressed by the female, go on to body perform active transformation. The sense of a body in a novel is not only a rejection of the world of animalman-civilization, but also a radically questioning of the noted and recognized boundaries between human beings and non-human being entities. The two writer's works show that the imagination of the monster-adject is not limited to rejecting the existing gender categories, but also goes in the direction of exploring the possibilities of various associated gender actions.