Lym Choong Kim
Professor Priya Jaikumar
CTCS 502
Comparative Analysis
Sep 29, 2015
Comparative Analysis of Jiseul (2012), Directed by Meul O, and Timbuktu (2014), Directed by Abderrahmane Sissako on the portrayal of the Oppressor and the Oppressed. Jiseul and Timbuktu are both films that portray irrational oppression, the impact of that oppression on the lives of the people being oppressed, and the way the oppressors manage their irrational oppression. Jiseul is a film based on the Jeju Uprising. According to the New World Encyclopedia, “The Jeju Uprising or Jeju Massacre (old spelling, "Cheju") refers to the rebellion and subsequent heavy government suppression on Jeju Island, South Korea, beginning April 3, 1948. …… between 30,000 and 60,000 people were killed in fighting between factions. Suppression of the rebellion by the South Korean army was brutal, resulting in tens of thousands of deaths, destroying many villages on the island, and sparking rebellions on the Korean mainland.” In Jiseul the oppression is based on the government’s perceived political differences, and the government used the army…show more content… Some struggle with being the oppressor. In Jiseul one army Private First Class Soldier is punished because he has not captured a single rebel. Nevertheless, when he is faced with a young woman and his gun barrel is pointing at her, he doesn’t pull the trigger. He lets her go. He meets another soldier his age, and when they are being punished together he suggests going AWOL. Another soldier kills his superior at the end of the movie because the brutality of his superior becomes unbearable for the soldier. On the other hand, there is another soldier who seems to be at the other end of the spectrum. He is portrayed as enjoying this massacre. He carries a knife and kills people with his knife because he enjoys the close contact with his victim rather than using a gun to kill the people from a