We distinctly recall reflecting on the presidential campaigns of Barack Obama and Mitt Romney and the utter class they displayed as we eagerly awaited the premiere of the television show Queenmaker. In many ways, it evolved into the standard for acceptable conduct and the appropriate level of healthy competition. We’re not sure why, but lately we’ve had a yearning to watch something like that on screen. And, believe it or not, we had a glimmer of hope when we learned about a Korean political thriller that will be available on Netflix. The writing in Korean television programs and films frequently employs metaphors to illustrate the complexity of the circumstances.
Combining the plight of women in politics in a mainly patriarchal nation, if not the entire world, might have been so intriguing. Unfortunately, the brief was not followed since it got caught up in the likeability of women. Oh Kyung Sook was shown as an ardent advocate for justice, yet she was also shown to be entirely uninformed about politics. By the time the contest was over, we were only interested in her winning for the benefit of the narrative. Furthermore, someone needs to take responsibility for forgetting that politicians are charismatic individuals. None had the charisma of a politician or strategist, with the exception of Ryu Soo Young’s Baek Jae Min. After the tale itself, this was the second worst flaw.
We’ll discuss why Queenmaker isn’t all that it could be now that we’ve made that argument. For men and women, the base of authority is constructed differently. This implies that removing power from men will never be the same as removing power from women. Let’s recall the emails that ended a certain woman’s political aspirations while another man continued to hold office despite several allegations of sexual assault over the years. One may argue that Korea has a higher personal standard for politicians than other nations due to its geographic location. Based on what little we do know about the nation, this is our best guess. However, if we were to make this assumption, we would have to make some observations about how it was used in the series.
It appears that Queenmaker preferred to portray women in politics as having the same opportunities and experiences as their male colleagues, despite the fact that this is untrue. Oh Kyung Sook would face criticism for being too emotional for politics in the real world if she wanted to run for mayor because of the admiration she had received for her leap from the skyscraper. While we’re on the subject, we should point out that her makeover was a step backward. Although Oh Kyung Sook is portrayed as a strong individual, the author seems to have overlooked the fact that a queenmaker is an efficient tool and that the user’s intelligence matters just as much. The lack of the latter was a serious setback for the series.
Making an argument for such would be pointless given how nebulous even Hwang Do Hee’s goals appeared to be. Let’s assume she was enraged by the fact that she was to blame for I Seol’s demise. The reason why this was any different from what she had always done, however, was never explained. Without a single stain on her conscience, she had obliterated several lives in order to defend the Eunsang family. So why was I Seol the decisive factor? The fact that The Eunsang’s Chairman refused to look after Do Hee’s father after she was fired is not an excuse because Do Hee was wealthy enough to handle it herself. We did not understand her rage well enough.
The women in Queenmaker are, in our opinion, poorly written, which is why the book is so mediocre. They constantly portray their compassion as a flaw, despite the fact that we should know by now that this is not the case. The embezzlement claims subplot is where we notice it the most. A man had to act forcefully to resolve the situation for them. They carried on with Kyung Sook’s son’s story, where it was the said man’s assistance that made everything clear. We don’t mind seeing men and women coexist, but in a show that’s supposed to be about strong women, the man was introduced right when the women’s love and compassion were shown to have cornered them. This is a ridiculous stereotype in today’s society.
Do Hee was intelligent, but not intelligent enough. Her persona required to pull off a few brilliant moves, some incredibly cunning moves, and general restraint that made her charming rather than expressionless. We didn’t see much of that, and even then, the emotional woman stereotype was entirely in support of them. Every time she becomes enraged, a lady doesn’t start slapping and yelling at others. But the author exploited this stereotype to distinguish the likeable women from the unlikable ones. There is nothing more disheartening than seeing a show that is designed to challenge biases only to have those prejudices reinforced.
This leads us to ask, “Why didn’t they just make a Kingmaker instead of a Queenmaker?” if the creators of the series found it difficult to understand the relationship between women and authority. The women with clichéd and half-baked personalities would have made some great males. Imagine a man who possesses Oh Kyung Soo’s traits: a strong believer in justice, perpetually upbeat, compassionate beyond measure, and prepared to forego his own objectives in order to provide for his family. Given that what is typical for women and unusual for men, that would have been very alluring. Do Hee could have stayed a woman, but her rage towards Eunsung would have made more sense if she had been a guy. Women’s misogyny differs greatly from men’s, and more people need to understand this if feminism is to succeed globally. Queenmaker is a major failure that doesn’t further feminism, excellent stories about women, or even good stories in and of themselves. The Netflix setting for the fastest speed is 1.5 times the original, so if you must watch it anyway, please do so because it will be more tolerable at that pace.
