Today I came across a review of a new book entitled, "The East, the West, and Sex: A History of Erotic Encounters," whereby the author claims that most non-Western cultures can be categorized under "the culture of the harem;" where there is no sinfulness or sense that one would suffer eternal damnation that is found in what he calls "Christendom," or Western cultures.
The book opens up with a story about a British expat teaching English in Shanghai who prolifically blogs about his sexual exploits with former students and the general Chinese public as it may seem.
The first post I read in Sex and Shanghai struck a chord. It is about a woman nicknamed Sweetie, 23 or 24, who was sleeping with her married boss. After the wife catches them having sex in her house, the husband arranges to have Sweetie move in with them and to treat her as his wife's sister. The wife dutifully obeys to this seismic shift in the relationship's dynamic.
The first post I read in Sex and Shanghai struck a chord. It is about a woman nicknamed Sweetie, 23 or 24, who was sleeping with her married boss. After the wife catches them having sex in her house, the husband arranges to have Sweetie move in with them and to treat her as his wife's sister. The wife dutifully obeys to this seismic shift in the relationship's dynamic.
I immediately thought of Ki-Young Kim's Hanyo, or the Housemaid (1960) from South Korea, recently restored by the World Cinema Foundation, it can now be seen for free on The Auteurs. Click on the picture for the direct link.
Housemaids provides a screen into what South Korea was like in the 1960s. Heightened economic prosperity and increased American involvement brought about a steady middle class population that demanded two story houses, televisions, and microwaves. It soon became feasible for lower-income families to hire live-in housemaids. Husbands having affairs with maids was practically expected in society.
The film is a reflection of those anxieties and a mille-feuille of psycho-sexual distortions, strained nervousness, mental breakdowns, ubiquitous/relentless tension, and haunting cinematography. With it's blatant depictions of sex and violence, subtle rebukes of consumerist behavior, and photographic starkness, there is nothing old nor traditional about Kim's the Housemaids.
