Interstellar’s ‘inter-success’
November 6th, 2014. South Koreans were thrilled that another film Interstellar created by director Christopher Nolan was released. Interstellar’s plots in short: Earth is devastated full of sand storms, droughts, crop failure, and many more. The only option left for humanity is to search for a new home — done through interstellar travel enabled by the existence of wormholes. A NASA team conducts a space project to investigate potential homes involving a significant risk — massive time difference with the Earth’s timeline. Director Nolan has established fame in South Korea through films such as The Dark Night (2008) and Inception (2010). Sales reached $75,198,560, accounting for 11.5% of the worldwide box office (The Numbers). Although a historically developed reputation may be conducive to a film’s success, it cannot be the sole reason. Interstellar was a massive success in South Korea, while it was not as much in the US. The central theme of Interstellar — striving to escape the earth to find a new home to settle — aligns with South Koreans’ desire to escape socially and politically pressured society, which had an effect of fluid transmission. At the same time, Murph and her dad are connected through family love though they are vastly distant and experience a different flow of time. This relates to South Korea’s historically prioritized culture of family love and endorses South Korean audiences to sympathize with many plot points of Interstellar easily.
Many space films deal with concepts such as exploring a planet and returning the information gathered. The characters overcome struggles during their investigation. However, Interstellar has a different theme: actively finding a new home — on a foreign planet or moon — and planning mass immigration to the survival of humanity’s future generations. It highlights the overall departure from the status quo, which can not only be interpreted as the departure from severe environmental issues but also other socio-political and geopolitical issues. Interstellar’s theme translated fluidly to South Korea’s socio-political occurrences at the time. Only months before the release of Interstellar was the Sewol Incident (April 16th, 2014). Approximately 300 people drowned, including a number of students of Danwon high school who were on a school field trip (BBC). “Illegal redesigns,” irresponsible crew members, and “lax government regulations” are the leading causes of the incident. This provoked a mass protest and eventually the impeachment of President Park. Not only this incident but also other incidents such as the Nut rage incident and ongoing corruption in the South Korean political sphere dissatisfied South Korean citizens. In addition, younger generations had been under overwhelming pressure owing to the South Korean education system with polarized peer competition and the crowded job market. This series of incidents and many points of social pressure in 2014 matches the earth in Interstellar that humanity is trying to escape. A world with improved conditions — environmentally in the movie and socio-politically in South Korea — is what South Koreans idealize.
One could argue that ‘departure from the status quo’ is an overused theme in other movies and can be translated to South Korea easily. However, Interstellar involves themes such as family love and reunion. At the beginning of the movie, Cooper (Murph’s dad) comforts Murph with the promise that he will return while providing her with the wristwatch to compare the time with each other. This moment may appeal sentimentally to the audience highlighting the sense of family love. It implies that family is bound to each other though the distance is great. In the end, Cooper and Murph reunite, and she “breaks down in delight at the sight of him” (IMDb). Cooper “takes her hand without any reluctance or awkwardness” though Cooper maintained his age while Murph was 99 years old — close to the end of her life. All the hurdles that Cooper and Murph went through in a different location and timeline culminated with holding hands — bursting familial affection. South Koreans value family orientation and are “dedicated to maintaining…nexus” (Cultural Atlas). Children have filial duties in return for the privilege to be born and be raised by their parents: “[respecting their parents] at all times, “taking care of them in their old age,” and “performing proper ceremonies for them after their deaths” (Sorenson). The parent-child relationship is greatly appreciated, and it is natural for the family to be the top priority. The overarching love entailed in the close relationship aligns with the emphasis of family love in Interstellar. The family reunion is also relevant in South Korea’s context. South Korea has experienced 70+ years of division with North Korea after the Korean war. Korean family reunions have been conducted several times in the past, and the participants are given brief meetings which can be the last time they meet with each other. The family reunion is an extremely emotional process and is imperative to South and North Korea as the family is a core value in life.
Interstellar can be a source of U.S. nationalism or even colonialism as NASA — a U.S.-based institution — strives to resolve the global crisis. The U.S. is the primary country that is involved in ‘finding a new home’, and “there is barely any mention of the rest of the world” (Bloom). The “U.S.-centric viewpoint” of Interstellar underscores the sense of U.S. nationalism. On the other hand, South Koreans perceived differently yearning for change in society and focusing on family love. The cultural transmission was successful, and it signifies the extent of globalization’s effect on the film industry and the mechanism of film’s fluid translation. The different perceptions of each country produced varying film success. It is true that a film’s release date with the consideration of existing films as well as director and casts’ popularity are factors that contribute to a film’s success. Still, cultural translation of the film’s theme and messages — enabled by globalization — plays an influential role. The more globalized the industry is, the greater areas and chances that a successful cultural transmission can happen. Interstellar demonstrates how a film can be translated differently across borders and how a film’s features can be relevant to a culture based on the globalized film industry. Interstellar was ‘inter-successful’.
Sources:
BBC. “Korean Reunions: Families Divided by War Meet in North.” BBC News, BBC, 20 Aug. 2018, https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-45243108.
BBC. “South Korea Ferry Disaster: Sewol Remains ‘Not Human’.” BBC News, BBC, 28 Mar. 2017, https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-39415794.
Bloom, Peter. “Interstellar Is a Dangerous Fantasy of US Colonialism.” The Conversation, 18 Nov. 2014, https://theconversation.com/interstellar-is-a-dangerous-fantasy-of-us-colonialism-34327.
Cultural Atlas. “South Korean Culture.” Cultural Atlas, https://culturalatlas.sbs.com.au/south-korean-culture/south-korean-culture-family.
IMDb. “Interstellar.” IMDb, IMDb.com, https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0816692/plotsummary.
The Numbers. “Interstellar — Financial Information South Korea.” The Numbers, https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Interstellar/South-Korea#tab=international.
Sorenson, Clark W. “The Value and Meaning of the Korean Family.” Asia Society, https://asiasociety.org/education/value-and-meaning-korean-family.
