A Film Review of Barking Dogs Never Bite (2000) and Neoliberal Subjectivity
This film review will define the underlying premise of Foucault’s definition of “neoliberal subjectivity” in Barking Dogs Never Bite (2000). In Korean culture, the effects of the job market have an important effect on the main character, Ko Yun-ju (Lee Sung-jae). Ko is an unemployed professor that seeks to control noise pollution in his neighborhood by abusing and kidnapping the neighbor’s dogs. The neo-liberal aspects of this film occur when Ko attempts to rationalize joblessness by attempting to stop the barking of dogs in his neighborhood. This form of desperation is part of the “neoliberal subjectivity” that causes the darkly comedic aspects of this film by being politically incorrect in the kidnapping of dogs. Ko’s frustration and angst at being unemployed create a nexus of “self-empowerment” due to declining Korean economy. These are important aspects of the individualism of Korean neoliberal subjectivity that reflect the anxiety and madness of Ko’s behavior throughout the film, as …show more content…
In these ways, the film depicts two girls that witness another girl attacking a bank robber on TV, which defines the economic and governmental relationship during difficult economic times. When the girl is made famous for saving the bank’s money, the two girls seek to become famous in order to alleviate their dire economic circumstances: “Because of her bravery. We would like to present her. ..But now she’s famous. Not everybody gets on TV. Get a job at the bank and catch a robber” This aspect of women’s role in Korean society provides one example of the methods of “self-empowerment” that defines the premise of neoliberal subjectivity in the comedic aspects of self-fulfillment in the market
This film review will define the underlying premise of Foucault’s definition of “neoliberal subjectivity” in Barking Dogs Never Bite (2000). In Korean culture, the effects of the job market have an important effect on the main character, Ko Yun-ju (Lee Sung-jae). Ko is an unemployed professor that seeks to control noise pollution in his neighborhood by abusing and kidnapping the neighbor’s dogs. The neo-liberal aspects of this film occur when Ko attempts to rationalize joblessness by attempting to stop the barking of dogs in his neighborhood. This form of desperation is part of the “neoliberal subjectivity” that causes the darkly comedic aspects of this film by being politically incorrect in the kidnapping of dogs. Ko’s frustration and angst at being unemployed create a nexus of “self-empowerment” due to declining Korean economy. These are important aspects of the individualism of Korean neoliberal subjectivity that reflect the anxiety and madness of Ko’s behavior throughout the film, as …show more content…
In these ways, the film depicts two girls that witness another girl attacking a bank robber on TV, which defines the economic and governmental relationship during difficult economic times. When the girl is made famous for saving the bank’s money, the two girls seek to become famous in order to alleviate their dire economic circumstances: “Because of her bravery. We would like to present her. ..But now she’s famous. Not everybody gets on TV. Get a job at the bank and catch a robber” This aspect of women’s role in Korean society provides one example of the methods of “self-empowerment” that defines the premise of neoliberal subjectivity in the comedic aspects of self-fulfillment in the market