Recently the movie “Minari” (미나리 – meaning water dropwort) was released in the United States. It was directed by an American film director named Lee Isaac Chung (정이삭 – Cheong Ee Sak) whose family is from South Korea. It starred a mostly all Korean or Korean-American cast and was set in the early 1980s rural America. The film focuses on a Korean American family as they move to Arkansas to start a farm in search of the American dream. “Minari” is also a film about family and what “home” means.
Despite being financed and distributed by American companies, written and directed by an American film-maker, and focusing on the experience of an immigrant family in America, it was not allowed to participate in the Golden Globes for “best picture”. Rather, the film was classified as a “foreign film” (which it won the Golden Globe for).
As a KAD, the controversy and classification around “Minari” strikes homes. Additionally, the film itself is, in some ways, the embodiment of the KAD experience. While watching it I felt a profound sense of parallels in my own life, but also the diverging path of “not being really Korean” or “not being a real immigrant” in many ways.
I don’t want to spoil anything because this movie is not yet easily available for everyone. That said, whether or not you are KAD, Asian, Korean, an immigrant, or a mixture of all or none of those things… I recommend giving the film a watch should you have the opportunity.
I wrote a little social media post about my thoughts after watching “Minari”. I’ve essentially copy/pasted it below.
“저는 최근에 “미나리”를 봤어요. 저는 그것은 잘 좋았어요. 대중 매체나 문화에서 자주 볼 수 없는 많은 미국인들의 경험을 대변한다고 느꼈어요.
저는 많은 것을 공감할 수 있었어요. 특히, 교외나 시골, 백인의 아메리카에서 아시아인이 되는 것이에요. 아이들이 왜 그렇게 생겼는지, 왜 얼굴이 납작한지를 물었을 때, 나는 마음속으로 그것을 느꼈어요. 모니카가 미화되거나 이국적이거나 객관화된 모습을 보는 것이 제게 큰 영향을 미쳤어요. 저도 똑같은 대우를 받았어요. 성인 여성으로서 머리를 쓰다듬는 등 개인으로서의 진가와 경험, 힘을 해치는 ‘너무 귀엽다’는 말을 들었어요. 그런 경험들이 미국영화로 표현되는 것을 보고 슬프고 감사했어요.
하지만, 저는 한국 가정에서 자란 경험에 공감할 수 없었어요. 문화 간 기대, 언어 장벽, 그리고 제한된 직업 선택권을 탐구하는 것은 미국에서 이민자들이 경험하는 한 측면이에요. 그런 점에서 저는 이민자의 경험에서 특권을 받아왔습니다. 저는 고난을 알고 있지만 경험해 본 적은 없어요. 저는 그 영화의 그런 면을 높이 평가했어요.
이 영화가 규범과는 다른 미국 경험을 다룬 미국 영화임에도 불구하고 “최고의 외국 영화”를 수상했다는 것은 아쉽지만 놀라운 일은 아니에요.
“미나리”본 사람 있어요? 어떻게 생각했어요?
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I recently watched “Minari.” I really liked it. I felt that it represents the experience of many Americans who are not often seen in mass media or pop culture.
I could relate to many things. Especially, what it is to be Asian in the suburbs, or rural areas, in “white” America. When the kids were asked why they looked weird and why their faces were flat, I felt it in my heart. Seeing Monica infantilized, exoticized, or otherwise objectified had a big impact on me. I have been, and am, treated the same way. As an adult woman, I’ve heard that “I’m/She’s so cute” or “a doll” or been treated in ways that minimalizes my personal value, experience, and strength. I’ve even had my head stroked by people as a grown woman. I was both saddened and grateful to see such experiences expressed in an American movie.
However, I couldn’t relate to the experience of growing up in a Korean family. Exploring cross-cultural expectations, language barriers, and limited career options is an aspect of immigrants’ experience in the United States. In that regard, I have been privileged from the experience of most immigrants. I know of the hardships, but I’ve never experienced them in the exact same way. I highly appreciated that aspect of the movie.
It’s unfortunate that this movie won the “Best Foreign Film” award even though it’s an American film about a different American experience than the norm, but it’s not surprising.
Has anyone seen “Minari”? What did you think?”
Thanks for reading! I hope you’re all staying safe and as well as possible.
사랑해요. (I love you) ❤
Learning to be 한국인 