Stop Westernizing Eastern Films
In recent news, it was announced that the critically acclaimed South Korean zombie thriller Train to Busan (2016) is currently in the process of getting its own American remake. To be honest, I am not that thrilled about it and many fans all around the world have shared a similar discontentment across social media.
If you have not already seen the film, Train to Busan centers primarily around a coldhearted, workaholic father named Seo Seok-woo and his estranged daughter Su-an, who, along with several other passengers, have boarded a train headed to the city of Busan. After the sudden, unexpected outbreak of a zombie apocalypse, they become trapped on the high-speed train. The only way to escape this rapidly spreading epidemic is to make it to the designated quarantine zone which has been set up in Busan. During this dangerous expedition to the Safe Zone, Seok-woo gradually gains a sense of empathy and compassion, even risking his life to protect those around him once he is confronted with the possibility of losing his daughter forever.
In other circumstances, I probably would not really care about some studio remaking a film. I mean, Disney has done it dozens of times with films like Cinderella, Mulan, The Lion King, Aladdin, and many, many more. And it doesn't just end with Disney. Throughout the past few years, there has been an influx of modern adaptations of classic stories, such as Greta Gerwig’s interpretation of Little Women (2019) and Bradley Cooper’s A Star is Born (2018). These two aforementioned remakes even went on to receive much critical acclaim from both regular audiences and film critics. Not to mention, they have also earned a great number of nominations and awards in prestigious award ceremonies like the Oscars and the Golden Globes.
So, if countless remakes have received praise in the past, why is there now all this fuss about Hollywood putting an American spin on Train to Busan?
Well, it is important to consider that the aspect that makes Train to Busan so special is the fact it is based on “Korean culture, history, and class,” as one tweet best puts it. The American remake would inherently be stripping away the very backbone that makes this franchise what we know and love today. Though this new adaptation would follow the general storyline of the original film (i.e. a father and daughter trying to survive a zombie outbreak) it will no longer express the same authentic heart and soul that was displayed throughout Train to Busan.
Two elements that play a significant role in Train to Busan are the high-speed railway system that the characters are stuck on for a majority of the film, and the South Korean city, Busan, (note: it’s literally in the title!) which is the designated Safe Zone they have to reach. Unlike South Korea and many other countries, America has yet to offer the bullet train system as a main mode of public transportation. Considering these two central plot elements, a few questions come to mind. What kind of transportation will the Western remake use in place of the bullet train? Where will the new film even be located? Will the title of the film be completely changed as a result of these American alterations?
Many users on Twitter have sarcastically suggested some of their own guesses. @xueyushi asked, “What would they even call it...Subway to Manhattan???” Another person joked that the new film would be called “Train to Detroit.” Personally, I think “Uber to LA'' has a nice ring to it.
All jokes aside, if you really consider the principal role of both the bullet train and the city Busan, it does raise concerns with the logistics of the Western adaptation. Modifying these two elements to fit American culture and geography would essentially change the feel and identity of the movie, or perhaps on a more drastic level - it would change the entire movie altogether.
Furthermore, the very idea of creating an American remake of this already highly acclaimed South Korean film feels like Hollywood is white-washing yet another Asian story (Yeah, I am talking about Netflix’s disgraceful version of Deathnote (2017)). As the Twitter user @six6jiang points out, ”it's an additional reminder that American media execs don't want Asian stories EVEN if they're critically successful.” And as an Asian-American myself, I wholeheartedly agree with this sentiment. These Western remakes serve as a punch in the gut for the Asian filmmakers and writers who initially produced these spectacular foreign films. Not only is Hollywood cheaply recreating the stories made by Asian creatives, but this industry is also stealing the spotlight away from them as well.
I should also mention that I recently found out that the American adaptation is actually being directed by the Indonesian filmmaker Timo Tjahjanto. Though I was happy to see this form of Asian representation in the upcoming Western adaptation, my excitement quickly dissolved when I read the names of the main writing and producing teams. You might have already guessed it, but if not, the crew is pretty much all white, as well as being primarily male. While an Asian person may be pictured at the forefront of this Western film, it is still hard to deny the implications behind this predominantly white executive team. With this knowledge in mind, can the American remake still even be considered an Asian story if there are little to no Asian people a part of the project to begin with?
Moreover, what kind of message is this American remake sharing with its audience? Do films and their respective stories need to be in English in order to be enjoyed or even looked at with the same level of respect as American films? I would really hope that this is not the case, but the implications are still there.
And for those that argue that the subtitles are the problem that stands in the way of American audiences from enjoying an international film, here is one of my favorites quotes from the Oscar award-winning director Bong Joon-Ho himself. As the Parasite (2019) filmmaker stated in his speech at the Academy Awards, "Once you overcome the one-inch tall barrier of subtitles, you will be introduced to so many more amazing films."
Personally, I always keep the closed captioning on even if I am watching an English-speaking film or television program. Sometimes I find it a little difficult to understand what the characters are saying, so subtitles certainly come in handy when I need some clarification. Being already accustomed to this, subtitles have never really been an issue nor burden for me while I’m watching a form of entertainment on-screen.
Though this may be the case for me, I have considered potential reasons as to why many other audiences may not feel the same way about subtitles as I do. Honestly, the only reasonable conclusion I could come up with is that many American viewers are so accustomed to English-speaking entertainment (thanks to Hollywood, of course) that they have become unwilling to even bother trying to read the closed captions of a foreign film, thus making entertainment that is from anywhere but English-speaking countries undesirable to them.
Ultimately, these arguments bring me back to my main point - Hollywood needs to stop westernizing Eastern films. In other words, American remakes of foreign films are more unnecessary than needed. There are hundreds of thousands of international films that deserve so much more credit and respect than they get. So, when a Hollywood executive comes up with the “amazing idea” to recreate a Korean, French, or any other non-English language film, it takes away from the brilliance of the original motion picture. Instead, wouldn’t it make much more sense to simply enjoy and cherish the original foreign film rather than watching the bootleg version of it? I would think so.
On a closing note, here is a small handful of talented, brilliant, incredible, amazing, show-stopping, spectacular, never the same, totally unique, completely not ever been done before, unafraid to reference or not reference, put it in a blender, sh*t on it, vomit on it, eat it, give birth to it, Eastern films (yes, I certainly did include a Lady Gaga reference).
Now, introducing Madeleine’s list of Asian films for your consideration:
Parasite
The Handmaiden
Chungking Express
Minari
Your Name.
Shoplifted
Battle Royale
Memories of Murder
Perfect Blue
Train to Busan (of course I couldn’t leave this one off the list!)