Cinematogrpahy
- High angle shots; they are used generally in the library; usually used to belittle a character. However not in this film; the way it looks within Whispering Corridors is like a CCTV camera - Low angle shots; usually used to give a character power. However, not used to empower characters in this situation as low angle shots are majorly used to show a character’s feelings (mood driven) - Medium shots - Close up shots; shows character’s emotions and when the character is thinking about something or has sudden realisation, not always shown through an eye line match when someone is shown looking at something; enigmatic - Shallow depth of field; used when characters are within conversation
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Character List
Mrs Park; Older teacher; killed in opening sequence Mr Oh; ‘Mad Dog’ Older teacher Jin-Ju; Dead student, killed herself, ghost June Sook; Outsider student, socially awkward Ji-Oh; Popular kid Jae-Yi; Shy girl Eun-Young New teacher, Jin-Ju’s friend Although Whispering Corridors may not be a conventional horror film, I think that it works very well in discussing the fears of South Korean dictatorship and democracy. While the film has a complex narrative, the dominant story is easily received, even by a Western audience, of basic history of Korea.
Based in a girl’s boarding school in South Korea after the military ruling was lifted, every three years a teacher is murdered by the ghost of Jin-Ju; a former student who died, who has come back to haunt the school. Settings
The film is set in a school in South Korea and at no point is it set outside of the school. The props such as books, blackboards and school equipment and the school uniforms of the students tell the audience that the film is set in a school. The school acts as a microcosm, translating to a “small world”; they school is a microcosm for South Korean society and the history of military ruling and the recent democracy. The school is home to older teachers (Mrs Park and ‘Mad Dog’) who represent military ruling and the younger teachers (Eun-Young and the sports teacher) who represent democracy. It is also home to the ghost of Jin-Ju who when leaves at the end, military ruling is supposed to go with her and her presence represents the past of military ruling lurking. Whispering Corridors: Paragraph Summarising How The Final Scenes Summarise The Film's Message7/28/2017 The final scene of Whispering Corridors represents that although South Korea has changed from military ruling to democracy, it does not mean that it is all for the best and there are still negatives to a democratic South Korea. This is shown through Jin-Ju's ghost leaving and Jung-Sook's ghost replacing her. Jin-Ju was haunting the school because she didn't get the life she wanted whilst she was in school and came back to haunt and murder the people that ruined her life (Mrs Park and 'Mad Dog’). Jin-Ju represents military rule. When she leaves, this represents the past of dictatorship leaving along with her. However, Jung-Sook's ghost returns to haunt the school, just like Jin-Ju, metaphorically showing that there are flaws in democracy.
The school within Whispering Corridors acts as a microcosm. A microcosm being a "small world" or a place where it metaphorically acts like a bigger place or representing something. In this case, the school is a microcosm of South Korea with the characters acting as metaphors. Both Mrs Park and 'Mad Dog' represent South Korea under military rule. Whereas Eun-Young represents the New Democratic South Korea.
The final shot is crucial in delivering the films message. It shows Jung-Sook breaking the fourth wall as she is the new ghost of the school, replacing Jin-Ju's ghost. This tells the audience that although things have changed, the past will always come back to haunt the school. And in terms of the school being a microcosm, it really means that although military rule has been taken over by democracy, the past will always lurk. This given the final message; how much has South Korea really changed? ![]() Character List Mrs Park (Yong-Nyeo Lee) Mr Oh "Mad Dog" (Roe-Ha Kim) Eun-Young (Mi-Yeon Lee) Jung-Soon (Ji-Hye Yun) Ji-Oh/Jin-Ju (Gyu-Ri Kim) Jae-Yi (Kang-Hee Choi) The film bases itself within a female boarding school in which teachers practice strict discipline and is home to the ghost of Jin-Ji, a student who committed suicide years previous. She then continues to haunt the school every four years, in disguise of a new student and commits brutal murders of the older generation teachers. New teacher and previous student, Eun-Young then learns the deep and dark secrets of her friend Jin-Ju and the reason behind the murders. |
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Whispering Corridors: Cinematography Notes
Whispering Corridors: Basic Notes Whispering Corridors: Review Whispering Corridors (Ki-Hyeong Park, 1998) Whispering Corridors and how it reflects and engages with recent South Korean History Whispering Corridors: Paragraph summarising how the final scenes summarise the film's message Mise-En-Scene in Whispering Corridors and discussing how some elements of Mise-En-Scene can relate to wider issues AuthorWhilst studying South Korean new wave cinema, I realised that I really enjoyed discovering new foreign films. Archives |