米国における朝鮮戦争像の形成と変遷 : 映画『グラン・トリノ』(2008)を巡って

概要

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The divided Korean Peninsula still symbolizes the Cold War system in Korea. However, in the US, the Korean War has been treated as a “forgotten war”. Hollywood ignored Korean War images for a long time. This paper discusses collective memories of the Korean War in the U.S. through an analysis of Gran Torino (2008). Previous studies treat Gran Torino as a stereotypical “Hollywood melodrama” film representation of the Cold War era. However, this Post-Cold-War-era film represents shifting attitude toward U.S. involvement in Korea. The plot depicts a US soldier resorting to violence in the face of conflict. According to Tessa Morris-Suzuki, it is “the first Hollywood blockbuster to acknowledge the dark side of the actions of US troops in the Korean War.” First, I review how Cold-War-era films representing Korean War images. Next, I research the manner in which each character's gender and ethnicity create images of the war. The main character, Walt Kowalski, an old Polish Korean War veteran, maintains his masculine image by protecting his Asian “neighbors.” Finally, the plot ingeniously depicts American “justification” for war in Korea using both the “interracial friendship” between American and Asian males and a piteous Asian woman as a victim of “inner-racial” violence.