G for Gaksital

    G for Gaksital
 

Yes, another addition of East meet West. And today we have two masked men, V and Gaksital/Bridal Mask. 

Both pieces are live action were adapted from comics/graphic novels, and I haven’t read either of them. I have little knowledge about Vendetta comics and absolutely no knowledge about the Gaksital comics, so obviously I won’t be discussing either forms of storytelling. The focus will be on the live action production. So let’s begin. 

V for Vendetta is set in a dystopian future England imagined in the late 2020s; the world is in turmoil and warfare. The war has left much of the world destroyed while the United Kingdom remains stable under the fascist regime of a fictional party called Norsefire which has exterminated political prisoners, homosexuals and other undesirables in concentration camps and now rules the country as a police state. A mysterious Guy Fawkes masked anarchist revolutionary who calls himself "V" works to destroy the totalitarian government, profoundly affecting the people he encounters. He thus begins an elaborate, violent, and intentionally theatrical campaign to murder his former captors, bring down the government, and convince the people to rule themselves.

Bridal Mask is set in Korea in the 1930’s, when Korea was oppressed under the Japanese rule. The story follows a man named Lee Kang To, a Korean police officer commissioned by the Japanese Police to betray his own country and aid the Japanese in the annihilation of the Korean rebellion. During his mission, he encounters a notorious masked man who dons a traditional Korean bridal mask to fight for Korea's independence by assassinating Japanese key officers. As the detective's hunt for "Gaksital" (Bridal Mask) unravels, his eyes are slowly opened to the treacherous deeds he himself has committed towards his own people.

While Vendetta seems to be based on fiction, it can be seen to have been inspired by works of Orwell (1984) and what was going on then at that time. However, Bridal Mask's setting is true as Korea was occupied by Japanese rule. It sets the story in a real setting with fictional characters. As you can see both stories are set in an oppressed country and are about rising heroes. 

Round 1: The Man in the Mask

There is no way we can talk about these two without talking about the masks and symbol. Remember this is just me with my extremely limited knowledge on both cultures. I am so glad that both masks have equal amount of symbolism. For those who don’t know, V wears a Guy Fawkes Mask. Fawkes is an iconic anarchist in British History as he tried to bomb the parliament but was caught and hanged. In my opinion, by wearing the mask of Guy Fawkes, V is wearing the mask as a haunting reminder to the government’s past threat. Another connection between the two is that in the story V intends to blow up the parliament, much like Fawkes intended. Therefore, again, as if rising back and finish what was left undone. To V the mask is not of a man, Guy Fawkes, but of an idea. The government may have killed the man, that being Fawkes, but they haven’t killed the idea, fighting against the tyranny. One of my favourite quotes in the movie, and one that fits V’s mask: You can kill the man, but you can’t kill the idea.

Now, the Bridal Mask. While the Guy Fawkes Mask represents a man and his idea, the Bridal Mask, or more appropriate ‘Gaksital’ represent a culture, a country. The drama is set in a time of Korean History where Korea was under Japanese rule. At this time the Japanese rule oppressed the Koreans and their culture and traditions, forcing Koreans to change their name to Japanese names and to learn Japanese in school. So, we have a mask that represents Koreans fighting against Japanese rule. It’s perfect. It’s giving hope and belief in the Korean people, who have had their traditions and own identity snatched away. It’s seeing an iconic Korean substance conquer and tyrant oppressor. So which mask do I think held the more power... Gaksital. Not saying the Guy Fawkes Mask, which now is used in many protests, isn’t powerful. But for the same reason V wore Guy Fawkes, the Gaksital was more symbolic. It was not only an idea, but an identity of the people under a tyranny government influencing Japanese culture on them. 

While I could gush about the man behind the mask in Bridal Mask, I can’t with Vendetta, so I shall skip that part. However, I can discuss how both of them play the Man in the mask. While I must say I love the character of Kang To and his struggles, him in Gaksital was... empty. They only moments were we truly see a personality behind the mask is when he kills. The Bridal Mask changes half way, and no one notices, they even have a fake one and no one notices. This is because Bridal Mask rarely speaks, he had no personal traits and is pretty much... the mask.

However, because V is never seen without a mask, we have more personality and emotion projected. I must say that actor did an excellent job conveying emotions behind a mask... literally. V has a lot of personality in the mask. The way he speaks, moves... even the slightest tilt of the head shows character and emotion. And he carries a strange sense of... charisma and intelligence. While Bridal Mask is just a symbol, an important one, but just a symbol. 

However, because V never takes the mask off and doesn’t offer any background story to his true identity, we a left wondering is this truly V or more importantly who is V? Who is the Bridal Mask can be answered. We see Kang To’s character and growth through the drama from being the villain to being the hero. We see an origin. Kang To’s motivation and drive are clear. We also get V’s drive, with the background that is provided. What I am trying to say, but failing, is that Kang To and Bridal Mask were separate. Seriously, there were like five Kang To personalities. Kang To, similarly changed when he put the mask on, he became Bridal Mask. So was this personality that V played his personality or that of the mask, and if it wasn’t his personality, what is he? Without the mask? 

So, in relation to who was the better man behind the mask, Kang To takes the crown. However in relation to who was the better man in the mask, V is the winner.

Round 2: Weapons and Signatures

Both heroes leave a slash/message/symbol behind. V leaves a ‘V’ in a circle, which could be seen as a signature/trademark of his. This says two things 1) V [I] was here and 2) V is for Vendetta. During the first few episodes we also see Bridal Mask leave a slash behind, however this decreases as the episodes go by, therefore this wasn’t really a signature nor was it a message. It was like a secret code/warning. Like an ‘I know who you are and I’m coming for you’. The slash was ‘Ki’ the name/logo of his enemy, a secret organisation who oppressed Koreans and destroyed his family. By slashing this, his enemies grew worried, realising that someone knows about them and their wrong doings. 

The weapons the heroes use are completely different. While Bridal Mask uses the tungso, which is a Korean traditional notched, end-blown vertical bamboo flute used in Korean traditional music, V uses knives and bombs. Completely different.  So which one is better? As weaponry, yes V’s is slicker, dangerous and more awesome/deadly. But Bridal Mask’s used it so well in fighting scenes and it fit with the whole symbol of what/who is. Korea. However, V’s slash conveys both a message and awareness, while Bridal Mask’s slash was dropped half way through the drama. Therefore, both go to the one which had more meaning and symbolism. V’s signature and Bridal Mask’s tungso. 

Round 3: Evil Villains 

How could we talk about a story of masked heroes without talking about their villains? Which one was more evil? Our heroes would be nothing with the villains who drove the lead to wear the mask. 

Both villains are a form of government, however Bridal Mask is more of a secret group/organisation which has power over the government rather than the government itself. Which one is more evil? In V for Vendetta the Norsefire  party, in order to gain power, the created and realised, in their own country, virus/plague in a false flag terrorist attack. The deaths of 80,000 people and the resulting fear allowed the party to win the next election, thereafter silencing all opposition and turning the United Kingdom into a totalitarian state. As stated above, they imprisoned undesirables in concentration camps which V was also imprisoned in (Room five [V]) and where they performed biological weapons experiments on him. V was disfigured, result of burns from the fire of the camp. 

Kishokai was the secret organisation that Bridal Mask was up against. They were involved in the assassinations of the last Emperor and Empress of Joseon and the death of his father. All in all... pure evil. They had no respect to the Koreans and even their Korean members, who they would kill if suited. Obviously we saw their most disgusting traits during the arch of when the ‘comfort women’ came in. Japan was at war and needed more soldiers to be in the front line, to die first. Instead of getting their own men killed, they wanted Korean boys to line up and take the bullets before the Japanese. Back to the comfort women story line, because a lot of soldiers’ death were less to do with the war violence/injury/infections but more to do with STDs they needed women that would... how to say without vomiting in my own mouth... would be healthy and able to ‘comfort’ the soldiers. In short, they needed sex slaves. So, they put out ads and lied to young Korean girls that they were going out to the camps as nurses and would get paid well, when actually they were going to be sexual release for dozens of Japanese soldiers a day. Let’s say it was just beyond disgusting watching the Kishokai laugh and be so proud of themselves for sending out ‘war supplies’ to their soldiers. What was most disturbing was the Japanese did force thousand of women into sex slavery during the occupation. I always wondered what Shunji’s nanny feelings would be when she’d find out about her granddaughter being one of these girls. 

So which masked man did you like best? Which mask speaks to you, which man did you love? Who disgusted you? If you have any suggestion on the next East meets West, please comment!