This review may contain spoilers
Gay subtext meets historical drama
"She already knows how to make women fall for her without consciously thinking about it ..." (episode 6, 17:43)
"I never knew those two [women] could have such chemistry, they are bringing out the best in each other" (episode 6, 51:47)
The stage of "Jeong Nyeon" is no common theatre. A theatre it is where women reign supreme and assume a duality. In their duality, they are both the subject and object of romantic contemplation, the lover and the beloved, the wooer and the wooed. They circle one another, and, unawares, trace the contours of homoerotic tension that hums beneath gesture and glance
The removal of Kwon Bu Yong and the life she shared with Jeong Nyeon is a cowardly bow to societal prejudice. Nevertheless, the production is worthy of acclaim for its deliberate creation of a homosocial sphere in which same-sex longings find fertile ground
"The stars that once graced the [female] gukgeuk stage went on to continue their paths as artists, pansori singers, outdoor theatre performers, or even film actors. They have merely dispersed, not disappeared, and they will shine on in the vast night" (episode 12, 1:14:12)
That the curtain has fallen on Maeran's story need not spell the end for female gukgeuk. The genre deserves to rise from the ashes, and girls/women should have the chance to soar on its stage again
"I never knew those two [women] could have such chemistry, they are bringing out the best in each other" (episode 6, 51:47)
The stage of "Jeong Nyeon" is no common theatre. A theatre it is where women reign supreme and assume a duality. In their duality, they are both the subject and object of romantic contemplation, the lover and the beloved, the wooer and the wooed. They circle one another, and, unawares, trace the contours of homoerotic tension that hums beneath gesture and glance
The removal of Kwon Bu Yong and the life she shared with Jeong Nyeon is a cowardly bow to societal prejudice. Nevertheless, the production is worthy of acclaim for its deliberate creation of a homosocial sphere in which same-sex longings find fertile ground
"The stars that once graced the [female] gukgeuk stage went on to continue their paths as artists, pansori singers, outdoor theatre performers, or even film actors. They have merely dispersed, not disappeared, and they will shine on in the vast night" (episode 12, 1:14:12)
That the curtain has fallen on Maeran's story need not spell the end for female gukgeuk. The genre deserves to rise from the ashes, and girls/women should have the chance to soar on its stage again
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