|
Sun-Mi vs Young-Mi : “Good Girl” vs “Bad Girl”?Images except those attributed otherwise are copyright 2004 YesAsia.com Inc.
|
|||
|
In All About Eve, the competition between the ‘good girl’ heroine (aka ‘face’) Sun-Mi and her rival, ‘bad girl’ villain (aka ‘heel’) Young-Mi begins in Episode 1 and continues almost to the end. For the most part, these contenders limit their aggression to verbal duels and deadly eye contact (if stares could kill), but when tempers rise and push comes to shove, the gloves come off, and the conflict escalates to physical contact.
True to her ‘face’ role, Sun-Mi plays by the rules, is popular with her colleagues and fans, and following the typical storyline, loses the initial rounds to the dirty tricks of her opponent, rallying only in the latter rounds to even the score. Like a traditional ‘heel’, Young-Mi is portrayed as immoral and cheats on the rules of the match to gain her advantage. But in contrast to the usual storyline, in AAE the ‘bad’ girl receives most of the punishment and self-inflicts her final knockout, while the ‘good girl’ and her tag-team instigate the majority of the violence, as the scenes below depict.
The role-reversal challenges any simplistic premise of a purely ‘good’ heroine and completely ‘bad’ villain in this story, and raises some interesting questions. Is Sun-Mi’s violence a justifiable response of righteous indignation, much as her ‘accidental’ swearing on live TV and ‘cold wars’ with Hyung-Chul are commonly interpreted; immature, the immature reaction of a brat spoilt by her privileged upbringing; or symptomatic of deeper psychological issues? Is Young-Mi a scheming interloper bent on taking what she wants at all costs, or a self-defeating victim of abandonment, abuse, and societal class discrimination? Could our vulnerable villain receive redemption by any other means than a near-death experience? Should our volatile heroine enroll in pre-marital counseling for anger management and dispute resolution?
In the end, amnesia conveniently absolves Young-Mi from having to confront her internal demons, and a new-found dedication to charitable service atoning for her formerly evil ways portends a future blissful life for the ‘bad girl’ gone good. On the other hand, the impending marriage between Sun-Mi and Hyung-Chul may be the catalyst of just the opposite for the ‘good girl’ of the story. Will the traditional fairy tale summation ‘and they lived happily ever after’ describe their future, or have the wedding bells signaled the start of a new round of physical altercations?
|
|||
|
Episode 01
A scene from Young-Mi’s memory recalls the violence she faced growing up with an alcoholic father after being abandoned by her mother.
|
|
||
|
Episode 02
After stalking her all day, Bae In-Soo, Young-Mi’s former boyfriend, slaps her for trying to avoid him.
|
|
|
|
|
Episode 04
Young-Mi shoves a customer to the ground after he propositions her outside Bae In-Soo’s club. The man retaliates by slapping Young-Mi while his friends watch.
|
|
|
|
|
Episode 05
After being humiliated by Sun-Mi’s resounding win in the University Broadcasting Festival competition, Young-Mi calls Sun-Mi shameless for denigrating herself in her radio spot. When Sun-Mi calls Young-Mi even more shameless for using her pitiful situation to win Woo-Jin’s affection, Young-Mi loses her temper and strikes out in anger, but Sun-Mi catches her arm in time to stop the intended slap.
|
|
|
|
|
Episode 05
After Sun-Mi discovers that acetone was added to her skin moisturizer just before she is to emcee the Broadcasting Festival, she accuses Young-Mi of doing the dastardly deed.
Taunted to prove her accusation, a frustrated Sun-Mi lashes out against Young-Mi, slapping her. Young-Mi returns in kind, and Sun-Mi delivers another slap. From there, the fight escalates to a hair pulling wrestling match on the floor, until Woo-Jin jumps in to separate the combatants and end the fight. |
|||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Episode 05
After Young-Mi tricks Sun-Mi into leaving the Festival early and takes her place as emcee for the second-half, Sun-Mi goes ballistic, accusing Young-Mi of deliberately lying. But instead of physically attacking Young-Mi in front of her own family and friends, Sun-Mi launches a verbal assault, while limiting her violence to trashing the congratulatory bouquet.
|
|
||
|
Episode 05
Several days after the Festival, Young-Mi plans to celebrate her birthday with Woo-Jin, but his mother keeps him at work. When Young-Mi comes to the store, an argument ensues and she threatens to take Woo-Jin away from his mother. Ms. Song puts Young-Mi in her place with a sound slap to the face.
|
|
|
|
|
Episode 09
Once Sun-Mi’s close relationship with Director Yoon is disclosed, some of her colleagues show their resentment by excising her name from the list of program announcers. In an premeditated attempt to interfere in Hyung-Chul's relationship with Sun-Mi (see the next scene), Young-Mi disingenuously slaps the face of the main perpetrator!
|
|
|
|
|
Episode 09
Just minutes after Young-Mi 'defends' Sun-Mi in the Announcer's Office, she delivers the offending schedule to Hyung-Chul. Is she hoping to make him feel guilty and so back off his relationship with Sun-Mi? However, Sun-Mi barges in and shoves Young-Mi away, hard enough that she knocks her rival to the floor, and grabs the schedule — not caring that this is right in front of the boss! Although the physical assault is definitely grounds for disciplinary action, Sun-Mi is let off with a just a verbal reprimand from Hyung-Chul. Is he making an allowance because he thinks she is acting out-of-character, or does he just view such catfighting as normal, immature, female behavior?
|
|
||
|
Episode 13
After being locked out of Young-Mi’s apartment, Woo-Jin argues with Young-Mi. When she tells him she never loved him, like a chip off the proverbial block, he responds like his mother, delivering a sound slap to her face.
|
|
|
|
|
Episode 14
Realizing that Sun-Mi is behind Hyung-Chul’s decision to send her and Woo-Jin on a trip to England, Young-Mi tosses a cup of water into Sun-Mi’s face. While not exactly a ‘hit’, it creatively serves the same purpose while leaving no tell-tale marks, effectively skirting the usual corporate ‘no-fighting’ policies in place at most companies.
|
|
||
|
Episode 14
When Woo-Jin goes AWOL after his trip to England, Sun-Mi confronts Young-Mi in the MBS car parking structure. Abandoning decorum, she catches unsuspecting Young-Mi with a slap to the face. Later, when Sun-Mi attempts another slap, an alert Young-Mi catches her arm in time. If this attack was recorded by an MBS CCTV security camera, would Hyung-Chul have to discipline or terminate Sun-Mi for committing physical assault on company property?
|
|
|
|
|
Episode 14
Later that same day, Woo-Jin’s mother invades Young-Mi’s apartment and attacks her for causing her son’s grief. In this one-sided fight, Mrs. Song slaps a passive Young-Mi three times, and yanks out a lock or two of Young-Mi’s hair for good measure, before Mr. Jin belatedly arrives and pulls her away.
|
|
||
|
Episode 19
After Woo-Jin dies, Sun-Mi visits Young-Mi with a box of his personal things from Ms. Song. Young-Mi refuses to accept the responsibility this implies, which Sun-Mi takes as an insult to the deceased. She erupts with her usual angry response and dispenses a final stinging slap to Young-Mi’s left cheek.
|
|
|
|
|
Episode 19
Despondent over Woo-Jin’s death, Young-Mi combines sleeping pills and deep water in an attempt to end her pain. But instead this act becomes a baptism inaugurating her into a new life without the baggage of the past to haunt her.
|
|
||
