When Tradition Meets Modernity: Representation of Women Images in the Crime Movies in China, South Korea, and Japan

The portrayal of women in crime films provides a distinctive perspective through which we can scrutinize gender roles, societal norms, and cultural narratives within East Asian societies. The Confucian culture, the prevailing ethos in China, Korea, and Japan for millennia, traditionally prescribes women as caregivers for their children and husbands, devoting themselves entirely to familial matters. However, the advent of modernization and the infiltration of Western culture have begun to contest the supremacy of Confucian values. This study analyzes six East Asian crime films and identifies three primary archetypes of female characters: the mother-like wife, the victimized daughter, and the avenging femme fetale. It further contrasts the variations in the representation on female characters across these three nations and delves into the reasons behind these disparities. The findings indicate that Mosaic patterns, marked by an interplay between tradition and modernity, are crucial in shaping and portraying the cultural identities of women in crime movies in these three Asian countries.