The Chonnam Tribune publishes this feature in collaboration with Chonnam National University student clubs. The club featured in this issue is MINT, whose members watch movies and participate in various movie-related activities. This club screens and discusses movies featuring diverse social issues. – Ed.
By MINT
Yaya: You just have to stroke her ego*. Just laugh at her jokes and smile.
Carl: Okay.
Yaya: Make sure to set up boundaries.
From Triangle of Sadness
*Stroke someone’s ego: This idiom means to flatter or praise someone to boost their pride or self-esteem. It is typically used when one wants to cater to another person’s vanity, usually to gain favor, maintain a positive relationship, or manipulate a situation to their advantage. The phrase implies feeding someone’s need for validation or recognition, often in a self-serving or insincere manner.
“Triangle of Sadness” is a dark comedy movie that critiques inequality. It follows Carl and Yaya, invited on a luxury cruise filled with billionaires. When the ship sinks, the survivors are stranded on an island. Wealth becomes irrelevant; survival skills become power. Confronted with nature, the power structures built on privilege disintegrate.
REVIEWS
★★★★★
Kang Seok-jin: The movie highlights social issues that undermine equality. The film often addresses these issues indirectly, with a sense of neutrality that could be perceived by some as unclear. However, it ultimately seems to succeed in demonstrating the importance of equality.
★★★★☆
Seo Hyung-won: This movie persistently explores social class and position. In my opinion, it suggests that even when social positions shift for some reasons, the underlying structure of society remains unchanged.
★★★★★
Choi Yeong-hwan: In this movie, the way people’s social positions changed as the environment and conditions shifted was very impressive. This phenomenon made me wonder, “If things change this way in the real world, would actual people’s social status also change to this extent?”
★★★★☆
Choi Eun-sung: This movie portrayed the phenomenon of wealth gaps and inequality through a romantic relationship between a man and a woman, rather than through simpler dynamics such as rich and poor in society. It gave me a fresh shock.