An old mind in a young body: womanhood between oppression and expression in Miss Granny

Abstract

ABSTRACT In a neoliberal society that sanctifies youth, the devaluation that accompanies old age among women joins hands with gendered power relations to produce intersectional oppression. Accordingly, the available possibilities for challenging this intersection in fantasy films carry a particular interest from a feminist perspective. This qualitative study examines the intersection of gender and age through the analysis of Dong-hyuk’s comic fantasy Miss Granny, which depicts the dramatic changes in the life of its heroine, who magically transforms from a woman in her seventies into a young woman in her twenties. The focal point of the study lies in the question of how aspects of oppression and expression are articulated at the distinct time periods and chronological age in which the film’s heroine is depicted. The findings suggest that the film undermines the existing social structures by placing an old woman at its center, allowing the audience to get to know and like her. The miraculous alternation between old and young demonstrates that women in the neoliberal present may have more opportunities to express themselves; however, their struggle for agency continues, as the values of hyper-individualism clash with relational values, preventing them from actualizing themselves as complete human beings.