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The Man Standing Next
Movie

The Man Standing Next

2020 • Unknown

Woke Score
1
out of 10

Plot

When the investigation of 'Koreagate' takes place, Park Yong-gak, a former KCIA director who knows everything about the government's operations, heads to the United States in exile.

Overall Series Review

The Man Standing Next is a tense South Korean historical political thriller that dramatizes the 40 days leading up to the real-life 1979 assassination of President Park Chung-hee by his own intelligence chief. The narrative is a high-stakes, meticulously detailed account of political maneuverings, paranoia, and betrayal among the highest echelons of the authoritarian government. The plot is focused entirely on the power struggle between the President, the KCIA Director, and the Chief Bodyguard. It is a historical and political drama about the dynamics of absolute power and the desperate struggle for a change in national leadership.

Categorical Breakdown

Identity Politics1/10

The story is a historical political thriller where the primary conflict is based on ideology, loyalty, and a power struggle between high-ranking male Korean government and intelligence officials. Character is judged purely by their political competency, ambition, and moral conviction within the historical context. There is no reliance on intersectional characteristics, vilification of 'whiteness' (the non-Korean characters are American political figures), or forced diversity.

Oikophobia2/10

The film's critique is focused on the corruption and authoritarian brutality of the specific Yushin political regime and its leadership, which is an internal political criticism of a moment in the nation's history. The protagonist's ultimate motivation is framed by some as a patriotic duty to save the nation from dictatorship and restore democracy, which is an expression of loyalty to the greater concept of the South Korean nation, not civilizational self-hatred.

Feminism1/10

The core cast consists almost entirely of powerful male government and intelligence figures. Female characters are extremely peripheral, existing primarily in the historical context as companions at the President's private dinner parties. There is a complete absence of 'Girl Boss' or 'Mary Sue' tropes, and the narrative has no anti-natal or anti-family messaging.

LGBTQ+1/10

The narrative is a straight historical and political drama with an espionage focus. The themes are strictly power, political intrigue, and loyalty among male officials. There is no presence of alternative sexual identity themes, gender ideology, or deconstruction of the nuclear family.

Anti-Theism1/10

The film's central conflict is entirely political, historical, and psychological. The morality explored revolves around the ethics of assassination and political violence versus authoritarian oppression. The narrative does not contain any hostility toward religion, nor are there any religious characters depicted as villains or bigots. The morality is based on an objective political goal (democracy) versus a cynical abuse of power.