Space, Emotion, and Subjectivity: A Study of Pseudo-Feminist Narrative in “Hidden Face”

Abstract

The 2024 South Korean thriller “Hidden Face”, adapted from the Spanish film “The Hidden Face(La Cara Oculta)” centers on the complex emotional entanglements between its two female protagonists, Xiu yan and Mei zhu secret lovers for a decade and the male protagonist, Cheng zhen. The director employs a “gender role reversal” tactic to create a superficial feminist appearance, ultimately trapping the two female leads in a pseudo-feminist dilemma characterized by “internalized female conflict” and the “instrumentalization of emotion”. Utilizing film semiotics as a primary tool, and incorporating Michel Foucault’s theory of “spatial power” and Judith Butler’s concept of “gender performativity” this paper analyzes the narrative logic of the dual female protagonists’ relationship across three dimensions: the alienation of power structures, the instrumentalization of emotional patterns, and the dependency of self-consciousness. The study finds that the film, through a cycle of “imprisonment in the secret room—power reversal—female mutual harm”, dismantles the core tenets of feminism equality, mutual support, and subjective awakening. Its essence constitutes a symbolic consumption of feminism. This research aims to critique the phenomenon of “symbolic consumption of feminism” in cinematic creation, clarify the authentic boundaries of gender equality expression, and provide a reference for genuinely practicing feminist principles within the film and television field.