Juror 8: Remaking and Cultural Appropriation of the Western Judicial Traditions

Film remaking was one of the industry's leading practices for decades but became even more vivid recently. The researchers developed multiple directions of understanding the remaking: from the industry's perspective to the critical evaluation of the remaking itself. Also, remaking is seen mainly through the scope of a Hollywood practice of expanding its global influence or capitalizing on previously successful trademarks. Little attention was paid to the opposite processes of how local film industries remake prominent Hollywood pictures. Given the latest geopolitical developments, culture and context will become increasingly important. The awareness of such remaking practices may be beneficial for scholars, artists and production companies.

The current presentation examines the South Korean remake (Juror 8, 2019) of the classical U.S. court drama 12 Angry Men (1957) and delivers its critical and formal analysis accentuating contextual and cultural specifics. I argue that some of these specifics are crucial to distinguish South Korean remakes from the source film and other remakes. Juror 8 maintains fidelity to the source but expands its meanings through local adjustments based on social and gender dynamics combining South Korean cinematic traditions. These traditions aim to fit the remake into contemporary form for the modern audience while presenting multiple themes related to the novel judicial tradition adopting the narrative elements from the classic Hollywood cinema. Such a comprehensive approach failed to prove an overall success. However, it reflected the South Korean cinematic strategies of not only expanding into Hollywood through streaming platforms but also using its creative products for remaking processes. To provide enough comparative background, the presentation brings additional comparative examples from the Japanese (Gentle 12, 1991) and the Chinese remake (12 Citizens, 2014).

This presentation is part of broader research about transnational remaking practices in East Asia, mainly in China, Japan and South Korea, their cultural specifics and whether transnational remakes can be used to create contextually-grounded taxonomy or broadened universe based on a particular franchise. The paper also aims to understand whether transnational remakes contribute to building the filmic universe based on the particular trademark and how they affect contextual value and potential outcomes.