Gidget: Themes of Rebellion and Conformity

 

Surfing culture is known for its community, indulgence in play and connection with nature. However, post-WWII mainstream American culture focused on individual career goals, wealth, and consumerism. Surfing provided a refuge from that rapidly growing and profit-driven corporate society. The 1957 book and 1959 movie Gidget “captured the familiar, competing visions of surfing – as [a] healthy outdoor sport or the domain of dropout delinquents – and forced surfers to struggle with their own self-image as rebels versus the commercial possibilities in postwar America” (Neushul and Westwick 101). The two mediums contrasted in the type of acceptance they extended towards surf culture. The book Gidget describes surfing as a viable alternative lifestyle to postwar American culture, whereas its movie adaptation recasts surfing to conform with mainstream values.

Surfing is a way of life, inspired by the ancient Hawaiians, that prioritizes well-being over profit. Kahoona surfs full-time and primarily sustains himself by living off the ocean. The lifestyles allowed him the freedom to maximize his leisure time and fill it with surfing. In the book Kahoona has every plan to keep living as a “surf-bum” for the rest of his life. His seasonal part-time crew seem to be much more reliant on Gidget for the grocery-store-bought food she brings them. Although Kahoona is not quite fully independent either since he relies on his crew, primarily Moondoggie, for financial sponsorships to travel and perhaps to buy coffee.

In the sea of dominant American culture, it’s difficult for an island of alternative culture to survive without taking a fish from time to time. So, it was expected that surfers who “mocked the culture of conformity and consumerism [sic] couldn’t completely escape it…. The only reason [surfers could chase the endless summer] was because society was affluent enough to support them” (Neushul and Westwick 123). When Gidget learned from Lord Gallo, one of Kahoona’s surf crew, how Kahoona ate and how he was subsidized, she still “ventured one more conventional question: ‘What’s a guy like him going to do when he gets older’” (Kohner 42)? The audience senses that Gidget, despite hearing of Kahoona’s relative self-sufficiency, is still worried about whether Kahoona had, or would have, a job. Lord Gallo quotes the Kahoona in response: “’[T]he only way to get economic independence is to be independent of economics. The more money you make, the less independent you are of it’” (Kohner 42). Gidget was still filled with questions, but she seemed to accept Kahoona’s lifestyle rather than racking her brain for how he ought to change it.

Work culture was prioritized in American culture so Hollywood took the liberty to change the characters for surfing to be perceived in a way that would uphold the conformist mainstream system. In the movie Gidget’s questioning ends up getting under Kahoona’s skin and convincing him to pursue a job at the end of the summer. Gidget talks to Kahoona directly about his endless summer way of life. She tells him, “You’re so self-sufficient. You don’t need anybody” (Wendkos 53:13). Contrary to the book, there is an implication that “self-sufficiency” and community are mutually exclusive. In the book, Kahoona still pursues his surfing travels independently, and a lot of it he couldn’t do without his own skill, but there is still an understanding that his lifestyle would not be possible without his community and their sponsorships.

Gidget continues, “I mean you have to be [different] to be able to turn your back on the way everybody else lives. Well, I mean everybody in life is working for some sort of a goal, or well, I mean, you don’t have a goal. Oh Kahoona, I’m sorry” (53:41). Gidget’s comment indicates that it’s not so great to be different. It makes more sense to be like everybody else who is working towards a goal, usually success in a profit-driven career, that conforms to society’s accepted idea of success. Gidget understands that Kahoona wanted a free life outside of all the rules and regulations, but she then asks, “Only what if you could go back to that time in your life… and you could choose all over again?” (Wendkos 54:28). The question draws a thoughtful and nearly regretful look from Kahoona. At the end of the movie, the audience sees how that conversation influenced him.

Gidget and Moondoggie discover Kahoona has become a pilot, an employee, for the Trans-State Airlines. Kahoona, caught trying to cover it up, says, “Okay, so you know....” and addressing Gidget, “You start a guy like me thinking, it’s fatal” (Wendkos 1:32:22). The movie is defining “a guy like me” as a jobless surf-bum whose rebellious lifestyle will never bring as much fulfillment as working a steady job for a corporation. And when a guy like that starts thinking it’s fatal because they realize their desire to rebel against society is only short term.

Often when one joins surfing, they also join a community. It’s both safer and more fun to be out surfing with those of one’s fellow surf-crew. In general, having a trusted community improves one’s quality of life. The book illustrates the value of community primarily through the relationship between Kahoona and Moondoggie. Moondoggie, and the rest of the crew, generally treat Kahoona with respect and reverence. Kahoona typically reciprocates that respect and maintains his mentor-like disposition. There is a scene in both the book and the movie where Moondoggie and Kahoona get into a fight over Gidget. In the book, there is not much depth to it and no hurtful words are exchanged. In scenes prior to this one Kahoona respects, and even seems supportive of, Moondoggie’s and Gidget’s romantic interest in each other. Moondoggie lashed out because he jumped to conclusions after realizing Gidget had stayed the night in Kahoona’s shack and Kahoona started whistling. Gidget’s excitement about the drama was enough to break them up as she ran out into the surf, and they yelled after her (Kohner 146-148).

The movie’s rendition of the fight is set up to be more confrontational and undermine Kahoona’s and Moondoggie’s relationship. It starts with Kahoona agreeing to help Gidget deceive Moondoggie to make him jealous, which would be out of character of the book’s Kahoona. Then when Moondoggie does eventually find out Gidget is with Kahoona at his beach shack, Kahoona has no qualms against keeping up the farce and deliberately provoking Moondoggie, “Personally, I find [Gidget] delightful company and a very good sport” (Wendkos 1:22:10). Moondoggie predictably punches Kahoona after that. Kahoona provokes Moondoggie some more as he kicks him out. Kahoona’s final comment before slamming the door is fracturing, “You know, underneath it all, I always did think you were a little bit of a square. [sic] Either a man’s got a talent for a certain way of life, or he hasn’t. You never really did belong” (Wendkos 1:23:40).

To tell someone that they don’t belong destroys community. It’s even more cutting when a mentor tells this to their disciple. Not much effort needed to be taken to restore the relationship because they soon split up anyways. Kahoona got a job and Moondoggie went off to university. Community is shown to be transient; rugged individualism is reliable.

For surf-bums and mainstream sports enthusiasts surfing was a leisure activity but they experienced it differently. The nature of surfing requires that surfers be in tune with the weather and the ocean. Respect for your environment keeps you safe and fills you with gratitude. In return for the respect surf-bums gave the ocean, they were able to enthrall themselves with the raw joy of surfing the waves and, for the true “full-timers,” the sustenance from beneath them. 

Unfortunately, when surfing was initially adopted by white America there was a loss of respect for the ocean. Surfers like Jack London still learned how to “follow the rules” but only to “dominate” the waves. Their joy was of conquest, not of oneness, love, and play. They too may have felt the consequences of their actions if they disrespected the ocean, but their response would be akin to “breaking” horses – they would learn to follow just enough rules to not get knocked out and then utilize their tricks to get what they wanted. It’s a different mindset that causes the same superficial results but does not entertain the same feelings of “raw joy” one might experience if they approached the ocean (or the horse) with true patience, respect, and care. Mainstream American culture subscribed more towards the “domination of nature” view. The goal to accumulate the highest benefits as fast as possible forgoes patience and, therefore, respect. The ecosystem is not hierarchical, all things in nature are dependent on each other, and rebellious surf culture provides an avenue to reconnect with that truth.

 

Works Cited

Kohner, Frederick. Gidget. Berkley Books, 2001.

Neushul, Peter, and Peter J. Westwick. The World in the Curl: An Unconventional History of Surfing. Crown Publishers, 2013.

Wendkos, Paul, director. Gidget. 1959. Crackle, https://www.crackle.com/watch/6578.

Surfing in Korea: An Introduction

 

Korea has a long history, three of its borders covered in coastline and an island, yet surfing is not thought to have been popularized there until the early 2000s – about 50 years after the U.S. and Australian surf booms in the 1950s. Korea is not known for its massive breaks, perhaps because it is tucked between Japan and China, the two buffering its breaks. The lack of big, rolling, and consistent waves in Korea may have kept surfing from entering popular culture sooner. Today, the city of Yangyang in the Gangwon province has recently emerged as South Korea’s surfing mecca. Busan, Pohang, and Jeju Island are also considered top surfing spots in the country, but Yangyang is closest to Seoul where half (50.2% as of 2020) of South Korea’s population resides (McGill, Kim 7). Therefore, Yangyang is relatively more convenient for Seoulites to visit and surf there often. The adoption of surfing in Korea today resembles the later part of the surf boom in the United States.

Some people who visit Yangyang to surf end up moving there. For one of the episodes of the Korean documentary series, At Work Today (2021), the hosts interview one of the surfers who relocated to Yangyang, Mun Lee Na. Mun, the first female Korean national longboard surfer as of 2021, and the first Asian to place top three at the Gliding Barnacles surf competition held in 2019, introduces the hosts to surfing. Mun explains that she is a longboard surfer. Longboarding is better suited for the gentle waves common in Korea. She also explains that how long you can stay on one wave is important. The messaging is reminiscent of the long “perfect wave” Robert August and Mike Hynson rode on longboards off of Cape St. Francis in South Africa in Endless Summer. 

Mun Lee Na expresses her rebellion from conformity in her pursuits to become a surfer and to continue surfing. In South Korea, the work culture is demanding, ranking above the US, Canada, and Japan in hours worked per year, and expectations for financial success are high (OECD). There is also pressure for individuals to meet specific beauty standards in Korea, pale skin being the most basic and “necessary” beauty trait. The fact that Mun abandons efforts to conform to these critical societal expectations is, therefore, especially deviant. She said used to live in the city and have pale skin and now she lives in Yangyang, tan and fully immersed in the surfing lifestyle. Shifting so dramatically from conformity to a state of rebellion, it is understandable that Mun considers surfing to be a turning point in her life. Mun is so in love with surfing that she cannot imagine a day without it. Mun says, “[Surfing] is currently my everything” (Jung 14:10). This is consistent with the attitude of American surfers who have embraced the surfing culture. Mun wants to continue surfing well into her eighties and become that “cool grandma” who surfs.

Although most surfing spots in Korea were not previously populated by native surfers, people who migrate to those areas to surf are not easily accepted by the locals. The locals of the rural seaside towns are generally just as, if not more so, conformist to the mainstream Korean culture as those in other parts of the country. At popular surfing spots, many native locals, often elderly, considered “the inbound migration of ‘young’ male surfers…, with easily noticeable nonconforming appearances (long hair, extremely tanned, and tattooed), [to be] strange and eccentric…” (Kim 8). The elderly villagers viewed these surfers to be “deviants or potential losers who did nothing worthwhile in cities and ended up moving to rural villages.” These rural people perceived surfing as “‘indolent, wasteful, selfish, and [an] institutionally unanchored pastime’” (Kim 9). Surfers are often non-conformist, but in order for these Korean surfers to become established local surfers they must become accepted by the local community.  Surfers engaged in community service such as, “environmental preservation, safety rescue activities, and educational activities” in order for them to be perceived well and accepted (Kim 11). It’s understood that local acceptance is likely to take 5-20 years (Kim 9). 

The negative attitudes most Koreans have of surfers is similarly reflected in the depiction of surfers in the books Gidget (1957) and Barbarian Days (2015). Whether or not surfing is ultimately accepted as a worthy lifestyle, surfing is seen as a form of rebellion from mainstream society. The average “surf bum” is perceived as caring about nothing but themselves and the waves. Surf bums often reject superficial societal standards out of indifference or disgust. No one can tell them what they “should” be doing because there is no other life that seems more rewarding; the world around them is either so insignificant and/or so perverse in comparison. In Gidget, Kahoona was happy just chasing the waves around the world even if it meant living frugally and being dependent on his friends’ sponsorships. This lifestyle would never be considered “successful” by the average American (or Korean). In Barbarian Days, William Finnegan dropped out of college to focus on surfing and traveling, spending four years abroad to chase the waves. Although Mun Lee Na does not travel the world in pursuit of waves and seems rather content in Yangyang, she similarly departs from the high expectations of her culture to pursue a surfing-focused lifestyle. Largely she is understood and respected by the surfing community. Mun also garners respect from the typical Korean because of her title as a national athlete, which is substantiated by the interview hosts’ intrigue and awe.   

Surfing is integral to Mun Lee Na’s daily life, but in order to pay for her surf competitions and living expenses she still has to work a traditional job. Even as a Korean national surfer her income is unstable. She now runs a surf shop in Yangyang to pay for competitions. However, she notes that surfing became something she could only squeeze in in the mornings. Finding the perfect “work-surf” balance is challenging. Different surfers find different solutions to the problem. Some surfers go pro, and some choose more flexible careers. William Finnegan, author of Barbarian Days, found balance in writing for his day job and surfing. Mun similarly has a day job and surfs not only for fun, but to compete. Mun would be happy to do away with more of her responsibilities to surf more often if she didn’t feel it would jeopardize her ability to take care of herself and go to surf competitions. Mun says when she sees a nice wave during her surfing classes, she gets tempted to ditch her class and go surf it. 

Twenty years after Korea’s “surf boom,” popular media started to feature surfing in their films and dramas (Kim 1). Mun’s presence on At Work Today is indicative of surfing’s rising popularity and acceptance. The host mentions how surfing is popular now, and some Korean celebrities have been seen surfing. Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha (2021) and Lovestruck in the City (2020) are popular Korean dramas that include or emphasize surfing in the plot. In the last few years, surfing in Korea is breaking through into popular culture similar to how the book (1957) and movie (1959) Gidget contributed to the breakthrough of surfing into American popular culture. John Engle would classify these surf films and dramas as “fictional studio surfing features” (Engle 208). Korean dramas and Gidget were not directed towards a surfing audience. Instead, surfing is presented as something someone does when they leave the hustle and bustle of the city, whether for vacation or to start a new life. 

There are some other relatively popular Korean surf films and dramas that may be considered as entertainment for the surfer as well as the general non-surfing audience such as, Jukdo Surfing Diary (2020), The Boy from Nowhere (2020), and the variety show Surfing House (2019). Each of these films and shows seem to feature surfing as the central focus rather than the context for a predictable romantic plot. When surfing is more realistically portrayed in films and shows, the cinematic language more effectively communicates the visceral feelings associated with the surfer and the waves. Without watching beyond the trailers of these films and shows it is hard to say how much they are directed at the surfing audience rather than the general non-surfing audience. The trailers indicate that they are closer to Blue Crush, a surf film that can be enjoyed by both surfers and non-surfers alike. They are not quite like Endless Summer, a surf film intended for surfers; the main character is the “perfect wave,” and it treats surfing “like it’s all that matters in the world” (Engle 209).  

Korea’s adoption of surfing is likely to be similar in its aspects of rebellion, work-surf balance, and presence in popular culture to that of the United States. However, Korea’s geography and beginnings of their surf history currently taking place may give rise to interesting uniquely Korean surf culture developments in the future. There is certainly a lot more to be understood about Korean surf culture between the details of its origins to the way Koreans may use surfing as a platform for environmental and social activism. In the counterculture there is a budding push for the adoption of more sustainable practices and the indiscriminate use of casual and equal language. Mun provided a key insight into the world of Korean surfing, but her interview is only the tip of the iceberg. 

 

 

Works Cited

Brown, Bruce, director. Endless Summer. Bruce Brown, 1966.

Engle, John. Surfing in the Movies: A Critical History. McFarland, Incorporated, Publishers, 2015.

Finnegan, William. Barbarian Days: A Surfing Life. Penguin Publishing Group, 2016.

  Kim, Hanbeom, and Sun-Yong Kwon. “Working for a Sustainable Surfing Community: Becoming a Local Surfer at a New Home Destination.” Sustainability (Basel, Switzerland), vol. 12, no. 17, MDPI AG, 2020, p. 6865–, https://doi.org/10.3390/su12176865.

Kohner, Frederick. Gidget. Berkley Books, 2001.

Jung, Da Woon, creator. At Work Today. 2021. Kocowa, https://www.kocowa.com/en_us/season/27798036/at-work-today.

McGill, Bobby. “Riding the Korean Wave - Surfing Culture in Korea.” Branding in Asia Magazine, 21 September 2015, https://www.brandinginasia.com/riding-the-korean-wave-surfing-culture-in-korea/. Accessed 15 May 2022.

OCED. “Employment - Hours worked.” OECD Data, https://data.oecd.org/emp/hours-worked.htm. Accessed 15 May 2022.

Descartes on Freedom and Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha

Part 1 - Relevant Part of the Creative Work

Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha Episode 1 Summary

I will be discussing the first episode of the K-drama titled Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha (available on Netflix). Specifically, I will be following the female lead’s, Yoon Hye-jin’s, storyline.

In Seoul, Yoon Hye-jin is returning to her apartment after a run and meets an older woman in the apartment building’s elevator who is headed up to the same floor. The older woman is very friendly, but clearly Hye-jin is trying to politely disengage. When Hye-jin gets to her apartment they go their separate ways and Hye-jin gets ready for work. She works as a dentist. Here, she meets the older woman again, this time as her patient. At the end of the appointment the older woman is happy because Hye-jin gave her helpful and inexpensive treatment. As Yeon-ok leaves Hye-jin smiles suggesting that she is now more comfortable with Yeon-ok.

Hye-jin notices a magazine cover with the beautiful and expensive shoes that she has been waiting to buy on sale.

Hye-jin’s boss, Dr. Lee, is unhappy that Hye-jin only recommended that her new patient, now introduced as Kim Yeon-ok, get one implant and three cavity treatments. Dr. Lee would prefer Hye-jin to recommend that Yeon-ok replace all her teeth with implants because she will have to replace them all eventually. Hye-jin wanted to preserve as much of Yeon-ok’s teeth as possible. Hye-jin expresses that is not happy that Dr. Lee is disrespecting her expertise especially when the patient is not Dr. Lee’s but her own.

The next day Hye-jin learns Dr. Lee took over responsibilities for Hye-jin’s patient, Yeon-ok. Offended, Hye-jin enters Dr. Lee’s office without knocking to require that her patient be returned to her. Hye-jin admits that she does not approve of Dr. Lee’s history of overtreating patients and use of non-insured materials to rip them off. Dr. Lee tries to shut her down by telling her to worry about where her paycheck comes from. But Hye-jin that she is the dentist with the most patients at the clinic and is likely the one funding it. She disrespects Dr. Lee as a doctor because she has proven to be a hypocrite after taking the Hippocratic Oath at the beginning of her career. Hye-jin throws her lab coat on the floor and walks out.

At dinner with her friend, she explains that she quit and introduced her patient, Yeon-ok, to another clinic. Her friend remarks that it was unlike Hye-jin to care about Yeon-ok. She also points out that Hye-jin bought the expensive shoes she wanted as soon as she quit. They then drink wine to get wasted.

The next day, Hye-jin receives furious texts from Dr. Lee, and she remembers that she wrote a drunken exposé about Dr. Lee the previous night. Two weeks of job searching later, she still cannot find a clinic that will take her on. She and her friend both think it is because Dr. Lee is spreading rumors.

Hye-jin is reminded that today, a Tuesday, is her late mother’s birthday. She visits the seaside town Gongjin in her mother’s honor. Hye-jin, as a child, her mother, who was already quite sick at the time, and her father all visited the beach there before Hye-jin’s mother passed away.

Hye-jin arrives in Gongjin wearing her new shoes. She then goes to the beach, and takes off her shoes, placing them on the sand. (Foreshadowing: Hong Du-shik is in the water.) She then takes a walk down the beach, lost in thought, remembering her mother. Returning to the spot where she was before, she realizes that the tide came up and her shoes are gone. A surfer, Hong Du-shik, returns one shoe to her. She asks him for help in finding the other one because she has a fear of water. He tells her that he has only returned it to her because it floated onto his board and scared him while he was in the water. But now that she does not have shoes and will have to walk barefoot, she doesn’t know what to do. Du-shik takes some pity on her throws her his rubber shoes, marked Toilet Use Hwa-jeong Raw Fish Restaurant. Hye-jin reluctantly uses them.

As she walks back to her car, she stops to help two children. One of the children has had one of his teeth knocked out. There is no nearby dental clinic so she treats him the best she can and takes him home. The young boy happens to be the son of the Hwa-jeong Raw Fish Restaurant owner. New to town, the owner is curious how Hye-jin acquired the shoes. Hye-jin is invited inside, where she gives the owner her business card, and is offered food. She orders seaweed soup to celebrate her mother’s birthday. The restaurant owner says, “Gongjin Harbor feels like my late mother’s embrace to me. I love everything about Gongjin, except that there’s no dental clinic. That’s the only downside.” The owner offers to help Hye-jin find a good location to start a clinic if she is interested.

Hye-jin leaves the restaurant and notices that it is much cheaper to lease space in Gongjin than in Seoul. She could afford to start a clinic in Gongjin. But she expresses reservations because she is not keen on opening a business in the countryside. Finally, she makes it back to her car and realizes it won’t start. Worse yet, the cell towers are down for the day, so she can’t make calls or pay for things, and, later, she notices that her tire is flat. She is forced to spend the night in Gongjin. She stays in a sauna and goes to the roof after being scared by a cricket. Looking over the ocean she wishes her mother a happy birthday.

When the cell towers are repaired, she receives a call from her previous patient, Kim Yeon-ok, who introduces herself as Hye-jin’s neighbor, thanking Hye-jin for the treatment that wasn’t unnecessarily expensive. Yeon-ok’s daughter paid for the treatment and so she was grateful that she didn’t have to spend too much of her daughter’s money.  

As Hye-jin gets her car repaired, the two children she stopped to help before come by and thank her for her help and invite her to visit Gongjin again.

After Hye-jin’s car has been repaired, she starts driving back to Seoul and receives a call from her previous boss, Dr. Lee. Hye-jin realizes her job-search situation is worse than she thought. The problem is not Dr. Lee sabotaging her, but rather, as Dr. Lee says, “who would want to hire a whistleblower who bad mouthed their chief doctor while brazenly disclosing their name?” Dr. Lee takes the opportunity to make Hye-jin a job offer, but only if Hye-jin kneels down and begs for forgiveness. That sets Hye-jin off. Infuriated, Hye-jin shouts that she’ll start her own clinic then rips the car around and speeds back to Gongjin.  

She returns to Gongjin and takes the restaurant owner up on the offer to help her start a dental clinic started there. Excited, the restaurant owner exclaims, “What? Really?” Hye-jin replies with a smile, “Yes, I’ve made up my mind.” 

Part 2 - Relevant Philosophical Position 

Descartes's Conception of Freedom from his Fourth Mediation

I would like to explore Descartes’s conception of freedom that he outlines in his Fourth Meditation.

Free will exists when an agent has whatever necessary capacity in order to be morally responsible for their actions or choices (Jayasekera 531). In the Fourth Meditation Descartes defines the grades of freedom by clarity of perception before judgment (Descartes 46). Descartes states, “For in order to be free, there is no need for me to be capable of going in each of two directions; on the contrary, the more I incline in one direction - either because I clearly understand that reasons of truth and goodness point that way, or because of divinely produced disposition of my inmost thoughts - the freer is my choice” (Descartes 46). We have different degrees of freedom depending on how obscure our perception is and, thereby, how indifferent our will is.

When we do not have access to clear and distinct perception, “the intellect does not have sufficiently clear knowledge at the time when the will deliberates,” (Descartes 47) we are indifferent between two judgments. Often, we think of freedom as the ability to choose between two or more options available to us. However, according to Descartes, “our ability to do or not do something (that is, to affirm or deny, to pursue or avoid),” when the will is not impelled one way rather than another, we are experiencing the lowest grade of freedom (Descartes 45-46, Jayasekera 531). We are not infinite in every faculty, namely the faculties of knowledge and judgment (Descartes 43). Therefore, we are capable of indifference, obscure perception, and subsequent faulty judgment, and this is when we are least free. In fact, in order to avoid making mistakes, which occur when we make any decision without clear and distinct perception, we should withhold judgment.

Instead, we are wholly free when we experience clear and distinct perception and “never have to deliberate about the right judgment or choice,” that we are wholly free” (Descartes 46). The highest grade of freedom does not entail an ability to choose among alternatives, “it consists simply in the fact that when the intellect puts something forward for affirmation or denial or pursuit or avoidance, our inclinations are such that we feel we are determined by no external force” (Jayasekera 531, Descartes 46). If our perceptions are so clear and distinct that there is only one obvious judgment that follows, then that is when we are most free.

Descartes’s definition of freedom is consistent with determinism. Causal determinism is when every event is necessitated by antecedent events (Jayasekera 530). Intellectual determinism, the enlightenment, or lack thereof, of the intellect that determines the will, often follows causal determinism. According to Descartes, in cases of clear and distinct perception, determinism does not interfere with freedom; determinism is compatible with freedom. This is a compatibilist stance. He thinks, “we are most free when clear and distinct perception determines us to judge accordingly, and even if we were determined by God to never make a mistake, we would still be free” (Jayasekera 532). Our freedom is not dependent on whether our judgments are determined either by God or the intellect. Even when our perception is not clear and distinct and is in a state of indifference, the lowest grade of freedom is still consistent with compatibilism. Our state of indifference is also determined by our intellect and there is low, not absent, freedom. The freedom is low because we don’t have all our reasonings pointing one way and creating an obvious judgment within us. There is a debate about how indifference works with compatibilism, especially in cases where God enlightens our intellect, because God cannot cause us to make mistakes.

Cartesian Compatibilism	Determinism		Grade of Freedom
	Perception of the intellect 	State of the will
	Clear and distinct perception 	Obvious judgment	Highest grade of freedom
	Obscure perception 	Indifference; no obvious judgment; faulty judgment	Lowest grade of freedom

 

Part 3 - My Analysis

How the creative work illuminates or takes a stand on the philosophical position

The relevant events I will explore from the first episode of Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha (Hometown) are Hye-jin quitting her job and her decision to start a dental clinic in Gongjin. I will explain how these events illuminate Descartes’s stance on compatibilism in the Fourth Meditation. Before I begin, it is important to note that Descartes’s Fourth Meditation is in the context of how determinism and freedom affect the will’s judgment, not necessarily resulting actions. This is the case even though he does imply that the will can also be related to action when he includes “to pursue or avoid” in his list of examples of the will’s capabilities in cases of clear and distinct perception (Descartes 45). I will be applying Descartes’s conception of compatibilism to actions, which presumably follow the judgments he discussed.

Hye-jin’s decision to quit her job is consistent with causal and intellectual determinism. Hometown’s writers have made every antecedent event relevant to, and snowball into, her decision. If Hye-jin had not gotten back from her run when she did, she would not have met Yeon-ok in the elevator for the first time. Yeon-ok, although not a major character, plays a vital role in cracking Hye-jin’s self-preserving shell. This causes Hye-jin to argue with her boss, Dr. Lee, about appropriate treatment for her patient, and then to try to recover Yeon-ok as her patient the next day. If she had not stood up to her boss either of these times, she would have not been intellectually determined to tell Dr. Lee that she is a hypocrite and fiercely walk out of her office.

Hye-jin’s decision to quit is made without deliberation, indicating that her action was preceded by clear and distinct perception, which makes it consistent with the Cartesian highest grade of freedom. It became obvious to Hye-jin that she could not work for a clinic where the chief doctor attempts to maximize how much the clinic can swindle its patients. The scene, consistent with both determinism and Cartesian freedom, is, therefore, consistent with Cartesian compatibilism.

Without Hometown’s antecedent events, before and after Hye-jin’s decision to quit her job, her intellect would not have determined her decision to open a dental clinic in Gongjin. It is easier to work backwards in this case. The call Hye-jin receives from her boss makes it abundantly clear to her that she is unlikely to work in Seoul as a dentist again and will not beg for her job back. Opening her own dental clinic in Gongjin becomes her best option. Hye-jin would not have perceived this decision so clearly if she had neither been thanked for her care by the two children she helped nor Yeon-ok right before she was finally able to leave Gongjin. Nor if she had noticed how affordable it is to lease space in Gongjin. Nor if Hye-jin hadn’t met the Hwa-jeong restaurant owner who offered to help her, which would not have happened without her going to the beach, losing her shoes, meeting Du-shik, and then helping the owner’s son with a dental accident. And she would not have even gone to the beach at Gongjin on a Tuesday had she not been unemployed and her late mother’s birthday. Although, Hye-jin losing her expensive shoes, which would not have been bought if she had not quit her job, is essential to meeting the Hwa-jeong restaurant owner, the loss of those shoes only has a role in the determination of Hye-jin falling in love with Du-shik in later episodes - which I do not cover in this project.

Hye-jin turns her car around so quickly after receiving a call from Dr. Lee because it was obvious opening a clinic in Gongjin was now the best decision she could make for her career. Her decision was made with the highest Cartesian freedom. This scene is also consistent with both determinism and Cartesian freedom, and, therefore, consistent with Cartesian compatibilism.

An example of the lowest Cartesian freedom in this episode is Hye-jin’s initial deliberation about opening a dental clinic in Gongjin after seeing their low lease prices. The judgment of her will was obscured by her intellect’s lack of access to clear and distinct perception. In a state of indifference, Hye-jin talked herself out of the idea before she was able to perceive her situation clearly. The antecedent events of Hye-jin’s life as a successful Seoul-lite determined her state of indifference. This scene is also consistent with Cartesian compatibilism.

 

Works Cited

Descartes, René. Descartes: Meditations on First Philosophy: With Selections from the Objections and Replies. Edited by John Cottingham, translated by John Cottingham, Cambridge University Press, 2017.

Jayasekera, Marie. “Descartes on Human Freedom.” Philosophy Compass, vol. 9, no. 8, 2014, pp. 527-539.

Kim, Je-hyeon (tvN), creator. Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha. Studio Dragon, 2021. Netflix, https://www.netflix.com.