Toxic Masculinity in East Asian Cinema
Criticism of toxic masculinity has permeated throughout world cinema over the past decade. In Indonesia, writer-director Edwin’s Vengeance is Mine, All Others Pay Cash is a recent example of a film that challenges gender stereotypes and traditional male values. However, there’s a breadth of existing East Asian cinema that, whether intentionally or not, features male characters that could fall under the bracket of toxic masculinity. From tales of unruly yakuza to downtrodden salarymen, below are a handful of East Asian films that effectively explore different facets of masculinity.