A new era for women arrives in TV dramas

“Times up” is a declaration made by 300 women working in Hollywood including actresses, writers, directors and producers in a full-page advertisement in The New York Times. Natalie Portman, Oprah Winfrey, Meryl Streep and many more participated in this movement spearheaded by Reese Witherspoon.

Feminism is on the rise. A series of revelations were made about sexual abuse against women in Hollywood and Silicon Valley last year, and there is a growing chorus of criticism against Donald Trump’s misogynistic remarks. Producers are bringing out various feminist contents almost as if they anticipated such a trend.

The world’s oldest Sci-Fi TV show “Doctor Who” of BBC featured a female doctor for the first time in 54 years in the Christmas special. As many as 5.7 million people watched this episode, where the 12th doctor Peter Capaldi’s body was regenerated into the 13th doctor, Jodie Whittaker. She is the first female doctor of Doctor Who, which has been broadcasted since 1963. “Oh, brilliant!” she said with a waggish smile when she first saw her regenerated body.

Netflix’s “Black Mirror” released a new season on December 29, which has a female protagonist in all six episodes. Black Mirror is a British TV series featuring stand-alone dramas first broadcasted by the U.K.’s Channel 4 in 2011. It garnered a lot of attention with its description of bleak future deriving from the advancement of Internet and social media, and has been produced as Netflix original series since last year.

Jodie Foster’s “Arcangel” added more narratives by featuring a female protagonist. This episode is set in the future where parents use an implanted chip technology called “Arcangel” to track and monitor their children. It depicted perverse motherly love and desires by showing a mother’s obsession and a daughter’s resistance.

Korean TV shows such as KBS2’s “Witch at Court” and “Confession Couple” also attracted a lot of attention by portraying women’s ambition for success and a mother-daughter relationship.

Min Kim kimmin@donga.com