The Avenging Females: A Comparative Analysis of Kill Bill Vol.1-2, Death Proof and Sympathy for Lady Vengeance

Abstract

This paper provides a comparative analysis of Quentin Tarantino’s Kill Bill Vol.1-2 (2003, 2004), Death Proof (2007) and Park Chan Wook’s Sympathy for Lady Vengeance (Chinjeolhan Geumjassi, 2005). The primary objectives of this study are: (1) to reveal the gender-biases inherent to the fundamental discursive structures of the foregoing films; (2) to compare and contrast the films through an analysis of the ‘gaze(s)’ and possible ‘pleasures’,  which are inherent in their narratives, in relation to Laura Mulvey’s and Carol Clover’s approaches; and (3) to distinguish Kill Bill Vol.1-2 from the foregoing two and the ‘avenging female’ clichés of the other horror/violence movies in the context of the replaced positionings of its protagonist and antagonist inherent in its distinct narrative style.