[The Second Take] Indifference Toward Others... The Warning of the Film "Emergency Declaration"

A Society Numbed by the Flood of Incidents and Accidents
Awakening to Danger and Appealing for Concern and Affection Toward Others

Flight KI501, which has turned into an MH-1 virus culture lab. Even when First Officer Hyunsoo (Kim Nam-gil) declares a state of emergency (a kind of martial law requesting unconditional landing), there is nowhere to land. Citizens occupy the airport and protest. They run onto the runway, obstructing the emergency landing. The internet reactions are no different. "Just fall and die." "Shoot it down with a missile." "That’s really a biochemical missile." "Such nuisances." "South Korea is going to be destroyed."

The South Korea depicted in the movie Emergency Declaration is filled with distrust and despair. Even after the incident is resolved, nothing changes. The National Assembly is busy reprimanding Sook-hee (Jeon Do-yeon), who resigned as Minister of the Interior and Safety. Meanwhile, the victims gathered to enjoy a party are still dressed as they were at the time of the accident. They clearly seem to have ascended to heaven. In fact, Sook-hee, with tears welling up in her eyes, looks out at the sea and places a bouquet on it. It evokes memories of the Sewol ferry disaster.

Whenever tragic incidents occur, citizens come out to the streets or squares to mourn. Kim Won-je, director of the U+ Research Institute, argued in his book Beyond Risk Society, Conditions for a Safe Society that "communication is required to thoroughly share with members of society what the risk factors are, whether they are currently bearable, and how to overcome the limits." This becomes more urgent as the complexity and uncertainty of society increase.

Communication methods become more convenient day by day. Smartphones frequently appear in Emergency Declaration. As a result of the advancement of the information society, they serve as an external brain for citizens. Along with their positive functions, they also bring negative effects. A representative example is the closed and intimate internet spaces that cause dehumanization and alienation. Self-satisfying groups of people who understand each other amplify emotions, creating clique cultures. Individuals are left as anonymous beings, and their existence is thoroughly distorted.

Director Han Jae-rim devotes the entire latter part of the film to awakening awareness of danger. He places Jae-hyuk’s (Lee Byung-hun) communication refusing to land at the climax and delivers a direct admonition: "Because we are human, there are things only humans can do... Now we are going to make a decision for everyone. This decision is for our families on the ground whom we worry about and the people we live with, and it is so that we, as humans, will not be defeated by the disaster we face but stand proud. (...) Now all communications will end."

When unexpected incidents flood in, society becomes numb enough not to be startled by small disasters. This is the normalization of risk, where danger is not accidental but considered normal. Indifference is turning away from all social phenomena. Thinking that whatever happens has nothing to do with oneself is no different from a dead society. Personal rationality that values my safety over social safety dominates. In the U.S., this leads to collective irrationality in the form of gun accidents, causing more than 45,000 deaths annually. In Korea, where there are no guns, people kill themselves. The suicide rate is 25.4 per 100,000 people, the highest among OECD countries. It has now surpassed the number of deaths from hypertension.

Nobel Peace Prize laureate Elie Wiesel said, "Because of indifference, people actually die before they really die." If avoidance and neglect of pressing problems continue, the signs of a dead society become clear. The state of emergency declared by Hyunsoo is ultimately a warning recognizing the crisis in our society. Regardless of the reason, it appeals that priority must be given to concern and affection for others. Placing humans at the center of all life and thought ensures that each person’s dignity is respected...