GOOD
WIFE
GOOD WIFE
Good Wife is an experimental film piece, allegorizing the indoctrination of gender roles, unpacking on the multi-layered meaning of what it means to be 'objectified'.
What characterizes an object as an object? And what does this means when we objectify women? Examining the word ‘object ’ in Thai (‘ของ’/’Kong’ ) suggests how an object is not so much defined by its characteristics but in its utility, in its obligation towards the user. The word 'Kong' is also used to mean 'of something', to say Kong-Chan is to say object-me or object which is owned by me or my object.
When one says 'Kong' referring to 'object ' one is really saying the shortened term of 'Sing-Kong' which directly translates to 'the object -of '. This reveals how the concept of object is also defined by a dynamic of ownership, its characteristics defined by the utility it serves. To say Kong-Len is to say object -play or object that is to be played rather than having a word that would separate its identity from its utility.
The double meaning reflects the characteristic of objects as defined by their contingent relationship with the user rather than a characteristic defined outside of it. The objectification of women thus implies a relationship of being owned, defined by a lack of agency but an identity marked by its utility. This film is made up of three scenes that relate a character with different objects in each scene in uncanny ways.
