Moralized Parental Violence and the Ethics of Reconciliation in Sinophone Family Cinema

Bibliographic Data

ID17820164
AuthorsHaoyuan Gao (0009-0006-0107-0803, Dongseo University), Sunghoon Cho (Dongseo University, corresponding author)
Year2026
Volume15
Issue5
Pages64-64
Publication date2026-04-23
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueHumanities (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 2076-0787 • E-ISSN: 2076-0787
PublisherMDPI AG (PUBLISHER • IT)
DOI10.3390/h15050064
OpenAlexW7155515923
LanguageEN
References cited7

This article examines how the discourse of “for your own good” functions as a moral framework through which parental violence is reinterpreted as care in Sinophone family cinema. Focusing on family-centered films as a key site of representation, we analyze how reconciliation is constructed not merely as a narrative resolution but as an ethical expectation. Drawing on theoretical perspectives from Michel Foucault and Louis Althusser, we develop the concept of “moralized parental violence” to describe how authority, discipline, and emotional control are legitimized through moral discourse. Through a typological analysis, identify three recurring models of reconciliation: deathbed reconciliation, retrospective understanding, and silent reconciliation. The study further explores works that resist reconciliation, arguing that such narratives suspend ethical closure and challenge normative expectations of forgiveness. By examining narrative structure, visual emphasis, and affective strategies, we demonstrate how cultural texts guide audience responses and shape moral interpretation. Rather than rejecting family values, this study reconsiders how ethics, power, and care are intertwined in cultural narratives and how the refusal of reconciliation opens a critical space for rethinking the limits of moral obligation

Movie theater · Narrative · Normative · China's Socioeconomic Reforms and Governance · Grief, Bereavement, and Mental Health · Hong Kong and Taiwan Politics

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