Parasite: Sadistic Class Warfare
Bong Joon-ho's highly-anticipated masterpiece Parasite has finally hit U.S. theaters this week. The film is about two South Korean families at opposite ends of the economic spectrum, and how the lower class family infiltrates the lives of the other. The only thing that really divides them is money.
The Kim family lives unemployed below street level in a small, dingy apartment in a run-down neighborhood. The film starts out with the characters hit by the crisis of their neighbor changing the Wi-Fi password and they must resort to sitting near the toilet for a new connection from a nearby cafe.
In contrast, the well-off Park family lives in an isolated family compound in an architectural masterpiece by a famous architect. The house is filled with shelves of China plates and has a large glass window looking out onto a lush, green backyard.
The families meet when Ki-woo's rich friend visits him and asks him to take over as an English tutor for the Park's daughter, Da-hye, while he studies abroad. Ki-woo goes over to the house and meets the family and is blown away from their exuberant lifestyle. He now has money coming into the family.
Ki-woo notices that the Park's son, Da-song, has behavioral problems and recommends an art therapist he knows. It is his sister, Ki-jung, who poses as "Jessica" and enters the Park's life. They then plot to replace the housekeeper with their mother, Chung-sook, and the chauffeur with their dad. There Parks do not know that they are a family and the Kims manage to complete their plan by offering recommendations beginning with "I know someone." The most awing scene was the montage of the Kims' plotting to replace the housekeeper and all the scenes were beautifully shot and accompanied with an anxious score to up the angst and breaking point of completing the task. The film dives into a sinister tone and breaks the glass surrounding this perfect, luxurious life the Kims have entered and exposes the ugly truths of capitalism and class systems.
The first hour feels like an extremely dark comedy of a family from a low economic class doing whatever it takes and only looking out for themselves to enter the Park's home. The film hits a point where it exposes class warfare and the rigged system. Truths come to light and the Kims face a big conflict. The film explores a complex, tough topic of class inequality and brings to light the hard struggles of the working class and the bubble of the elite.
The film isn't here to give archetypes to each class by saying all poor people are good and rich people are bad. The Kims do have talents that could be useful in a real job, for example, Ki-jung is really good at graphic design. They don't maximize their talents but resort to their scheme as it seems like an easy way to be apart of the elite. Whereas the Parks never treat their staff badly but it is so obvious they live in a bubble. The last few scenes, in particular, emphasize the Parks and their rich friends' neglect of people below them when faced with a life or death situation. It is a metaphor for people of this class turning a blind eye at the struggles people below them face and continues to act as if their problems have priority over the rest of the world. They can easily choose what they want or don't want in their bubbles.
This movie needs to be seen and discussed. It is relevant in today's world and exposes audiences to the truths they turn blind eyes on. It is humanity in its purest and worst form. Its sadistic, angry and dark and has a lot to say about the system. This is the world we live in.