Parasite (2019) Film Analysis PDF

[Context] - Directed by Bong Joon-ho, released in 2019, cost \$15.5 million to produce. - Set in Soeul, South Korea - First foreign language film to win best picture at the Academy awards. - Has universal themes exploring class division/economic inequality, social mobility, m...

[Context] - Directed by Bong Joon-ho, released in 2019, cost \$15.5 million to produce. - Set in Soeul, South Korea - First foreign language film to win best picture at the Academy awards. - Has universal themes exploring class division/economic inequality, social mobility, materialism and gender (stereotypes vs. counter stereotypes). - Parasite is a creature that lives inside of someone else. Who is the parasite? Both families exploit of each other. - The film is cross-genre (black comedy, social thriller, horror, drama) - It is a variation on the popular 'home invasion' thriller, where a group of strangers infiltrate a wealthy middle-class home and threaten the occupiers. [Social:] - Set in the modern capitalist moment where many feel the world may be teetering on the edge economically, politically, and socially. Within this context, we may all be parasites with the need to live under, on and with others in order to survive. - Gender roles -- the film satirises the notion of the patriarch throughout. - Women are the driving force behind change in the film. Mrs Park desires to educate her children and provide them with her notion of the ideal childhood, while Mrs Kim gently mocks her husband as she keeps the family firmly grounded in reality. Ki-jung is able to bring plans to fruition and Moon-gwang has a fierce determination to keep her husband alive. [Cultural:] - The film has brought elements of Korean culture to a global audience. The debate about capitalism and the divide between rich and poor resonated with South Koreans, who are alarmed by the deepening divide between rich and poor. [Political] - There is a running theme of admiration of anglophone culture among both families as well as the prestige of a college/university education. Mrs Park uses an English phrase 'Is that okay with you?' which is deemed to be a symbol of her status, she also becomes more intrigued about 'Jessica' when she learns that she supposedly went to a university in the United States. They have an evident aspiration to be and admiration of American culture -- they are hasty to embrace western capitalism and distance themselves from the communism of North Korea. Mise-en-scene - As in the opening shot, we see some songs hanging to dry, one could infer that this window is their only source of light -- an indication of their lack of wealth and the poverty in which they live. However, as it contrasts to other areas of the Kim home which can only be lit by dingy, cheap fluorescent lighting, the window could represent a symbol of hope and prosperity a suggestion of social mobility. They are not entirely submerged underground -- there is possibility for a brighter future? - We are also introduced to the character of Min through this window who is a symbol of wealth and is the person to provide the Kim's with their first opportunity at economic fortune. - The semi-basement home is a form of oppression for the Kim family. It represents the fact that they have little value in society and are physically low-status. It is a means of hiding the poorest members of society away in order to not inconvenience the wealthy and for them to not have to be acknowledged. These types of homes are common for the lower class in Soeul, potentially this is a critique from Joon Ho surrounding the inequalities between social classes in South Korean society - The lighting in the Park's home is dingy, low key with high contrast and underexposed -- establishing their poverty and lack of prospects. - The theme of materialism is presented through Ki-woo's fixation on the scholar stone. He believes that it will bring him wealth and good fortune. - Cramped hallways creating a feeling of claustrophobia and an inability to escape their circumstance, all of their objects are on display -- represents their vulnerability as a family and the fragile and unstable way in which they are living. We see this become a reality towards the end of the film when their home has been flooded and all of their possessions float aimlessly in murky water. - Close-up shot of Mrs Park's second place medal for shotput as she asks her husband 'what's your plan'. Evidently, she had a plan and ambitions for her future but they were not attainable, she was not able to succeed in her ambitions. 'There is no glory in second place' and that is what has led her to this situation. It could also be a representation of the inequities/unfair nature of society in which no matter how hard some people try, social mobility will never be possible, the system will forever be against them. - The scene with Ki-woo and Ki-jung searching for a wi-fi signal in their toilet (two shot, mid shot) is a visual representation of just how low their status is. They are living below their toilet. This moment is also the first introduction of the motif of stairs, which the siblings climb in order to leech of of the wealth of those above them. - The lighting has a yellow/green hue throughout the house -- artificial, fluorescent lights Cinematography - The camera must pan downwards in order for us to be introduced to Ki-woo, reinforcing his low-status and the theme of levels/height being representative of class/wealth - Opens with a mid-shot of the Kim families window in their semi-basement home. Already it is evident that they are physically lower than the rest of society. Their home isolates them from the outside world and to view it they must look upwards. - We are almost always in a close up or mid shot, emphasising the small and cramped feel of the Kim's house (this contrasts to later on in the film when we are introduced to the Park family home and the cinematography becomes much more spacious, encapsulating the abundance of the rich families lifestyle) Sound - The film opens with a solo piano song, simplistic and bright as we first meet the family. Creates a slight feeling of tension as well as a sense of inevitability of events taking their course. - Seems somewhat contrapuntal suggesting the possibility of change where we don't see any. Editing - We cut from Mrs Kim nudging her husband to wake up and asking him 'what's your plan', to a close-up of her second place medal for shotput suggesting that she is the driving force of the family.. Evidently, she had a plan and ambitions for her future but they were not attainable, she was not able to succeed in her ambitions. 'There is no glory in second place' and that is what has led her to this situation. It could also be a representation of the inequities/unfair nature of society in which no matter how hard some people try, social mobility will never be possible, the system will forever be against them. Performance - The symbolism of height and levels represents the hierarchy of social classes in south Korea -- the Kim's are predominantly below the Kim's physically in basements and the Kim's live on a high-up hill where they are sheltered from the poverty below them, it is ironic that they are so oblivious to the struggles of the poor that they do not realise that it's going on in the basement of their own home. In doing this Joon ho may be trying to suggest in a way we are all in *one* *home* that is society, and we are therefore responsible for what happens within it, such as the large class divides. - The motif of smell is used throughout the film to emphasises the Parks (in particular Mr Parks) disgust for the poor/lower class, when they are seen covering their noses to disguise the scent, this may be representing the idea that society and the upper class are intentionally indifferent or ignorant to issues that are 'right underneath our noses'. - There is lots of symbolism in lines -- (00:55:52) in this shot we see that Ki-woo feels as though he has successfully infiltrated his way into the Parks home that he now calls his own. He is casually lying in the grass and basking in the sunlight, its notable that there is also a line of shadow which could represent that darkness of poverty that he is no longer in. In addition, the line in the glass represents both sides of the coin -- wealth and poverty. Although, because there is still a sense of uncertainty or foreshadowing of their fortune not lasting since there is still a portion of ki-woo (his leg) crossing the line, indicating that he hasn't completely escaped his poverty and perhaps he never will. It is also suggesting that he might not feel self-assured or worthy of becoming part of the upper class. - (00:14:44) Once again, the line in this shot represents the gap between the upper and lower classes and how when the line is crossed it can seem unnatural or create an interesting disturbance. When trying to get Mrs Parks attention, the housekeeper almost unexpectedly and aggressively claps her hands and simultaneously crosses the line. The line represents the division that the parks put in place in order for them to not have to be confronted with the reality of the poorer working-class people. By sustaining this boundary, the parks are able to maintain their ignorance and carelessness towards the lower classes suffering. - Cultural hegemony (which favours the ideology of the ruling classes teaches anyone outside the dominant view that the dominant culture is something to aspire to) runs deep within the characters in the film -- we see this when in the housekeeper's husband reveals his daily routine of respect for the upper-class Mr Kim by turning on the lights when he returns from work. It is also evident in the scene in which despite being used as labour and looked down upon by the parks, the Kim family discuss what they like about the Park family. This is because ultimately, they are seen as the people to aspire to be. - Stairs -- the Kim's must climb upwards towards the Parks house symbolising the parks elevated social status which can also been seen in the increased amounts of natural light/quantity of light and greenery in their home (low contrast, crisp lighting). When the Kim's are deceiving Mrs Park and attempting to further infiltrate into her home by slowly bringing in other members of the family, they are walking downstairs and into the darkness of poverty. For the Kim's, stairs also suggest a downfall as whilst leading up to the Park house, they also lead down into the basement which is the epitome of poverty. Lines: (00:14:14)