A devilish question to ask viewers of Bong Joon-ho’s history defining Best Picture winner, Parasite, is who they believe the titular parasite to be?
Is it the Kim’s? A lower-class family, eking whatever ounce of free wifi they can from neighbours, seemingly gifted a leg up in the world in the form of the Park’s, a wealthy, upper class family. The Kim’s see the green pastures of the Park’s stylish and clean abode as a welcome opportunity and shortcut for success, and manipulate, lie, and steal, their way to perceived power. It’s clear they don’t want to supersede the Park’s, but merely thrive within their shadow, just like any good parasite would do.
Or maybe the parasite is the Park family themselves? The outward ‘victims’ of the Kim’s attempts to gorge themselves on their success, they are slowly revealed to be as opportunistic and uncaring as the Kim family. Wealth affords luxury, but luxury affords apathy and disgust. The Park’s cordoned off sanctuary is not unique, with a tidy corridor of houses all being secured behind prison-esque walls and pinpad contained gates. Their failure to engage with the world at large can be seen as the passive profiteering of the upper class. The lower-class toils away, busying the existence of giant conglomerates, making it possible for families like the Park’s to live in their blissful ignorance.
Or, quite possibly, the parasite is the live-in housekeeper, Moon-gwang, who has a long-kept secret in a basement that the Park’s are clearly unaware of. Allergic to peaches, and expelled from the Park residence thanks to the horrifying reaction they cause her to have, Moon-gwang does what every parasite would seek to do – resort to a warm, safe environment.
The mastery of Bong Joon-ho and Han Jin-won’s script is that it never tips its hand to who the title is referring to. Arguably, in an era where titles of films have become somewhat lazy and prescriptive (if we consider the films that Parasite triumphed over at the Academy Awards, can we really seek the same thought-provoking analysis of films like Joker, Ford VS Ferrari, and 1917, thanks to their titles alone?), it takes a film like Parasite to remind the importance of a thematically rich title. Strip the film from its title, and call it something else entirely, and the gaze we apply to the characters exploits shifts dramatically.
But this is just one element of the masterful tapestry that Bong Joon-ho has weaved together to tease and tantalise viewers. For me, the titular parasite is the all-encompassing umbrella that is capitalism. For the Park’s, the Kim’s, and the basement dwelling couple, the brush of capitalism has painted them all heading down the same path: in the search for gross wealth and financial benevolence. The notion of lifting up the impoverished is slandered and slain is scoffed at by the Park’s in moments where they discuss the smell of the Kim’s. And yet, equally so, the Kim’s feverishly desire the Park’s riches, and will eagerly step on and battle those who get in their way. Under capitalism, the fight for money makes us all equal.
While Parasite was a great film prior to its landmark Oscar wins, it’s those golden statues that has helped elevate its importance to a newer, grander level, creating a transformative film out of a grand genre experience. Maybe due to, or in spite of, the wins, the South Korean government promised to make changes to the many families and people living in semi-basement apartments[1], improving their heating systems, floors, air conditioners, dehumidifiers, ventilators, windows, and fire alarms.
Additionally, it helped broaden the audience for films not in the English language. Bong Joon-ho’s comment about the ‘one-inch tall barrier’ of subtitles became a catchcry for film lovers everywhere, encouraging people to seek out subtitled cinema and engage with stories that come from different cultures. And, when they do engage with international cinema, they find that films like Parasite tell stories that are not all that different from the films that their already familiar with.
Director: Bong Joon Ho
Cast: Kang-ho Song, Sun-kyun Lee, Yeo-jeong Jo
Writers: Han Jin Won, Bong Joon Ho
[1] http://www.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20200218000706