It’s no surprise that Bong Joon Ho’s vision for “Parasite” had everyone raving over the quality film. In this foreign film, the concept of social class is very apparent, especially in the scenes that show the contrast between the Kim family and the Park family. The audience gets a perspective on how hard it is for the Kim family to survive in general with little money and no way out of their social class. While with the Park family, the audience gets a perspective on how easy going their life is because of the money they are blessed with. Overall, as a viewer, this can appeal to many audiences around the world because there is a great understanding of social class and how hard it is to gain success with no platform to work with.
Moreover, Bong Joon Ho executed this film in a way that made it feel like a psychological thriller. There were a lot of hidden meanings such as how the Kims are portrayed to symbolize a parasite that is leeching off the Parks’ wealth. Even the set is purposely built to symbolize class wealth and poverty, the Kims basement is halfway below ground and halfway above ground with some sunlight coming through. This symbolizes how the family is poor but they still have opportunities to reach the “above ground” or the wealthy life. While the Parks mansion is elevated and has direct sunlight coming through which symbolizes how they already have a blessed life full of great opportunities. Another hidden meaning is the big rock that the character Min gives to Ki-Woo, it is supposed to grant wealth and success to the Kim family. Ironically at the end of the movie, Ki-Woo gets hit in the head with the rock and suffers from severe head trauma. This symbolizes how scamming and sabotaging the social system to get success can have bad consequences. There are plenty more meanings that Bong Joon Ho presented in the film but these were a few that really stood out.
Furthermore, Bong Joon Ho includes scenes that intensify the plot of the film. The scene where the Kim family and Moon-Gwang (the previous housekeeper) are found in the Parks’ mansion together when they are not supposed to be together. The Park family comes home early from their outdoor trip due to a storm and the Kim family has to lock away Moon-Gwang and hide from the Parks. This scene was one of the most thrilling scenes just because of the anticipation of what will happen next? Will the Kims get caught? Overall, Bong Joon Ho’s spectacular film “Parasite” has many audiences captivated by the concept of social class and the execution of this vision through a psychological thriller. It’s not unexpected that the film rightfully earned an Oscar win.
Credit: Youtube video “The ending of Parasite explained” by Insider and The New York Times article, “Parasite review: The Lower Depths Rise with a Vengeance”