Parasite Film Analysis

Parasite Film Analysis The gap of standard of living between social classes is a growing problem that has been around since the creation of capitalism. The social division of labor and the definition of what careers are deemed acceptable with long term sustainability is increasingly inaccessible for the general population. The diversity dimension of social class is often overlooked, but it is one of the most impactful. The film, Parasite, dives deeper into the meaning behind how lower-class families are depicted and perceived, and how greed and envy can engulf one’s life. This film follows the members of the Kim family as they infiltrate a high-income family by pretending to be experts in their field, such as taking care of the children, or driving the rich family around. As they create this fake life for themselves, they find out that the previous housemaid that was replaced by the mother of the Kim family has been living in the basement of the prestigious family’s house with her husband. The two families fight to be the ones to stay in the rich family but face unforeseen consequences of the lie that they created. Parasite exposed me to a new diversity dimension by showing the distinct characteristics and interactions between different social classes. Furthermore, there are deeper cultural values and meanings that also exposed me to a new diversity dimension. Even though I grew up in a Korean household, being raised in American schooling as a Korean American has many different elements of culture when in contrast to mainland Korean culture. Furthermore, this movie guided me to be more reflective of the privilege that I have, and to also reflect on how lower-class communities are oppressed. Since racial oppression and social oppression look very different, I often struggled with obtaining knowledge and becoming more aware of the social injustices that families such as the Kim family may fight. Racial oppression is often obvious and is advertised more explicitly in media. While social class oppression is less talked about, and has varying definitions based on which level of social class. I found this to be very interesting as I was watching the movie, and thought the film was such an eye-opening experience that exposed me to more knowledge. The way the characters in Parasite are portrayed act as a mirror for many people. They symbolize the never-ending cycle of the class system that exclude individuals from rising to higher class by setting boundaries, both implicit and explicit. Because of these barriers, the Kim family constantly has to jump through holes, such as changing their identity to create a façade, to maintain to reach some sense of assimilation and luxury in their lives. The Kim family’s manipulation of their identity due to greed and social rise is something that I can reflect on in myself. Growing up, I was always very flexible with my identity. I grew accustomed to constantly changing myself based on my social environment in order to avoid being perceived as an outsider. Even if I did not feel like I fit in, I wanted others to think I did. This method consisted of me constantly pushing away my Korean identity when I was at school interacting with my white counterparts. I rejected my culture and the food that I brought to lunch, just so when other people did it, it just seemed like I was a part of their social group. Pretending to be “less Asian” took a toll on how confident I was in my racial identity, and it pushed me away from my parents who were raised in Korea. One moment in the film that was specific to my individual experience was when the rich family pointed out the bad smell of the Kim family, and often plugged their nose or made a face when they were around. The traditional Korean food that I brought to lunch often smelled as well, and people would also plug their nose, saying it smelled disgusting or compared my lunch to dog food. The subtle ways of discriminating against another individual can be analyzed in both situations. The microaggressions that the Kim family experienced in the society that only praised the rich can be reflected on the microaggressions that I have experienced in a society that praises white culture. Additionally, I thought the way that the lower-class families were juxtaposed to the higher-class families was very interesting too. Even though the two low class families were living close to poverty, they still stayed together and did not put a second thought in the value of family. However, the high-class family was the one that was portrayed as less genuine, and the relationships between the family members lacked depth. I can see similarities to my family to the Kim family in the high emphasis of family value that my family upholds as well. The characters are different from me in the way that I have not experienced living in the conditions that the Kim family had to live in. In particular, I realize that I take the food and shelter that I grew up in for granted as it is not something that everyone has equal access to. Even though this film may not be a complete accurate depiction of how families close to poverty live, it still addresses the larger issue of how there is such a large discrepancy between lower and upper class. This is something that I have privilege in not letting it affect my life, so reflecting on the differences between myself and the characters helps me be more grateful and open-minded. The first concept I will elaborate on is socialization. Socialization encompasses the cultural norms and values that an individual holds that help them learn and make sense of how and why one assimilates into a culture (Sensoy & DiAngelo, 2017). This concept applies to every aspect of everyday life, and also has elements of striving to reduce social distance in a social environment. One barrier that consistently appeared in Parasite is the smell that the Kim family had due to living in an underground home that was unhygienic and poorly ventilated. The rich family’s father, Dong-ik, pointed out this smell, and it acted as another label that put the Kim family at a lower level. Ki-taek, the father of the Kim family, happened to overhear when the Dong-ik brought up his smell which further developed his sense of alienation and fraudulence of pretending to be of higher class than he was. The second concept that connects to Parasite is oppression. Oppression deals with two parties, one in power, and one with a lack of power. It encompasses how the party in power holds institutional power and enforces discrimination and prejudice onto the party with a lack of power (Sensoy & DiAngelo, 2017). I see this movie as a critique of the high concentration of capitalism in many modern societies. Those at the bottom of the social ladder often do not have access to the resources they need in order to survive or to further climb up the social ladder. The setting of where the Kim family lives in highlights how the lack of opportunities and resources that come from living in a lower-income family. The lower desirability of these neighborhoods they live in contrasts to the modern and clean neighborhood the rich family lived in. This illustrates how the Kim family was constantly in a position where they had to serve others who were higher up than them even when they created a separate identity from their basement living identity. Thirdly, analyzing class inequality on the macro and global level can be connected to Parasite in how the characters perceive themselves and how they think others perceive them. Some of the social category of the macro and global levels is described is by the classification of individuals based on physical, cultural, or political differences between individuals that act as a label that either includes or excludes individuals from specific social environments (Readings for Diversity and Social Justice). Labeling a specific community with certain characteristics contributes to the curation of the “other” in the sense of marginalizing or gatekeeping. In Parasite, the social class differentiation is explicitly shown in the clothes, food, and living conditions that the two distinct social groups live in. The dominant class is depicted by the upper-class Park family, where the subordinate class is depicted by the lower-class Kim family. The label of being poor or having the qualities that lead someone to perceive one as poor ignores the value that each individual holds. A common stereotype with lower-class individuals is that they lack intelligence. Even though the Kim family lives in close to poverty conditions with very limited resources, they are all incredibly smart in their own way. The Kim family’s son, Ki-woo, acts as a prestigious tutor to initially infiltrate the Park family’s house. He had the responsibilities of creating the new fake personas for the rest of his family, and also act as a real tutor to the Park family’s daughter. He is quick on his feet and identifies beyond the low-class label that is given to him. From this film and application of class concepts, I learned to apply many different leadership skills to my career and leadership roles. With socialization, it is important to be aware that everyone comes from different cultures and background. Therefore, everyone may not initially have the same set of language and cultural skills. I have learned to be more patient with people that I interact with, and to not be quick to judge others based on where they are from. For the application of the second concept, I was able to learn more about the ways that different social classes are oppressed. As someone who is passionate about social justice and bringing awareness for underprivileged communities, this film elicited many reactions, all including deep self-reflection, on where I stood in fighting for others who are oppressed. In future careers and leadership roles, I want to become a leader that can create a safe work environment for others to share experiences of oppression to better advocate for equality and equity. Furthermore, I can apply the third concept of macro and global identity to my future by enforcing more cultural awareness by being in a diverse environment. I think many negative stereotypes and labels come from a space of a lack of knowledge. In light of this, I will also strive to educate others who struggle with understanding the different levels of identity, and how it applies to a larger scale of people worldwide. As I was watching this film, I was consistently engaged by every single aspect of it. From the way the scenes transitioned, to the way the rain sounded, I could tell everything was made with intention and had deep symbolism. The note of the rich family needing the poor family to survive serves as a reflection of the real world where upper class individuals thrive on the blood, sweat, and tears of the working class. Parasite is extremely thought provoking, and I enjoyed being able to learn more about a diversity dimension that I was not as familiar with.