The world we live is filled with social injustices and crimes against humanity. The wealth gap is becoming wider as the years go by, which make the rich become richer and the poor become poorer. It also does not help that the cost of living all over the world is becoming higher and higher. All thanks to inflation that acts like a robber who sneaks up to us at the wee hours of the night. Opportunities are become scarcer, and a lot of people are just barely hanging by a thread. This harsh reality is what we have to bear with. It can be daunting most of the time, but try our very best to do what we can to get by. The award-winning South Korean film, Parasite, explores all this and more. The black comedy thriller follows the lives of two families from opposite walks of life. The members of the poor Kim family come up with a scheme to act like unrelated and qualified employees, so that they could all seek employment from a wealthy Park family. The plan to infiltrate the home of the wealthy employers was off to a good start until external factors slowly got in the way. Here are five reasons why the film perfectly captures what is wrong with our society:
5. It captured capitalism in a different light
Capitalism has been called many vicious names in the past. “The root cause of all evil” and “the reason for poverty” are just the tip of the iceberg. We are not privy to the fact that capitalism has caused inequality to persist in society, and the film was able to capture this through its masterfully crafted storyline and details. The film was able to portray the effects of capitalism through the power of symbols and the different parallels. We are faced with the realization that peaceful co-existence between the different social classes may be hard to achieve as long as capitalism is at play. It’s a hard pill to swallow, and one that can be somehow relieved if we just showed a bit more empathy and compassion.
4. It showed how ignorance and insensitivity can come into play
The film was able to depict the disparity between the lifestyles of the marginalized and wealthy. Rain played a big role in the film, as a heavy downpour meant two very different things for the two families. The Park family considered it a reprieve from heat and pollution while the Kim family had to deal with immense flooding in their living space. This heartbreaking reality is as real as it gets. The reasons behind these inequalities are often times beyond our control, and don’t have valid explanations. The Park family did not know their innocent remarks throughout the film were insensitive, and could mean a whole other world for the less fortunate.
3. It portrayed the dangers of greed
Coveting and comparing are two toxic traits that can lead to a person’s downfall. The Kim family in the film felt nothing but envy for the good life that the Park family led. This made their intentions biased and their decisions jaded, which ultimately led to their downfall. Having self-pity and feeling like you were handed the short end of the stick is just like rubbing salt to the wound. It is important to learn how to have a “glass half-full” perspective in life. Things may not always go our way, but learning how to be grateful for what we have can make the challenges a whole lot bearable.
2. It made us realize that money is not the solution to all problems
The poorer characters in the film may have the perception that money is the only solution to all their problems. This may be true to some extent, but there is so much more to just wealth alone. The Kim family, as well as Moon-gwang, the former housekeeper of the Park family made wrong life decisions that added to their difficult financial situation. Moon-gwang even went to the extent of letting her debt-ridden husband secretly reside in the Park family’s secret basement to keep him safe from the wrath of his loan sharks. One thing led to another, and soon enough, all these factors started to work against the Park and Moon families. Instead of finding a way out of their problems, they sank deeper, and continued to dig their own grave— literally and figuratively. Money can be a vital answer to so many problems, only if this is used wisely and with prudence.
1. It magnified good intentions, bad execution
The Kim family contrived a plan that would essentially benefit them immensely, but they did all this with intentions of lying and deceiving. This caught up to them in the end, and made them all even more miserable in the end. This storyline was the perfect example of good intentions, but bad execution. When people get in trouble, they often times come up with the excuse that they really meant no harm. This is a form of ignorance that has been proven to be detrimental. Understanding that all actions, no matter how big or small, have consequences can be a good way to make better decisions.black comedy thriller
Follow Us
