Samontina, Kirk Patrick Y.

Block 260

The Platform (El hoyo): Reflection Paper

One of the movies I have watched during quarantine was The Platform. Its trailer caught my
attention thinking it could be another high concept sci-fi or thriller. As I was watching, it seems
like I was in the role of the protagonist, Goreng, submitting myself to prison in order to
overcome addiction, in his case was smoking. As the story progressed, I have learned its essence
–the distribution of food.  In the 200-story vertical prison, each floor consists of a single, small
room, inhabited by two cellmates. In the middle of each room, down the center of the building, is
a giant hole where a descending meal platform — a kind of mass dumbwaiter — stops once a
day, for the briefest interval. It is loaded with food and drink at the beginning of its descent, and
“if everyone ate only what they needed,” an administrator explains, “the food would reach the
lowest levels.” The idea is that it is some sort of social experiment where, in theory, if everyone
only took as much food as they needed, everyone would have enough. This results in a grossly
unequal distribution of food. The people at the higher levels ridiculously overindulge, while
those further down have to scrape for the leftovers.

After viewing it again to make my literary criticism, I have figured out aspects of Marxist ideals
in the film.

In the film, the material wealth, which is so often criticized as an evil of capitalism, is
represented by the food. The film sets the context, stating that people on the higher floors don't
care about those below and eat more than needed. As a result, those below suffer. As the film
progresses, the people are constantly switched around and whatever suffering happens is now
shared among all who stay in the hole.

I reflected through Marxist Criticism since it examines the portrayals of social class and power
structures within the text. As I watched the movie, it’s not only the plot that but I got a glimpse
into a culture and society.
The revolution finale where the protagonist tried to spark change did not prosper in the end.
Capitalism is the problem, but armed rebellion to encourage socialism or communism doesn’t
really work out either. But the overall points of greed and self-interest still stand.