PARASITE - THE ANALYSIS

Name: Ceyhun Saraç

Student Number: 200524068

Instructor: Course Code:

Nezih Erdoğan RTC301

12/10/2021
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Parasite

The incredible film Parasite, directed by Bong Joon-ho, is a vicious and savage parody of
economic inequity. The plot of the film revolves around a poor family, the Kims, invading the
life of an affluent family, the Parks, by working for them. Kim Ki-woo (Woo-sik Choi) is a real
teacher for the Parks' daughter Da-hye (Jung Ziso), but he exploits his position to bring in his
sister Ki-jung (So-dam Park), who pretends to be an art instructor for the Parks' toddler boy Da-
song (Hyun-jun Jung). The Kim children then frame the Parks' driver as a creep, allowing them
to hire their own father, Ki-taek (Kang-ho Sang), to do the job. Finally, the family gets rid of the
Parks' maid, Moon-gwang (Jeong-eun Lee), by making her appear sick due to a peach allergy,
allowing Chung-sook (Hye-jin Jang), the Kims' mother, to gain the job. The Parks are unaware
that the Kims are connected, and everything appears to be great until Moon-gwang discovers that
her husband, Geun-se (Myeong-hoon Park), has been hiding in the Parks' basement.

All of this leads to a bizarre conclusion in which Geun-se escapes the basement, injures
Ki-woo and murders Ki-jung before being slain by Ki-taek, who also kills the Park family
patriarch Park Dong-ik (Sun-kyun Lee) after recoiling from Geun-"poor se's man's scent." After
that, Ki-taek exits the scene. No one knows where Ki-taek went, but Ki-woo notices a light
blinking in Morse code at the Parks' house, where they have subsequently moved out and another
family has moved in. He cracks the code and learns Ki-taek is still alive and well in the
basement. After that, we watch Ki-woo plotting how he would earn enough money to buy the
home and set his father free. The scenes of Ki-woo buying the home, on the other hand, are all in
Ki-brain.
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The film's concluding scenes, rather than showing Ki-woo in the home rescuing his father
as part of a triumphant montage, bring us back to reality. Ki-woo is imprisoned in his own
basement at the end of the film, exactly like his father, but due to economic circumstances rather
than legal ones. But it's because it's about a fantasy that the finale is so shocking. We know Ki-
woo will never be able to afford the house since the site demonstrates that economic mobility is
gone.

The Kims aren't a "lazy" family who shirks responsibility. They may be devious and
deceitful, but they don't expect others to do their work for them, which is more than the Parks
can say. The Kims' place in life is established, and the only way they can even get close to the
Parks' wealth is by deception. The film, for its part, questions if the Parks—wealthy fools who
are reliant on the lower class—aren't the true "parasites," who give nothing back and don't care
about anybody but themselves. The Parks are more concerned with a Cowboys-and-Indians-
themed birthday party for Da-song than when the slums flood and people who have lost
everything are sleeping in a gym.
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The finale is grim since the only option to release Ki-taek is impossible. He could turn
himself in, but he'd only end himself in another prison or facing the death penalty, so he'd be
better off staying in the basement. The Kims are entrapped in the first place by the prison of
riches. Yes, they are "parasites" in the sense that they live off the affluent Park family, but the
Kims would never be able to enjoy the Parks' luxury lifestyle. For the Kim family, riches is both
a fantasy and a prison, something they will pursue but never accomplish. They're stuck where
they are, with Ki-taek trapped in a basement and Ki-woo only able to see the home from afar.

There's a lot of talk these days about "income inequality," which is a strangely optimistic
word since it suggests that we can simply rebalance the scales through economic policies and
political action. Parasite is considerably more gloomy, believing that economic stagnation is the
new normal, and that the poor will die poor and the affluent will die rich. Ki-fantasy woo's is to
achieve upward economic mobility. Why would he have been living in a slum in the first place if
it was as simple as getting rich and buying that house? It's a great concept that he'll grow wealthy
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and purchase his father's house, and they'll all live happily ever after, but that will never happen.
We're all stuck in this situation.

"Parasite" is far from a comprehensive or full image of South Korean society, much alone
modern capitalism in its broadest social and cultural meaning. Rather, it's a finely honed
mechanism for an ultimately modest and moderate sorrow, a sensible filmmaker's flirting with
extreme modalities of expression and feeling that, despite their persistence, always return to the
moderate norm. It is neither nihilistic nor utopian, revolutionary nor visionary; instead, it wishes
and shrugs. "Parasite" is a good film in both aesthetic and moral terms, thanks to the weight of its
thoughts and the audacity of its narrative cleverness. Where it falls short of grandeur is in its
incapacity to fight with society and life in general—or with its own conservative aesthetic; it is
unwilling to risk upsetting its own schema in search of more radical experiences and ideas.
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Ceyhun Saraç - 200524068

Works Cited

 Brody, Richard. “How ‘Parasite’ Falls Short of Greatness | The New Yorker.” The New Yorker,
The New Yorker, 14 Oct. 2019, https://www.newyorker.com/culture/the-front-row/how-parasite-
falls-short-of-greatness.

 Dargis, Manohla. “‘Parasite’ Review: The Lower Depths Rise With a Vengeance - The New
York Times.” The New York Times - Breaking News, US News, World News and Videos, 10
Oct. 2019, https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/10/movies/parasite-review.html.

 Ehrlich, David. “Parasite Review: Bong Joon Ho Delivers a Devastating Financial Parable |
IndieWire.” IndieWire, IndieWire, 21 May 2019, https://www.indiewire.com/2019/05/parasite-
review-bong-joon-ho-1202143634/.

 Jung, E. Alex. “Parasite Ending, Explained by Bong Joon-Ho.” Vulture, Vulture, 14 Jan. 2020,
https://www.vulture.com/article/parasite-ending-explained-by-bong-joon-ho.html.

 Kench, Sam. “Parasite Movie Analysis, Synopsis and Ending Explained (Video Essay).”
StudioBinder, http://facebook.com/studiobinderapp, 20 Apr. 2020,
https://www.studiobinder.com/blog/parasite-movie-analysis/.

 Kermode, Mark. “Parasite Review – a Gasp-Inducing Masterpiece | Parasite | The Guardian.” The
Guardian, The Guardian, 10 Feb. 2020, https://www.theguardian.com/film/2020/feb/09/parasite-
review-bong-joon-ho-tragicomic-masterpiece.

 Rao, Sonia. “Bong Joon Ho’s ‘Parasite’: Unpacking the ‘Metaphorical’ Ending - The Washington
Post.” Washington Post, The Washington Post, 24 Oct. 2019,
https://www.washingtonpost.com/arts-entertainment/2019/10/24/unpacking-metaphorical-ending-
parasite/.

 Tallerico, Brian. “Parasite Movie Review & Film Summary (2019) | Roger Ebert.” Movie
Reviews and Ratings by Film Critic Roger Ebert | Roger Ebert,
https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/parasite-movie-review-2019. Accessed 10 Dec. 2021.
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 Wilkinson, Alissa. “Parasite Review: A Chilling Thrill Ride about Inequality - Vox.” Vox, Vox,
13 Sept. 2019, https://www.vox.com/culture/2019/9/13/20864365/parasite-review-bong-joon-ho .