Parasite: Picture perfect family

   Parasite in itself is a deplorable wake-up call from the lower class who clamor to be heard. Its multiple voices that need to speak their truth, its lyrics in a song whereas some shine bright and are noticed while others fall flat and keep the melody going. Its complete chaos and yet while we are all watching and lower class is calculating their movements as regards to how to move forward. This has to be my favorite film we have watched in my class because not only is it suspenseful, the writing in this movie is off the charts. There were many instances where I thought the Kim family would be caught or exposed, but then they used their smarts to get out of the situation. But technically, it seemed like the sister was the ringleader of the entire group. She knew how to manipulate the family and one scene where it’s obvious that she holds the power is when Ms. Park was telling the sister that the son was kinda “odd” in the sense that his drawings were extremely bizarre, the sister then brings up if Da-song had ever had something happen to him in the first grade as a response to this drawing. AT this point, we see a 180-degree camera shift from the mom to the sister as a way to shift the power. First, the mother was in control but now the sister is and you can see it in their faces as well. While Ms. Park has a horrified look on her face, the sister’s face is more stoic and reserved. Another scene that I think Bong Joon Ho did an extremely well job in is a small son and father moment from the lower class family. In this scene, a man is pissing right in front of their house, at this point the son takes it in himself to throw water on the man as a way to make him stop. It ultimately fails and he still keeps going, it’s not until the father comes up and douses him with a bucket of water. At first glance, this just might be a nice scene to include because it looks nice and shows their relationship but I believe that this scene was included to show them having power. They finally said, “enough” in regards to being treated like a second class citizen because of their social rank in their society. And having the son and the father pours water on the man was trying to show that the man is “Mr.Park” who is the man of the other household. 

    This movie was riddled with plot twists, laughter, and overall amazing timing and camera angles that I have never seen a movie implement. It falls into a category of its own and I am shocked to see it at number 29 on the IMDB list of “Top Rated Movies” (shockingly “The Shawshank Redemption is number 1, which makes no sense). It’s a movie with hidden messages and even though some of these characters are one dimensional you can understand their plight and their reasoning behind their actions, even if you don’t agree. This is one of those films where you can watch it over and over again and still find new material and social commentary in it for a different experience. 

  In response to the picture shown, it obviously is supposed to represent the Kims family because they literally live underground. The man looking up at the surface level shows how sneaky and secretive he is being, just like the family is. It’s very ominous in the sense that we can’t tell what is his going to do because everything but his eyes are covered.  It’s funny to me how this film came out last year and today people are talking about “eat the rich” or “eat the 1%” and I am all in for it but it shows how Bong Joon Ho was not making such a whimsical and “far out” movie. This division in the classes has been happening for years and this virus has just separated us even more.