Loved your review, the movie also relates to that idea that there is a lingering aura or curse upon people that follows them no matter how they deny it or destroy it. Cursed by society, nature or the gods.
When they're running to their home after floods and son says "What will Min do in this situation" the daughter screams "Min woudn't be in this situation" is powerful.
Olena Remezok i think she was stating that ,since he is wealthy, he wouldnt be looking to a flooded semi-basement floor. İnstead of backstabbing. Because the idea is to show the desperateness of the poor
@@SimfreakOlena he himself suggested the forgery of certificates Its actually about the inescapability of class distinctions. That's wht the ending frame meant. Rich people never come down on their will and in some way or other always are left with the assets better than the poor.
I saw on somewhere that the stone floating in the water meaning the stone is fake and the possibility of achieving wealth is just a illusion and it is why the stone didn’t kill him despite hit on his head.
I looked in to this, and it seems like the intention wasn't that the stone was a fake or hollow, but more that it was being called to Ki-woo: "'In the script, the rock didn't originally float,' Choi [Bong Joon-ho's translator] recalls. "But when we were shooting, director Bong was like, 'You know, I think it would be better if the stone floats up through the water.' I remember thinking, 'Whoa. What?'" www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/bong-joon-ho-reveals-significance-parasites-scholar-stone-1265811
Ruilin Yin Returning the stone to the water, too-and watching it blend in with the others despite its size-also points to how grand the pursuit of wealth seemed. Despite all that they’ve done, despite their plots and grand dreams, they are always one of the pond stones, continuously worn down by the current of time and circumstances until their influence, too, eventually disappears. It’s sobering.
I'm surprised you didn't touch on the symbol of "the line" that Mr. Park keeps bringing up. Like that shot of Mr. Kim in the office with him and he's seated right next to the line in the office window. Never crossing it, but always close.
@Weijie Yao - Different content creators can talk about the same topics without it being plagiarism. Plagiarism would be copying the entire video word for word in part or in whole. Drawing similar conclusions is inevitable when studying a text for common devices of the medium.
That is more directing and cinematography than writing. The script sets up the story, themes, characters, and dialogue. But the viewing experience, tone, pace and more things not in the script is really set by the director and DP. No wonder director Bong won Oscars for both script and directing.
I always marvel at the scene where Yon-Kyo notices Ki-Tek's smell while driving. She has her bare feet up on the back of the passenger seat and then notices the horrible smell. Ki-Tek, sitting right next to his employer's bare feet, focuses in on his own scent with an air of disgust towards himself. I've never seen a visualization of the saying "their shit don't stink" before but it is so perfect.
I see what you mean, but at the same time, Ki-Tek had literally just swam through sewage the night before and didn't have time to wash up or get clean clothes. He probably smelled worse than most feet after that.
@@krombopulos_michael And that's the point. He didn't have time. Because he's poor. He had to swim through sewage. Because he's poor. He didn't have a home or shower to go back to to clean up. Because he's poor. Remember, the storm affected everyone. The Parks had to cancel their camping trip. A "total disaster," she said. They had to drive home, change into pajamas, eat a nice meal, and tuck into bed. Yon-Kyo isn't poor, so she didn't have to wade through sewage. She isn't poor, so she had time to take a hot shower and get plenty of rest. She isn't poor, so she could afford to not smell. Hell, when she calls Ki-Jung to invite her, it's when she's at her makeup table. I would not be surprised if she had put some perfume on.
It was absolutely deliberate to have Yon-Kyo's bare feet in that scene. I also don't think it's a coincidence that Yon-Kyo is first shown noticing Ki-Taek's smell *after* her husband comments on it. Yes, Ki-Taek probably smells stronger than usual due to swimming in sewage water and not being able to shower or bathe, but also Mr. Park's comments made her more aware of Ki-Taek's smell whereas she usually doesn't pay attention to it.
_i think the scene that hit me the hardest in this film, aside from the ending, was when Ki-Taek was driving the rich woman home from the market, and she said on her phone: (paraphrasing a bit here)_ *_"the sky's so blue today. thanks to the rain yesterday, it wiped out all the pollution."_* _and that's exactly what class difference is. the rain that flooded houses and displaced the poor from their homes, is seen as nothing but a blessing by the rich._
In the same scene, what I find more relevant is Mrs Parks opening the window because she’s disgusted by Mr Kim smell. She has never felt that smell before, it’s only because her husband told her about it. Plus, she had taken off her shoes which is not only disrespectful to Mr Kim but also means the smell came from her bare feet.
escaladism it could not be that because Mrs Parks was not disgusted by Mr Kim’ daughter even though she has also spent the night at that gym and wore handover clothes. The daughter was accepted among the Parks because she didn’t have poverty written over her like her father, her brother has told her at one point « she fits in the house » which leads to another major scene in the movie: When she was stabbed, the Parks as much as they ‘liked’ her, didn’t blink an eye nor even consider taking her with their son to the hospital. It’s clearly a critical analysis of the rich kindness and philanthropy. I would recommend Patriot Act, episode « Will billionaires save us », it’s unrelated but I swear it feels like an extension to the movie.
@@Ema-nt3gp The smell definitely didn’t come from her feet. That‘s the point, even with her bare feet out, it‘s still the poor that smells bad. He had literally swam through sewage water the night before and since he has no home, no opportunity to shower. You see her at her make up table before she calls him. The smell definitely didn’t come from her feet.
I think it's really cool that of all senses that Bong Joon-ho could have used as a symbol, it's smell: the one sense you can't visually perceive in cinema. You can show how things feel, you can show how tasty things can be, but you can't show smell. It's invisible and inescapable, just like the poverty of the Kim family.
@@camtothemax it's not about this video what are you talking about? it's about how smell isn't anything different from taste and if you are smart enough, you can have a good visual that shows how smelly something is, as easy as showing tasting
Those subtitles actually made no sense. Who would speak like that? He used some Korean word which has no translation in English. I personally think this movie is more enjoyed by the Koreans who actually understand the dialogues
@@ultimateeditorz7754 It didn't really take away from the enjoyment for me. I just figured, "Well, he's using some Korean phrase that has a weird literal English translation. Okay, whatever. Who cares? I get what he means."
I lol’ed so hard at that line. I took it as a very cheeky way for Bong Joon-ho to say, “like, this stone will totally be important to the film, obviously!”
I just saw this film. It hit me so hard and so sad. There was this girl in my university who was noticeably part of a struggling family. She worked hard, she was normal, she had a character but she was nice as anyone else. But one thing I heard once or twice being mentioned about her was "she smelled". My classmates (usually the wealthy ones) always said that. Sometimes in a mean way, sometimes in a "I like her, but there is this thing about her...". And the thing is... It was true. And once I had a project with her and went to her house. It was an old house, and the walls kept the humidity, which gave that smell. But I as well had noticed that smell before, in an old house of my cousins. They just didn't have the money to fix some filtrations. And I had even noticed it in myself one time when there was a leak in my bathroom which took long to repair. I was so self conscious. Because I knew people would judge me like they judged my classmate. And wondered if my wealthy friends thought the same "she smells". When I saw this film... I couldn't avoid thinking at how evil all that was. Now I don't smell... But it's because I have a job that allows me to repair my house, to buy perfume, to buy lotion... But deep down I think. Without all that. Without the money to avoid it, we all smell.
It’s insane how right you are. I come from a middle class family but went to an upper class high school and was always so aware of how I smelled. That’s something I noticed very early subconsciously that your smell unmasks you and I was always super aware of how my clothes smelled. I still am as a matter of fact. Such a subtle thing and so well caught in the movie and also in your comment..
SPOILER when the Kim family first finds the housekeeper's husband in the secret bunker they also smell him, highlighting the different status even in the poor community.
Yeah that scene was great. Two families almost in the exact same boat since they both ran unsuccessful businesses fighting life and death to get some of the crumbs off their rich bosses
I think another way to display the status was elevation. The Park's family lives on the hill with a yard that does not have any tall buildings in the background; just stars or sunshine. Kim's family lives in a sub-basement with the view of people's feet and has barely any natural light. When the housekeeper is introduced she is first considered in a way more refined and successful than Kims; since she was a housekeeper to the previous family as well. And then we find eventually that her husband is actually living in the basement with no view at all. So, their status as a family suddenly goes lower than Kim's. After Ki-Taek commits the crime he confines himself to the same basement; resigning to a lowest level of life with no observable future.
I thought it was interesting that there were a lot of scenes in the film in which characters at a lower elevation were watching people above them, and the people above them were completely unaware that they were there.
You're complicating it, they smell him in disgust, showing that often when poor people are elevated even slightly or temporarily, they look at the people of their original class in disgust, forgetting that yesterday they were in the same boat together. I understood that scene in this way because in my country it's a common occurrence what i have explained above.
You can also tell that there is still a difference between the two poor families in the way they live. The apartment of the Kim family is half below the ground and half above. While the housekeeper's husband lives completely under the ground.
My favorite motif in the film are ascent and descent. During the first act, it is all about ascent. The Kims are slowly moving up, both metaphorically in infiltrating the Park family and taking part of their societal status, but also physically as the Park's home is on top of a hill, while the Kims' home is on the bottom of society and physically on the bottom of the city, all streets away are on an incline (and they live in the basement apartment of the building to boot). The second act is characterized by descent. First into the basement of the Parks' home, and finally a long way to the Kims' house, downhill all the way, while metaphorically their scheme almost completely falls apart and their home is destroyed by the flood. The third act shows both, as the dangers from the basement come bubbling up and bring a great downfall to all involved. One of the final scenes has the son of the Kim's climb a hill to observe the house. But this is only temporary. A fake. He is only pretending to be of a higher class, but inevitably he will have to leave the hill again. In the same scene he speaks about making an honest go and amassing enough wealth to buy the house and free his father trapped on the basement, even lower than the family was at the start of the film. However, that idea is a pipe-dream, no more real than the ability to stay on top of the hill permanently.
This is a constructive explanation of your theory! I commend this one. There is so much you can get from this film. This one should be my favorite. But you have to ask: why do you always go from one level to another? Why not stay forever above or below? Maybe because that's how life plays out.
And also the sewage water flowing along with them as they return to their flooded home shows the waste and rejections from the upper classes flowing down into the streets of the poor, who have no control over the matter.
The gift that Min gives the Kim family is also known as "suseok" or scholar's stone, similar to the "gongshi" of Chinese scholars. These items are coveted by a very specific, erudite, and often privileged caste of Korean society. They also represent a history far removed from the present. Bong Joon Ho has stated in interviews that this gift is a very strange choice, in my interpretation it is symbolic of an old-money plutocracy that has almost no application to the Kim family. This gift is useless to the Kims and even the mother states that food would be better. Instead, this symbol of the vast differences in culture and valuation between the upper and lower classes becomes a literal weight that the poor family drags around as a symbolic token of hope and eventual (false) prosperity. The fact that the son is smashed in the head with the stone towards the movie's conclusion only reinforces one of the most central themes of the film: that the system which produces wealth inequality also renders relations between classes problematic: each cannot understand the other. Although Min had the best of intentions in giving this gift to the Kims, his inability to grasp the reality of their situation, to provide them with a false hope in this useless stone, is the motivating force that pushes the film towards its inevitable and tragic conclusion.
Also, not knowing much about the stone itself, I mainly focused on what was shown in the movie. In the explanation, they tell us that it provides the bearer with "material" wealth. Meaning, there are different kinds of wealth. Kim family may be poor, but they seem to get along well and are happy. on the other hand, the Park family has a lot of wealth but they seem dysfunctional. They pick fights over ramen, and Kim asks Park if he loves his wife twice. it is almost as if, Kim was hoping that he could take a small respite that the Kims dont have family happiness. But it felt like the straw that broke the camel's back was when Kim says "and you are trying so hard, so you do love your wife" where he feels that parks have it all and Park reminds him that he is an employee and not a guest or a friend. The smell of the old housekeeper's dead jusband was just the trigger.
one additional thought I had on the stone was the fact that it was associated with scholars, which for much of korean history was the way that someone of a lower status could improve their standing in society. In the Joseon dynasty and the Koryo dynasty before it the exam system for government service was supposed to function as a way for people of any class with the needed ability to work their way up so to speak (although it ultimately ended up being more of a tool for nepotism). In this sense Kiwoo, who dreamed of going to a prestigious university in order to escape poverty, can be seen as being obsessed with the old system which supposedly brought the most talented to the top despite the fact that the system he is in is broken and serves the purpose of keeping him down.
As a Korean-American, I am thrilled and surprised how well "Korean" symbols translated so universally across the globe. That speaks volumes about Bong's mastery in storytelling.
Bang on mate! Bong has been telling fantastic stories for so long. He indeed had to become a master some day! Also I just saw the movie and straightaway came here to get a deeper understanding. The video and the comments quite rightly reveal that the movie is so powerful because of its symbols
@@esmeraldaj8492 I am talking about themes you are talking about symbols or elements. You did see that I wrote "themes" not "elements" and you understand the difference, correct? Yes, Korean symbols abound in the movie. Many of those references, of course, will be completely missed by non-Korean audiences. Those things make the movie interesting and endearing to Korean audiences. The parts (or themes) that are easily accessible to all humans of all cultures make it a great movie.
I especially liked the moment where he puts the rock in the stream and all the other rocks look exactly the same as the one he put so much meaning into.
Still breaks my heart that Ki-Jung died of all the people, the fact that the wealthy mother foreshadowed that all of the art tutors lasted only one month, her misfortune that she perished when her time was up.
I've heard this specific theory about Ki-Jung multiple times but it's where the family say that she's the only member of the family who actually fits in with the Kim family and had the chance to break out of the poorer class of people which is the reason she was the only one who died. I feel like I explained that really badly but if you want I can elaborate 😭
*"Why was this South Korean film able to to resonate across the world?"* well, in the words of bong himself: "We all essentially live in the same country, and it's name is Capitalism"
@The Bandog Does that make Capitalism any better? I don't think so. Just because other countries citizens have problems doesn't mean that capitalism isn't criticizable. Also the Kims wouldn't have been fine, since they weren't when the movie started, before they took ruthless actions.
@@lpforever1854 Yes. Yes it does. Sorry, but people living in South Korea, Canada, the US, Sweden, etc have things so so much better than people living in North Korea, Venezuela, China, etc. To imply that just because there are faults with capitalism, that means the two are equivalent shows an insulting level of ignorance and privelage.
@@krombopulos_michael He didn't say equal, he said it should still be criticizable. Late-stage capitalism has some vertical movement, but that doesn't change the fact that at the end of the day, regardless of system, there are those who thrive only at the suffering of others. Happiness for one can only come at the expense of anothers suffering, and capitalism has merely made this a game rather than a rule.
Parasite is phenomenal film .one of the best of the decade, it deserves all the oscars. The academy made the right choice. Great work Michael! Thanks for this video.
Water is also a huge symbol imo; the flooding of their house, the water they throw on the drunk man, the sparkling water the rich family drinks etc etc
Eh, to the extent it's a symbol, well... Water symbolizes nature. It isn't the flooding; it's the storm. The flooding happens because the poor don't have the means to corral nature. The Parks' house doesn't flood because it can withstand nature. To quote Hamlet, water is the "slings and arrows of outrageous fortune". Life throws shit at you and your means determines how well you can handle it. You can make it fucking sparkle if you want. I mean, how do you think the Kims and Parks would handle coronavirus?
@@Duiker36 Not only did water show how their houses are different, but it also showed that the heavy rain that ruined the Parks' outing flooded a lot of basement houses, showing how different the lives of the two families are. A small inconvenience to the rich people could be a tragedy to those who are poor.
@@rhanjoncarpio7875 Exactly my thoughts! And in the Parks', it's a soft pitter in the distance, juxtaposed to the roaring rivers of literal shit in the Kims'. The Parks' lives are so clean, so comfortable, so pure and untouchable... I just love this movie and the way it makes you think.
I grew up being singled out, ignored, spoken down toward, and even vilified in public for being raised on WIC, Food Stamps, and the Medical Card. This film is very special to me.
that sounds tough.. I also grew up poor but thanks to living in a socialist democratic country in mid europe, I had the opportunity to study without barriers (e.g. free university) and achieve my goals. I wouldn't say I'm wealthy now, but thank God, I don't have to worry about money anymore and belong to the upper middle class probably. I don't understand how people in th e US hate bernie sanders, what he's preaching is not radical but he fights for basic human rights and opportunities for everyone like we have in Finland, Germany, Switzerland, etc. people always try portray his views as communist and are afraid of becoming like North Korea the best indicator for a good country is that the middle class population is the largest... but most Americans and South Koreans unfortunately want to keep the wealth divide up and for poor people to cling to a false hope of achieving economic mobility and become rich
I don't know, this film is about a poor family that lies to and takes advantage of a rich family, then later finding out they aren't the only ones in a series of events that leads to the rich man being murdered and the family being either arrested and fugitives. Now I haven't seen the film so I understand it might be very sympathetic, but that seems like a really negative light.
@@JesseGolo Watch the film. The reason the poor family took such drastic mesures to achieve a better standard of living, is because of how horrible their quality of life is at the beginning of the movie, jobs are hard to come by, they pay like shit and education costs a fortune.
When he places the stone back on the bottom of the stream, it’s almost like he places his aspirations back in his stream of consciousness, returning it to the other unrealized daydreams and thoughts he will never act on. If he hadn’t made an effort to make a better life for himself and his family, would his sister still be alive and so on. Is it even worth it to try changing your life?
Tiny Rock I thought it was to show that the rock wasn’t special, like all the other rocks and that the symbol it represented was fake all a long. Like believing the rock is more than a rock is the same disillusioned idea of escaping poverty.
The stone isn't aspiration. The stone represents the willingness to cheat and steal to get rich. Once he puts it in the river, he doesn't give up on becoming rich, but commits himself to earning money properly to free his father.
I am surprised that how they treat the stone, more specifically what fluids touch the stone. I think it gives so much more meaning to the already existing symbol of the stone. First at the beginning we can see the mom brushing,cleaning the stone, and they start taking over the family. Then in the downpour, it touches sewage water this is when their luck gets all erased and things start going badly. Third time it touches the son's blood, and murders ensue. And finally when he lets go of the stone, he places it in a little creek where the clean water wipes away all the bad thing, cleansing it and the family with it.
I love that when the son smells the kims, he doesn’t say they smell bad. Only the parents mention the smell is bad. Which proves that the parents have made it a bad smell because they associate it with being poor
Even the gutter from the Parks all the way down to the Kims' area where it has flooded is a symbolism. God, this movie is a whole book to nitpick the good details.
Can we take a moment to appreciate how the videos are always so well-written and produced? The smooth flow between ideas combined with the minimalist yet sort of crisp visuals and music actually make me feel like I learn a lot more. Thank you, LFSP team and stay safe!
Great video! When I left the theatre, I kept thinking about that scene of Da-Song sniffing the Kims. I thought it was a way to represent how he's unknowingly learning his parents' habits of telling people apart by class status through smell.
Hope you're all keeping safe and staying inside as much as possible! We're in a lucky situation where the LFTS team can all work remotely-so the good news is we have many more videos on the way!
The final detail in the story, and I love how subtle it is, is that only after Ki Woo is left literally brain damaged from his symbol (the stone) does he actually begin to believe he can - through legitimate means - achieve wealth and join the affluent.
Giraffe good catch. The credit for that goes to the production design and/or prop master for paying attention to script details. Movies are really a team effort.
@@ADifferentVibe no that really isn't where you would point out the detail because its basically the same as making a character that acts like it graduated Harvard.
@@user-wu7ny8vw2q The reason his films reach the globe is solely because he is from yonsei too. The SKY universities always get the most amount of funding, money, support and recognition from the govt. All employers first look at which uni you went to and if it is SKY you'll get favoured real quick.
In the movie when we first meet the kims, we can spot them drinking Flite which is considered as a cheap beer and after Ki-Woo and Ki-Jung start working for the parks, they can now afford Sapporo, a premium beer.
There is also the symbolism of height throughout the movie. The Kim family lives right under the street which shows that they are poor but have enough hope to think they can get out of it. Meanwhile, the Park family not only lives above ground on a hill but you all have to take stairs to even get to their house in the first place, showing not just how rich they are but how disconnected they are as well
And despite this serving indeed as metaphors this is actually how certain Korean cities work, with poor families living on smelly basements and rich households living on higher places to escape the smell. The New York Times did a piece on this a few weeks ago
I think most people noticed that too, and that's more of a director and DP seeing these themes and expanding that to the viewing experience. This movie is a perfect example on how to take an already great script and elevating it by directing methods and the way it's filmed to make the whole product work together seamlessly.
I loved the scene where they have to get back to their house after almost being discovered - they descend those stairs for a significantly long time (screentime wise anyway), constantly descending back to their true level, so much lower than these rich upper class people. It feels like they're on a different dimension, with the rain adding insult to injury !!
The parks are also very disconnected between themselves, the mom is obsessed with her son but she never really touches him, let alone hug or kiss him, and he is shown to be very lonely - keeping in touch with the old maid and not really having any friends. The girl isn't getting enough attention - she is often on her phone/with headphones on, when they get home from the failed camping trip she goes straight to her room. When the mom gets the ram-don and the son doesn't want it, (I think she asks her husband first?) She doesn't offer her daughter and then the daughter complains about it. I'm guessing the lack of attention is probably why she tries to romance her tutors. There is no show of affection or love between them other then the parents' sex scene.
The symbol of smell is actually introduced much earlier than page 57 of the script. In the film's first scene, Ki-Tek notes that the house is full of "stink bugs." It's actually why they're trying to take advantage of the "free" fumigation through their open window.
The smell theme doesn't wait till page 57 of the screenplay to be introduced... one of the first shots is Mr Kim flicking a stink-bug off his table. The fumigation scene also pertains
It may be harder for the Western audiences to understand, but the movie also touches a lot on the North vs. South Korea divide as a motif, trying to demonstrate that the communism and capitalism are not that different. For example, when the housekeeper and the husband caught the Kims on video and threaten them, referring to the 'send' button as the nuclear button. Also, housekeeper's husband keeping posters in the basement of the Park husband with the words "CEO" etc and worshiping him, in a very similar way North Koreans may idolise their leader.
Indeed. It is a persistent issue of cognitive dissonance here in South Korea that South Korea is a corporate monarchy, while North Korea is a dynastic state monarchy. Either way, the people lose.
I just realized..... the movie combines the symbol of the ascent and descent with the idea that “Plans never work” to show in multiple ways that the impossibility of the poor family’s social rise. In the last scene, the son begins his letter to his dad by stating, “I have a plan.” This Opening by itself shows that he is destined to fail, as it was proven earlier in the movie that “plans never work”. And at the end of the letter the son says all the dad has to do is walk up the stairs. Walking up the stairs, literally moving up, is a symbol of social rise. But as hinted by the beginning of the letter, this will never happen.
For Min to offer the job to him as a tutor, was because Min knew that the son is from a poor family and therefore assuming he would not stand a chance with the rich daughter. He had rich friends who could’ve taken the job as tutor but knowing that the son, being poor and not being in college, was a safer option. Either way, Min was also benefitting from it. Also reminding us that people always do things to benefit themselves and their own motives. Another thing that I took note was when the poor family returned to their flooded home, it reminded me of rats running into the sewers. With all the trash in the murky waters, the lighting and all.
One of my favorite details in Parasite is Kim's going through the city in heavy rain after escaping the mansion unnoticed. Majority of the time they go downwards, symbolizing their fall to the bottom of society ladder. Amazing movie and well deserved Best Picture winner.
@@nengyang5664 they would gender swap and race swap things for no reason, add a subplot about obesity, add something about Trump, add another thing about wearing masks, add something about interracial dating, make a few of the characters gay. The movie would lose $300M due to it sucking but it would still have a 92% critic rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
My family risen from ground up. and now even if my family have money i refuse to take it and trying to build my own life. (Already failed 2 time, This time i am in much better position) Unlike most people i refuse to accept failure and took responsibility of my failures.
When Ki-woo picks up the Viewing Stone with the intention of using it to hit/scare the person peeing outside their window, I read it as him symbolically assuming his friend Min's persona since the stone can be read as a stand-in/remnant of Min's character and Ki-woo seemed particularly impressed with Min's handling of the same event at the start of the film.
11:25 That's an interesting take on that final shot of the stone, though I guess at the time of watching I read it slightly differently in that just like the stone, people are only deemed special or gain privilege and status simply because other people deem them so, otherwise we're all just rocks in a river. A scholar's stone is simply so because someone decided to put it on a pedestal and give it the title, yet it bears no real higher importance over any other stone you may find.
Ya that make sense considering how they deemed his sister and even invited her to the party as a guest when in the rich family eyes they saw her as a part of etc when in reality she is just poor
I was thinking the same thing. I obviously don't speak Korean, but they managed to get the wit across really well, which ain't easy. The wonderful performances really helped too.
I thought that Ki-Woo was bringing the stone to the basement as a peace offering, wanting to share his hope with the other family. But they don’t recognise this hope, content to serve the rich family, and ignorantly use the symbol as a simple weapon.
I think you are right! I did not see it as the plan to do harm to the couple in the basement either. When he has entered and sees the lady laying on the ground, he is asking if she is okay...
@@odoridori Ki-woo doesn't know the wife is dead when he goes down there with the rock... Mr. Kim only checked that she was breathing before locking them in there and she died afterwards
I didn't see it so much as them not recognizing the hope, but that they just had a relatively violent encounter with these people where they threatened them Because of that adversarial encounter they have no reason to assume they weren't coming to the basement to "finish them off" (the only other possibilities are: the family keeps them trapped and feeds them or thay let them both leave... very slim possibilities)
@@LessonsfromtheScreenplay I agree. Thanks for explaining symbols and motifs so well. I also like the way you characterized theme being more abstract but what is Parasite's theme exactly?
There's something vaguely Daoist about how the main character laughs constantly after getting nearly brained. It's like the injury allowed him to laugh at the absurdity of life.
kind of like Reality hits him in the head. And note he keeps saying stuff like = the detective who did not look like a detective and a doctor who did not look like a doctor. A big lean on stereotypes and cons almost as if he is realising that life is one big con.
@@slanguagefreak2388 the fact that he keeps dreaming of a better life and becoming rich even though Bong Joon Ho makes it clear that he won't be able to escape from poverty shows that reality has not hit him
at the end, those symbols somehow give away who the real parasites are by definition : "A parasite is also a person who uses others to obtain an advantage without doing anything in exchange". Those symbols serve to reinforce the inequality between the wealthy and the poor. We might think the poor are the one profiting from the rich, until we realize : - they are being kept apart even thought they are working for the rich, with their smell and status until they die (the wealthy don't give a damn about their well-being during the flood or the ending) - the rock, admiration for the wealth are translated via "hope". Instead of realizing how unfair their conditions are, the poor are hypnotised to think everything will always be "better" by emulating the wealthy, and fighting against other poor people (the theme inside the movie) instead of being compassionate and cooperate. The rich are the ultimate parasites, as they are feeding the poor with those notions and concept, which reinforce their status, and never allow anyone to cross that invisible "line".
Great comment. The creators clearly didn’t want to paint either family as “black and white”, but I see so many comments and analysis focused on the rich being parasites, but forget how poorly the Kims treated the basement couple and thus, also being parasites in their own way.
Marooshaz the basement couple were also parasites in that she kept her husband in their house without their knowledge as well. the layers are all so good!
It is interesting after watching this and reading the comments that I had quite a different interpretation of the movie. I remember watching it and thinking that it shows how poverty elicits parasitic and at times immoral behaviour just to escape poverty. The rich were portrayed as happy and polite, so these two polarities struck me. I obtained this resonance by myself changing from poor social class to middle class and spending more time with the upper class. I always observed that people at the bottom would steal, and try to get money or goods for free again simply because they have no money, the ideas of hopelessness as well. After all, reality is interpreted from personal lense.
I am Korean. There's one more Korean symbol. In Korea, due to the influence of Confucian culture, young people generally use honorifics to older people. At the beginning of the movie, the young president of the Pizza Generation uses informal language(in a slightly aggressive and irritating tone), and Kim's parents ask the young president to continue to hire them as a part-time job, in honorific language. I left this comment to help you guys understand and enjoy the film because it seems to be a hard thing to notice due to the limitations of translation.
On Ki-woo going back to the basement: I read that as him feeling guilt for how the two people trapped down there were treated, so he was going to gift them the stone as a gesture of goodwill.
I don't think that holds up given how tense he is when he goes down there. And his whole arc throughout the film. But admittedly I was hoping he had good intentions, nothing good would come from using a symbol of good luck to commit violence.
He want them to climb their social status (class empathy, a constant theme in Bong filmographyin) the same way he think his family did. But world don't work like that.
I read it as him taking the stone just for self protection in case they would attack him, but actually wanted to help them (knowing/thinking they are helpless down there at the time)
That wouldn't make any thematic sense and the text doesn't support it. His coldness when he decides to go down and his skittishness at the stairs clearly indicates he's there to finish them off. The film is also very pessimistic in general about the idea of class solidarity. The two lower class families are viciously opposed to one another, and both times when one tries to appeal to the solidarity of the other, it is rejected harshly.
I think the most powerful thing about this film is how it swings between naturalistic to abstract space. From a rediculous fights in the basements, which was clearly full of symbolism it switches to the flood scene which felt like reality hitting you right in the face. And all felt natural, tied up in the plot iteself.
This movie is a great example of how movies don't have to be overly complex using convuluted structure and abstraction to set up effective symbolism. While LFTS didn't mention all the symbols(stairs, America, the diffrent foods), many of them were easy enough to pick up on in the first viewing. Even if you miss a bunch, your average viewer will pick up on enough of them to engage with the film. And it makes repeated viewings enjoyable still.
What's so brilliant about both symbols is how they oppose between each other and reflect the title of the film: The rock is a parasite which lives from the aspirations of the Kim family to get out of poverty; whilst the smell, also lives from them threatening to spread to the rich family, and is the perfect opposite which condemns them to never escape the lower class. A true masterpiece, thanx, guys, great video as usual!!!
One thing that stuck out to me was the parallel between the frame where they were running from the Parks' home in the rain, quickly walking down the long stairs of the city going down to the place they lived in and the long stairs in the house itself. It's like the house *is* society. The stairs inside are the miniature version of the big ones that exist outside.
I also like how the movie shows us that intelligence and hard work isn’t enough to make it out of poverty, as both the son and daughter of the Kim family are shown to be way smarter than the wealthy family, like when they’re talking about the little kids paintings, the son is talking about how metaphorical it is and talks intelligently about it, while the rich wife just nods kinda confused
Kubrick was a master of Symbols, Motifs, Themes. 2001 ASO is one classic example yet the Hollywood award system had no idea of the masterpiece he produced. Using the power of symbols is no guarantee of any award success. In fact it may just spook an audience who are just out for cheap entertainment.
The scene where Ki Woo drops the rock in the stairs (10:40) is a perfect representation of the myth of Sisyphus. At that very moment, the rock comes tumbling down, he looses everything. He has to start again from the beginning, regaining his poverty. All his life, no matter how hard he works his way up in society, something will bring him back to the bottom. Like Sisyphus, he will try all his life to climb his rock to the top of the mountain, but it will always come down. His quest is therefore vain and eternal. I find this scene extremely powerful and sad... but true.
Don't forget about the use of HEIGHT and how the cinematography made it clear by taking stair shots angled from below going up to show the rich family(and their neighbourhood)'s wealth and status and then consecutive shots of the Kim family going down levels and levels of stairs to visually portray their poverty and low status. The use of heights also inevitably shows the rich family's access to sunlight or the sky while the Kims could barely see the outside world through their window as they live literally not just on the ground, but underground. It is also cleaner and greener at the top but as a consequence, all their trash and sewage fall down to the poor.
One thing I love about this film is that it reminds me how uncomfortable I always feel to encounter people who **happily** serve you for a living. Because I know deep down no one, if they have a choice, would not want to be made to feel inferior to someone. I just feel like it's all just a show so I cannot genuinely enjoy most personal service experiences, I feel sad. I used to have a house maid and a nanny, and quite familiar with having a personal driver when I accompanied a family member, though some were distant relatives, I always saw that people who did a personal service job had a struggling family and/or financial problems to take care of. I mean, we all have this sort of problems too, but the nature of their jobs making it worse. I myself am never interested in having a house maid or personal driver and stuff like that even if I were ultra rich and had my own family. I like to have privacy in my house and I know personal service personnels don't really care about me or my family lol. When I saw the poor family in the film having to put on a face just to serve the rich people's luxury and happy events despite their desperate situation at home with flood and stuff, it was very moving.
I’m glad you make this, I obsessed over the rock, the smell, the line, and all the motifs and themes throughout parasite for awhile. Notice how lower class and the needy constantly struggle and fight amongst each other, trying to cheat their way to a life of wealth. The rock is used as a weapon to literally represent this struggle. But while this is the way they try to achieve wealth it is a dirty way, and after the midpoint they go back to the rock and it’s in muddy water. At the end of the film the son completes his arc and plans on earning money an honest way instead of through cheating the system, and he puts the rock in clean water, contrary to the dirty water after their failures. There is a lot of meaning around it and a lot to think about and I love how smart and interesting this movie is. Great video
What I noticed was how the last note of the music in the fob was a note that shouldn’t be the last now. Normally you come back to the tonic and the human hearing is correct, however if you leave the tonic out, the piece sounds unfinished and the human ear “longs” for the last note. Even the smallest details of this movie are perfect. It shows how Ki Woo’s live didn’t end there but rather it was just the beginning.
Also I want to say that the use of the mobile phone as a key tool for the premise was so unique. Complexity of situations and the way of getting out of them, both were signified with it. That was another thing that reiterated maybe that it can be a boon and a bane alike.
The stone is a 'Suiseki' viewing stone. They are treated like Bonsai. The stones can represent many things: mountain ranges, clouds, waterfalls, etc. I have collected many but my most prized is just normal Granite, BUT... I brought it home because I thought it might be a native American 'Hammer stone' due to its size and weight. The stone is a little larger than a mans fist, smooth and river worn. I placed it on the table next to where I sit every day, outside under my patio cover. One day, about 2 weeks after I placed it there, while looking at the stone, I noticed something, I hadn't seen before.... I saw a number, in the stone, it was the number 2. I was surprised because although I had collected stones all my life, I had never seen such a formation. The stone is Granite (black and white) but the number 2 was formed in Quartz. Upon further examination, I've got several more of the same '2' in the stone, even a 3, but I believe it to be a doubled 2.
What I learned in this movie is that building a city in a mountain is not a great idea for those living on the base, as shit flows downstream. Also works for economics.
Kevin called the stone ‘Dolmaengi’. This is a way to call a stone commonly seen on the road. This is the scene where he realizes that if he puts a stone in an expensive box, people will bow down. Things like ‘diploma’, ‘tent ordered from America’, ‘art psychotherapy’, or ‘Oscar movie’.
You have changed my perspective on viewing film and stories. I watched lot of films for fun , never new stories can be so expressive until i watched this video. You realy were great and amazing u clearly described the hidden meaning and narrative of writter . I am blow away wow
I grew up lower middle class, and in 8th grade I had made a friend that was very wealthy. Watching this made me remember how much they always told me about how me and my belongings smelled. I could barely go a day without them saying they hated how I smelled, or that I smelled gross, even tho I wore perfume and deodorant everyday. They also would comment about the smell of my moms car, or the smell of my room, making jokes about the smell. It’s fascinating honestly, I couldn’t escape the smell of my status.
Great to see another vid! Parasite is hands down one of the best screenplays I've read and one of the few that had me compulsively turning the pages. It took me just over an hour to read in one sitting, something I've never done. Phenomenal.
Parasite struck a cord because it touched on the current cultural zeitgeist. Same with American Beauty in 1999. It's the movie that best represents what's going on in the world and what fears and struggles society is grappling with at the time of its release.
I really appreciate that ya’ll always source your definitions from somewhere when you recognize that the definition in question may not be universally applicable.
I thought I read somewhere that the director said that Ki-woo was bringing the stone down to the basement as a "peace offering" to the man in the basement and not as a weapon to kill them, hoping the luck it brought would help the family in the basement and also suggesting that he didn't know at the time that the house-keeper was dead.
Here's the mark of a great, even extraordinary film. Months after its release and its acclaim, there have been LOTS of really insightful essays on TH-cam about the power of its various aspects. (Like the concept of "The Line," which has been alluded to in these comments.) And yet here comes one, so many months later, that finds even newer insights into its brilliance. Bravo, Michael. Thank you SO MUCH. Gosh, I wish the upcoming Criterion Blu-Ray would compile some of these essays into its bonus features.
One of the greatest yet subtle symbolisms is the Ram-don. A dish comprised of cheap commoner food on the bottom, and (relatively) gourmet food on top. Easily symbolizing the status quo, and more overtly, the cast.
This movie was an absolute masterpiece in every way. Ans as you so well explained it was well-accessible even for an audience that is not familiar with Korean culture (like myself). I was so happy it won the Oscar.
I think it happens a similar thing with stairs, they are also used as a symbol, especially to represent the desire to achieve a "different level" of status, and when they have to run from the Parks house to their house, the Kims are reminded that they would have to scale a ton of stairs before having the life the Parks have.
Yes! Parasite was my favorite film of 2019! Can you please do a video on the lighthouse and marriage story which were my second and third favorite films of that year. Also, in the script, when you se that shot of the man chopping fire wood with the axe in the party scene, ki taek was actually supposed to stab mr park with that axe. Thinking that it was the toy axe from the little skit they were going to throw earlier.
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Lessons from the Screenplay your videos are always nicely done
Thank you!
your videos are amazing congratulations for such good job
Loved your review, the movie also relates to that idea that there is a lingering aura or curse upon people that follows them no matter how they deny it or destroy it. Cursed by society, nature or the gods.
Spanish please
When they're running to their home after floods and son says "What will Min do in this situation" the daughter screams "Min woudn't be in this situation" is powerful.
I did interpret her statement in the way that Min wouldn't use deception and backstabbing which got them into this situation at first
oh wow I remember that scene too. So sad.
Olena Remezok i think she was stating that ,since he is wealthy, he wouldnt be looking to a flooded semi-basement floor. İnstead of backstabbing. Because the idea is to show the desperateness of the poor
@@SimfreakOlena he himself suggested the forgery of certificates
Its actually about the inescapability of class distinctions.
That's wht the ending frame meant.
Rich people never come down on their will and in some way or other always are left with the assets better than the poor.
Toxic the son was actually the biggest idiot even in the end he goes and makes a plan even tho his dad said plans don't work
I saw on somewhere that the stone floating in the water meaning the stone is fake and the possibility of achieving wealth is just a illusion and it is why the stone didn’t kill him despite hit on his head.
I looked in to this, and it seems like the intention wasn't that the stone was a fake or hollow, but more that it was being called to Ki-woo:
"'In the script, the rock didn't originally float,' Choi [Bong Joon-ho's translator] recalls. "But when we were shooting, director Bong was like, 'You know, I think it would be better if the stone floats up through the water.' I remember thinking, 'Whoa. What?'"
www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/bong-joon-ho-reveals-significance-parasites-scholar-stone-1265811
Ruilin Yin Returning the stone to the water, too-and watching it blend in with the others despite its size-also points to how grand the pursuit of wealth seemed. Despite all that they’ve done, despite their plots and grand dreams, they are always one of the pond stones, continuously worn down by the current of time and circumstances until their influence, too, eventually disappears. It’s sobering.
At the end of the film he does place it in a stream, where it doesn't float.
Exactly my thoughts. I imagined teh rock floating as a proof of the inescapable social status he is in as well as his rich friend lying to him.
@@chaosof99 my understanding is that the scene is in the "dream sequence" of Ki-woo so it might be just a illusion
I'm surprised you didn't touch on the symbol of "the line" that Mr. Park keeps bringing up. Like that shot of Mr. Kim in the office with him and he's seated right next to the line in the office window. Never crossing it, but always close.
Yeah, we didn't touch on it since it's not described in the screenplay, but the directing is superb in this film.
cause nerdwriter alrdy did it and that'd be plagarism
@@Weejee456 It wouldn't be plagisrism unless he copied what he said word by word
@Weijie Yao - Different content creators can talk about the same topics without it being plagiarism. Plagiarism would be copying the entire video word for word in part or in whole. Drawing similar conclusions is inevitable when studying a text for common devices of the medium.
That is more directing and cinematography than writing. The script sets up the story, themes, characters, and dialogue. But the viewing experience, tone, pace and more things not in the script is really set by the director and DP. No wonder director Bong won Oscars for both script and directing.
I always marvel at the scene where Yon-Kyo notices Ki-Tek's smell while driving. She has her bare feet up on the back of the passenger seat and then notices the horrible smell. Ki-Tek, sitting right next to his employer's bare feet, focuses in on his own scent with an air of disgust towards himself.
I've never seen a visualization of the saying "their shit don't stink" before but it is so perfect.
I see what you mean, but at the same time, Ki-Tek had literally just swam through sewage the night before and didn't have time to wash up or get clean clothes. He probably smelled worse than most feet after that.
@@krombopulos_michael And that's the point. He didn't have time. Because he's poor. He had to swim through sewage. Because he's poor. He didn't have a home or shower to go back to to clean up. Because he's poor.
Remember, the storm affected everyone. The Parks had to cancel their camping trip. A "total disaster," she said. They had to drive home, change into pajamas, eat a nice meal, and tuck into bed. Yon-Kyo isn't poor, so she didn't have to wade through sewage. She isn't poor, so she had time to take a hot shower and get plenty of rest.
She isn't poor, so she could afford to not smell. Hell, when she calls Ki-Jung to invite her, it's when she's at her makeup table. I would not be surprised if she had put some perfume on.
Because movies are visual and few directors play with olfaction
It was absolutely deliberate to have Yon-Kyo's bare feet in that scene. I also don't think it's a coincidence that Yon-Kyo is first shown noticing Ki-Taek's smell *after* her husband comments on it. Yes, Ki-Taek probably smells stronger than usual due to swimming in sewage water and not being able to shower or bathe, but also Mr. Park's comments made her more aware of Ki-Taek's smell whereas she usually doesn't pay attention to it.
@@CutTheBeardToWatch most movies aren't visual when trying to tell something, they are "tell, don't show" most of the time
_i think the scene that hit me the hardest in this film, aside from the ending, was when Ki-Taek was driving the rich woman home from the market, and she said on her phone: (paraphrasing a bit here)_
*_"the sky's so blue today. thanks to the rain yesterday, it wiped out all the pollution."_*
_and that's exactly what class difference is. the rain that flooded houses and displaced the poor from their homes, is seen as nothing but a blessing by the rich._
In the same scene, what I find more relevant is Mrs Parks opening the window because she’s disgusted by Mr Kim smell.
She has never felt that smell before, it’s only because her husband told her about it.
Plus, she had taken off her shoes which is not only disrespectful to Mr Kim but also means the smell came from her bare feet.
Ema I thought it smellier because he was wearing leftover/handover clothes from the gym
@@Ema-nt3gp That´s a good observation! I thought so too but forgot the "twist" with her feet.
escaladism it could not be that because Mrs Parks was not disgusted by Mr Kim’ daughter even though she has also spent the night at that gym and wore handover clothes.
The daughter was accepted among the Parks because she didn’t have poverty written over her like her father, her brother has told her at one point « she fits in the house » which leads to another major scene in the movie:
When she was stabbed, the Parks as much as they ‘liked’ her, didn’t blink an eye nor even consider taking her with their son to the hospital.
It’s clearly a critical analysis of the rich kindness and philanthropy.
I would recommend Patriot Act, episode « Will billionaires save us », it’s unrelated but I swear it feels like an extension to the movie.
@@Ema-nt3gp The smell definitely didn’t come from her feet. That‘s the point, even with her bare feet out, it‘s still the poor that smells bad. He had literally swam through sewage water the night before and since he has no home, no opportunity to shower. You see her at her make up table before she calls him. The smell definitely didn’t come from her feet.
I think it's really cool that of all senses that Bong Joon-ho could have used as a symbol, it's smell: the one sense you can't visually perceive in cinema. You can show how things feel, you can show how tasty things can be, but you can't show smell. It's invisible and inescapable, just like the poverty of the Kim family.
Dorothy Andrada How do you show feel and taste?
@@TheDGomezzi Ratatouille had the cheese-and-fruit tasting scene where different colors splashed and swirled behind Remy's head.
What nah i think you are overthinking this what special about smell?
@@aaykat6078 did you watch the video lol
@@camtothemax it's not about this video what are you talking about? it's about how smell isn't anything different from taste and if you are smart enough, you can have a good visual that shows how smelly something is, as easy as showing tasting
Wow, this is so metaphorical
Flimpeen Flarmpoon this video is perfect for us.
Those subtitles actually made no sense. Who would speak like that? He used some Korean word which has no translation in English. I personally think this movie is more enjoyed by the Koreans who actually understand the dialogues
@@ultimateeditorz7754 It didn't really take away from the enjoyment for me. I just figured, "Well, he's using some Korean phrase that has a weird literal English translation. Okay, whatever. Who cares? I get what he means."
RESPECT!
I lol’ed so hard at that line. I took it as a very cheeky way for Bong Joon-ho to say, “like, this stone will totally be important to the film, obviously!”
I just saw this film. It hit me so hard and so sad. There was this girl in my university who was noticeably part of a struggling family. She worked hard, she was normal, she had a character but she was nice as anyone else. But one thing I heard once or twice being mentioned about her was "she smelled". My classmates (usually the wealthy ones) always said that. Sometimes in a mean way, sometimes in a "I like her, but there is this thing about her...". And the thing is... It was true. And once I had a project with her and went to her house. It was an old house, and the walls kept the humidity, which gave that smell.
But I as well had noticed that smell before, in an old house of my cousins. They just didn't have the money to fix some filtrations.
And I had even noticed it in myself one time when there was a leak in my bathroom which took long to repair.
I was so self conscious. Because I knew people would judge me like they judged my classmate. And wondered if my wealthy friends thought the same "she smells".
When I saw this film... I couldn't avoid thinking at how evil all that was.
Now I don't smell... But it's because I have a job that allows me to repair my house, to buy perfume, to buy lotion... But deep down I think. Without all that. Without the money to avoid it, we all smell.
This is brilliant bro
"Without the money to avoid it, we all smell"
Very nice.
Yess you are absolutely right!
I love this comment. Especially the last sentence.
It’s insane how right you are. I come from a middle class family but went to an upper class high school and was always so aware of how I smelled. That’s something I noticed very early subconsciously that your smell unmasks you and I was always super aware of how my clothes smelled. I still am as a matter of fact. Such a subtle thing and so well caught in the movie and also in your comment..
SPOILER when the Kim family first finds the housekeeper's husband in the secret bunker they also smell him, highlighting the different status even in the poor community.
Yeah that scene was great. Two families almost in the exact same boat since they both ran unsuccessful businesses fighting life and death to get some of the crumbs off their rich bosses
I think another way to display the status was elevation.
The Park's family lives on the hill with a yard that does not have any tall buildings in the background; just stars or sunshine. Kim's family lives in a sub-basement with the view of people's feet and has barely any natural light.
When the housekeeper is introduced she is first considered in a way more refined and successful than Kims; since she was a housekeeper to the previous family as well. And then we find eventually that her husband is actually living in the basement with no view at all. So, their status as a family suddenly goes lower than Kim's.
After Ki-Taek commits the crime he confines himself to the same basement; resigning to a lowest level of life with no observable future.
I thought it was interesting that there were a lot of scenes in the film in which characters at a lower elevation were watching people above them, and the people above them were completely unaware that they were there.
You're complicating it, they smell him in disgust, showing that often when poor people are elevated even slightly or temporarily, they look at the people of their original class in disgust, forgetting that yesterday they were in the same boat together. I understood that scene in this way because in my country it's a common occurrence what i have explained above.
You can also tell that there is still a difference between the two poor families in the way they live. The apartment of the Kim family is half below the ground and half above. While the housekeeper's husband lives completely under the ground.
My favorite motif in the film are ascent and descent. During the first act, it is all about ascent. The Kims are slowly moving up, both metaphorically in infiltrating the Park family and taking part of their societal status, but also physically as the Park's home is on top of a hill, while the Kims' home is on the bottom of society and physically on the bottom of the city, all streets away are on an incline (and they live in the basement apartment of the building to boot). The second act is characterized by descent. First into the basement of the Parks' home, and finally a long way to the Kims' house, downhill all the way, while metaphorically their scheme almost completely falls apart and their home is destroyed by the flood. The third act shows both, as the dangers from the basement come bubbling up and bring a great downfall to all involved.
One of the final scenes has the son of the Kim's climb a hill to observe the house. But this is only temporary. A fake. He is only pretending to be of a higher class, but inevitably he will have to leave the hill again. In the same scene he speaks about making an honest go and amassing enough wealth to buy the house and free his father trapped on the basement, even lower than the family was at the start of the film. However, that idea is a pipe-dream, no more real than the ability to stay on top of the hill permanently.
wow, good catch!
This is a constructive explanation of your theory! I commend this one. There is so much you can get from this film. This one should be my favorite. But you have to ask: why do you always go from one level to another? Why not stay forever above or below? Maybe because that's how life plays out.
Yes! And it is only permanent brain damage that causes him to truly believe he can achieve affluence through legitimate means!
And also the sewage water flowing along with them as they return to their flooded home shows the waste and rejections from the upper classes flowing down into the streets of the poor, who have no control over the matter.
This comment is better than the video
The gift that Min gives the Kim family is also known as "suseok" or scholar's stone, similar to the "gongshi" of Chinese scholars. These items are coveted by a very specific, erudite, and often privileged caste of Korean society. They also represent a history far removed from the present. Bong Joon Ho has stated in interviews that this gift is a very strange choice, in my interpretation it is symbolic of an old-money plutocracy that has almost no application to the Kim family. This gift is useless to the Kims and even the mother states that food would be better. Instead, this symbol of the vast differences in culture and valuation between the upper and lower classes becomes a literal weight that the poor family drags around as a symbolic token of hope and eventual (false) prosperity. The fact that the son is smashed in the head with the stone towards the movie's conclusion only reinforces one of the most central themes of the film: that the system which produces wealth inequality also renders relations between classes problematic: each cannot understand the other. Although Min had the best of intentions in giving this gift to the Kims, his inability to grasp the reality of their situation, to provide them with a false hope in this useless stone, is the motivating force that pushes the film towards its inevitable and tragic conclusion.
Good information and analysis!
Also, not knowing much about the stone itself, I mainly focused on what was shown in the movie. In the explanation, they tell us that it provides the bearer with "material" wealth. Meaning, there are different kinds of wealth. Kim family may be poor, but they seem to get along well and are happy. on the other hand, the Park family has a lot of wealth but they seem dysfunctional. They pick fights over ramen, and Kim asks Park if he loves his wife twice. it is almost as if, Kim was hoping that he could take a small respite that the Kims dont have family happiness. But it felt like the straw that broke the camel's back was when Kim says "and you are trying so hard, so you do love your wife" where he feels that parks have it all and Park reminds him that he is an employee and not a guest or a friend. The smell of the old housekeeper's dead jusband was just the trigger.
That is an excellent piece of insight. Thank you for sharing!
one additional thought I had on the stone was the fact that it was associated with scholars, which for much of korean history was the way that someone of a lower status could improve their standing in society. In the Joseon dynasty and the Koryo dynasty before it the exam system for government service was supposed to function as a way for people of any class with the needed ability to work their way up so to speak (although it ultimately ended up being more of a tool for nepotism). In this sense Kiwoo, who dreamed of going to a prestigious university in order to escape poverty, can be seen as being obsessed with the old system which supposedly brought the most talented to the top despite the fact that the system he is in is broken and serves the purpose of keeping him down.
Why can't I be this analytical? 😭
Good job 😊
As a Korean-American, I am thrilled and surprised how well "Korean" symbols translated so universally across the globe. That speaks volumes about Bong's mastery in storytelling.
Or that such themes are not "Korean" but, human. I haven't seen that kind of thinking (we have a unique culture) since I left Japan.
Tomioka Project
いや、でも韓国の歴史的文化をモチーフとして繰り返しそれをテーマに昇格したというのがこの動画とこのレスの「テーマ」でしょう。単に「ヒューマン・コンディション」だと言うには的外れだと思いますよ。
Bang on mate! Bong has been telling fantastic stories for so long. He indeed had to become a master some day! Also I just saw the movie and straightaway came here to get a deeper understanding. The video and the comments quite rightly reveal that the movie is so powerful because of its symbols
@@semansco So unique Korean elements don't exist in this movie? Think again.
@@esmeraldaj8492 I am talking about themes you are talking about symbols or elements.
You did see that I wrote "themes" not "elements" and you understand the difference, correct?
Yes, Korean symbols abound in the movie. Many of those references, of course, will be completely missed by non-Korean audiences.
Those things make the movie interesting and endearing to Korean audiences. The parts (or themes) that are easily accessible to all humans of all cultures make it a great movie.
I especially liked the moment where he puts the rock in the stream and all the other rocks look exactly the same as the one he put so much meaning into.
Still breaks my heart that Ki-Jung died of all the people, the fact that the wealthy mother foreshadowed that all of the art tutors lasted only one month, her misfortune that she perished when her time was up.
I've heard this specific theory about Ki-Jung multiple times but it's where the family say that she's the only member of the family who actually fits in with the Kim family and had the chance to break out of the poorer class of people which is the reason she was the only one who died. I feel like I explained that really badly but if you want I can elaborate 😭
@@2chaengszExactly
omg
*"Why was this South Korean film able to to resonate across the world?"*
well, in the words of bong himself: "We all essentially live in the same country, and it's name is Capitalism"
@The Bandog you should have left it at "groan".
@The Bandog Does that make Capitalism any better? I don't think so. Just because other countries citizens have problems doesn't mean that capitalism isn't criticizable. Also the Kims wouldn't have been fine, since they weren't when the movie started, before they took ruthless actions.
The Bandog
Uhgrgrrr!
We’ S. Korea, are live in Capitalism system, not like N. Korea.
@@lpforever1854 Yes. Yes it does. Sorry, but people living in South Korea, Canada, the US, Sweden, etc have things so so much better than people living in North Korea, Venezuela, China, etc. To imply that just because there are faults with capitalism, that means the two are equivalent shows an insulting level of ignorance and privelage.
@@krombopulos_michael He didn't say equal, he said it should still be criticizable. Late-stage capitalism has some vertical movement, but that doesn't change the fact that at the end of the day, regardless of system, there are those who thrive only at the suffering of others. Happiness for one can only come at the expense of anothers suffering, and capitalism has merely made this a game rather than a rule.
Parasite is phenomenal film .one of the best of the decade, it deserves all the oscars. The academy made the right choice. Great work Michael! Thanks for this video.
Agreed!
Hope Bong succeeds with his new musical!
@@deadbars8755 his what??? :D
Bong is making a new musical
Actually korean cinema have a lot of fabulous films eg. Oldboy, I saw the devil, memories of murder
This ultimately disproves David Benioff's assertion that, to paraphrase his words, "themes are for 8th grade book reports."
is that why he screwed up the last season of Game of Throne?
Who takes that clown seriously anyways?
I think GoTs ending by itself disproved anything about this guy
Did he really say that?
@@santiagobauza4257 Unfortunately.
Water is also a huge symbol imo; the flooding of their house, the water they throw on the drunk man, the sparkling water the rich family drinks etc etc
What does the symbol mean then?
a motiff then?
Eh, to the extent it's a symbol, well...
Water symbolizes nature. It isn't the flooding; it's the storm. The flooding happens because the poor don't have the means to corral nature. The Parks' house doesn't flood because it can withstand nature. To quote Hamlet, water is the "slings and arrows of outrageous fortune". Life throws shit at you and your means determines how well you can handle it. You can make it fucking sparkle if you want.
I mean, how do you think the Kims and Parks would handle coronavirus?
@@Duiker36 Not only did water show how their houses are different, but it also showed that the heavy rain that ruined the Parks' outing flooded a lot of basement houses, showing how different the lives of the two families are. A small inconvenience to the rich people could be a tragedy to those who are poor.
@@rhanjoncarpio7875 Exactly my thoughts! And in the Parks', it's a soft pitter in the distance, juxtaposed to the roaring rivers of literal shit in the Kims'. The Parks' lives are so clean, so comfortable, so pure and untouchable... I just love this movie and the way it makes you think.
I grew up being singled out, ignored, spoken down toward, and even vilified in public for being raised on WIC, Food Stamps, and the Medical Card. This film is very special to me.
that sounds tough.. I also grew up poor but thanks to living in a socialist democratic country in mid europe, I had the opportunity to study without barriers (e.g. free university) and achieve my goals.
I wouldn't say I'm wealthy now, but thank God, I don't have to worry about money anymore and belong to the upper middle class probably.
I don't understand how people in th e US hate bernie sanders, what he's preaching is not radical but he fights for basic human rights and opportunities for everyone like we have in Finland, Germany, Switzerland, etc.
people always try portray his views as communist and are afraid of becoming like North Korea
the best indicator for a good country is that the middle class population is the largest... but most Americans and South Koreans unfortunately want to keep the wealth divide up and for poor people to cling to a false hope of achieving economic mobility and become rich
I don't know, this film is about a poor family that lies to and takes advantage of a rich family, then later finding out they aren't the only ones in a series of events that leads to the rich man being murdered and the family being either arrested and fugitives. Now I haven't seen the film so I understand it might be very sympathetic, but that seems like a really negative light.
@@JesseGolo Watch the film. The reason the poor family took such drastic mesures to achieve a better standard of living, is because of how horrible their quality of life is at the beginning of the movie, jobs are hard to come by, they pay like shit and education costs a fortune.
Truly. It digs deep into the class divide, a feat many other films do not succeed at so wonderfully.
@@JesseGolo Don't comment on a movie you haven't seen mate
One word:
*R E S P E E E E E E E C T*
Incredible cinematography, I take inspiration for my own videos.
Respect!
R 3 S E C T
Ali G would disagree with those spellings
_RESPECC_
More like.... R I S S P E C T T
When he places the stone back on the bottom of the stream, it’s almost like he places his aspirations back in his stream of consciousness, returning it to the other unrealized daydreams and thoughts he will never act on.
If he hadn’t made an effort to make a better life for himself and his family, would his sister still be alive and so on. Is it even worth it to try changing your life?
Tiny Rock I thought it was to show that the rock wasn’t special, like all the other rocks and that the symbol it represented was fake all a long. Like believing the rock is more than a rock is the same disillusioned idea of escaping poverty.
But the placing of the rock in the stream was in the dream. He probably still has the rock and makes dreams in the air.
The stone isn't aspiration. The stone represents the willingness to cheat and steal to get rich. Once he puts it in the river, he doesn't give up on becoming rich, but commits himself to earning money properly to free his father.
I am surprised that how they treat the stone, more specifically what fluids touch the stone. I think it gives so much more meaning to the already existing symbol of the stone. First at the beginning we can see the mom brushing,cleaning the stone, and they start taking over the family. Then in the downpour, it touches sewage water this is when their luck gets all erased and things start going badly. Third time it touches the son's blood, and murders ensue. And finally when he lets go of the stone, he places it in a little creek where the clean water wipes away all the bad thing, cleansing it and the family with it.
But the cleansing was in the dream. He probably still has the rock and makes dreams in the air.
I love that when the son smells the kims, he doesn’t say they smell bad. Only the parents mention the smell is bad. Which proves that the parents have made it a bad smell because they associate it with being poor
Parasite is so well-detailed, you can pick any object held by the characters and it would probably still be a symbol for something.
Even the gutter from the Parks all the way down to the Kims' area where it has flooded is a symbolism. God, this movie is a whole book to nitpick the good details.
Peaches? seens as symboles of riches, honor, and immortality in Korea. The first housekeeper? Severely allergic to peaches.
Yeah if you ain't got a life
I think that's how unique Bong Joon-ho's writing/directing is, anything & everything symbolises something.
Can we take a moment to appreciate how the videos are always so well-written and produced? The smooth flow between ideas combined with the minimalist yet sort of crisp visuals and music actually make me feel like I learn a lot more.
Thank you, LFSP team and stay safe!
I wanna sound like this when I write or explain things. My work is so disorganized.
Great video! When I left the theatre, I kept thinking about that scene of Da-Song sniffing the Kims. I thought it was a way to represent how he's unknowingly learning his parents' habits of telling people apart by class status through smell.
I'm not sure he is of age to tell rich from poor, but he is definitely learning patterns of similar and differences between people. Good catch.
Thank you for blessing us with this while we're in quarantine
Hope you're all keeping safe and staying inside as much as possible! We're in a lucky situation where the LFTS team can all work remotely-so the good news is we have many more videos on the way!
Finding inspiration during this quarantine is hard. That analysis is food for thought 💭
The final detail in the story, and I love how subtle it is, is that only after Ki Woo is left literally brain damaged from his symbol (the stone) does he actually begin to believe he can - through legitimate means - achieve wealth and join the affluent.
Also this is a small bit, but the university chosen to be forged isn't just any university, it's one of the three "Ivy league" schools of Korea.
Giraffe good catch. The credit for that goes to the production design and/or prop master for paying attention to script details. Movies are really a team effort.
@@ADifferentVibe no that really isn't where you would point out the detail because its basically the same as making a character that acts like it graduated Harvard.
@@user-wu7ny8vw2q The reason his films reach the globe is solely because he is from yonsei too. The SKY universities always get the most amount of funding, money, support and recognition from the govt. All employers first look at which uni you went to and if it is SKY you'll get favoured real quick.
In the movie when we first meet the kims, we can spot them drinking Flite which is considered as a cheap beer and after Ki-Woo and Ki-Jung start working for the parks, they can now afford Sapporo, a premium beer.
There is also the symbolism of height throughout the movie. The Kim family lives right under the street which shows that they are poor but have enough hope to think they can get out of it. Meanwhile, the Park family not only lives above ground on a hill but you all have to take stairs to even get to their house in the first place, showing not just how rich they are but how disconnected they are as well
And despite this serving indeed as metaphors this is actually how certain Korean cities work, with poor families living on smelly basements and rich households living on higher places to escape the smell. The New York Times did a piece on this a few weeks ago
I think most people noticed that too, and that's more of a director and DP seeing these themes and expanding that to the viewing experience. This movie is a perfect example on how to take an already great script and elevating it by directing methods and the way it's filmed to make the whole product work together seamlessly.
Frank Jospeh Hall The other family lives even deeper below ground than the Kims
I loved the scene where they have to get back to their house after almost being discovered - they descend those stairs for a significantly long time (screentime wise anyway), constantly descending back to their true level, so much lower than these rich upper class people. It feels like they're on a different dimension, with the rain adding insult to injury !!
The parks are also very disconnected between themselves, the mom is obsessed with her son but she never really touches him, let alone hug or kiss him, and he is shown to be very lonely - keeping in touch with the old maid and not really having any friends. The girl isn't getting enough attention - she is often on her phone/with headphones on, when they get home from the failed camping trip she goes straight to her room. When the mom gets the ram-don and the son doesn't want it, (I think she asks her husband first?) She doesn't offer her daughter and then the daughter complains about it. I'm guessing the lack of attention is probably why she tries to romance her tutors. There is no show of affection or love between them other then the parents' sex scene.
The symbol of smell is actually introduced much earlier than page 57 of the script. In the film's first scene, Ki-Tek notes that the house is full of "stink bugs." It's actually why they're trying to take advantage of the "free" fumigation through their open window.
The smell theme doesn't wait till page 57 of the screenplay to be introduced... one of the first shots is Mr Kim flicking a stink-bug off his table. The fumigation scene also pertains
He said it's not EXPLICITLY introduced until page 54. Meaning the audiences attention isn't drawn to it until page 54.
I believe he refers to it literally being mentioned. Not so much when it's first teased.
Ms. Kim: "There's been a stinkbug problem around here"
And while the rest of the family is coughing, Mr Kim is not fazed by it, like he had grown used to that smell.
It may be harder for the Western audiences to understand, but the movie also touches a lot on the North vs. South Korea divide as a motif, trying to demonstrate that the communism and capitalism are not that different. For example, when the housekeeper and the husband caught the Kims on video and threaten them, referring to the 'send' button as the nuclear button. Also, housekeeper's husband keeping posters in the basement of the Park husband with the words "CEO" etc and worshiping him, in a very similar way North Koreans may idolise their leader.
Indeed. It is a persistent issue of cognitive dissonance here in South Korea that South Korea is a corporate monarchy, while North Korea is a dynastic state monarchy. Either way, the people lose.
_"The multilevel, the conscious and the unconscious, is natural when I write scripts, when I come up with ideas and stories."_
*~ Bong Joon Ho*
Words of wisdom
*ART*
I just realized..... the movie combines the symbol of the ascent and descent with the idea that “Plans never work” to show in multiple ways that the impossibility of the poor family’s social rise. In the last scene, the son begins his letter to his dad by stating, “I have a plan.” This Opening by itself shows that he is destined to fail, as it was proven earlier in the movie that “plans never work”. And at the end of the letter the son says all the dad has to do is walk up the stairs. Walking up the stairs, literally moving up, is a symbol of social rise. But as hinted by the beginning of the letter, this will never happen.
For Min to offer the job to him as a tutor, was because Min knew that the son is from a poor family and therefore assuming he would not stand a chance with the rich daughter. He had rich friends who could’ve taken the job as tutor but knowing that the son, being poor and not being in college, was a safer option. Either way, Min was also benefitting from it. Also reminding us that people always do things to benefit themselves and their own motives.
Another thing that I took note was when the poor family returned to their flooded home, it reminded me of rats running into the sewers. With all the trash in the murky waters, the lighting and all.
One of my favorite details in Parasite is Kim's going through the city in heavy rain after escaping the mansion unnoticed. Majority of the time they go downwards, symbolizing their fall to the bottom of society ladder. Amazing movie and well deserved Best Picture winner.
Dear Hollywood:
Never ever "remake" this gem of a movie. Like. Ever.
HBO series?
I wouldn't be surprised if they did.
@@nengyang5664 they would gender swap and race swap things for no reason, add a subplot about obesity, add something about Trump, add another thing about wearing masks, add something about interracial dating, make a few of the characters gay. The movie would lose $300M due to it sucking but it would still have a 92% critic rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
@@shawn576 For real though honestly..
@@shawn576 too true
Literal “smells like broke in here”.
"People in poverty, regardless of their dreams, often do not have the power to join the affluent class."
That's a strong real statement there.
And even if the poor strived and attained financial success, they are still regarded as a such. Affluent class will still smell their filth.
My family risen from ground up. and now even if my family have money i refuse to take it and trying to build my own life. (Already failed 2 time, This time i am in much better position)
Unlike most people i refuse to accept failure and took responsibility of my failures.
*IT’S SO METAPHORICAL!*
When Ki-woo picks up the Viewing Stone with the intention of using it to hit/scare the person peeing outside their window, I read it as him symbolically assuming his friend Min's persona since the stone can be read as a stand-in/remnant of Min's character and Ki-woo seemed particularly impressed with Min's handling of the same event at the start of the film.
Good catch!
11:25 That's an interesting take on that final shot of the stone, though I guess at the time of watching I read it slightly differently in that just like the stone, people are only deemed special or gain privilege and status simply because other people deem them so, otherwise we're all just rocks in a river. A scholar's stone is simply so because someone decided to put it on a pedestal and give it the title, yet it bears no real higher importance over any other stone you may find.
I commend this perspective! It makes sense. I am damn satisfied thinking how interweaved world objects and meanings are.
I quite like this take as well!
Ya that make sense considering how they deemed his sister and even invited her to the party as a guest when in the rich family eyes they saw her as a part of etc when in reality she is just poor
I'm so glad Parasite got the attention it deserved
Agreed!
I say this all the time but the translators did an amazing job. The comedic beats still hit even in english.
I was thinking the same thing. I obviously don't speak Korean, but they managed to get the wit across really well, which ain't easy. The wonderful performances really helped too.
I thought that Ki-Woo was bringing the stone to the basement as a peace offering, wanting to share his hope with the other family. But they don’t recognise this hope, content to serve the rich family, and ignorantly use the symbol as a simple weapon.
Well the wife is already dead at that point so of course he isn't going to accept that "hope"
I think you are right! I did not see it as the plan to do harm to the couple in the basement either. When he has entered and sees the lady laying on the ground, he is asking if she is okay...
@@odoridori Ki-woo doesn't know the wife is dead when he goes down there with the rock... Mr. Kim only checked that she was breathing before locking them in there and she died afterwards
I didn't see it so much as them not recognizing the hope, but that they just had a relatively violent encounter with these people where they threatened them
Because of that adversarial encounter they have no reason to assume they weren't coming to the basement to "finish them off" (the only other possibilities are: the family keeps them trapped and feeds them or thay let them both leave... very slim possibilities)
I was always confused as to what motifs meant. But you've explained it so simply and deeply that I get it now. Thank you!
Yes! Exactly our goal, achieved.
@@LessonsfromtheScreenplay I agree. Thanks for explaining symbols and motifs so well. I also like the way you characterized theme being more abstract but what is Parasite's theme exactly?
@@denniszenanywhere Class disparity.
I was tense this whole time wondering if you were going to show that shot of those eyes coming up the stairs. That shot will forever haunt me.
There's something vaguely Daoist about how the main character laughs constantly after getting nearly brained. It's like the injury allowed him to laugh at the absurdity of life.
kind of like Reality hits him in the head. And note he keeps saying stuff like = the detective who did not look like a detective and a doctor who did not look like a doctor. A big lean on stereotypes and cons almost as if he is realising that life is one big con.
@@slanguagefreak2388 the fact that he keeps dreaming of a better life and becoming rich even though Bong Joon Ho makes it clear that he won't be able to escape from poverty shows that reality has not hit him
Man I just love the score for this film. MASTERFUL
And of course, don't forget that the whole point of the viewing stone is that the movie is a variation on the myth of Sisyphus.
at the end, those symbols somehow give away who the real parasites are by definition : "A parasite is also a person who uses others to obtain an advantage without doing anything in exchange". Those symbols serve to reinforce the inequality between the wealthy and the poor. We might think the poor are the one profiting from the rich, until we realize :
- they are being kept apart even thought they are working for the rich, with their smell and status until they die (the wealthy don't give a damn about their well-being during the flood or the ending)
- the rock, admiration for the wealth are translated via "hope". Instead of realizing how unfair their conditions are, the poor are hypnotised to think everything will always be "better" by emulating the wealthy, and fighting against other poor people (the theme inside the movie) instead of being compassionate and cooperate.
The rich are the ultimate parasites, as they are feeding the poor with those notions and concept, which reinforce their status, and never allow anyone to cross that invisible "line".
I thought the same too
Great comment. The creators clearly didn’t want to paint either family as “black and white”, but I see so many comments and analysis focused on the rich being parasites, but forget how poorly the Kims treated the basement couple and thus, also being parasites in their own way.
Marooshaz the basement couple were also parasites in that she kept her husband in their house without their knowledge as well. the layers are all so good!
It is interesting after watching this and reading the comments that I had quite a different interpretation of the movie. I remember watching it and thinking that it shows how poverty elicits parasitic and at times immoral behaviour just to escape poverty. The rich were portrayed as happy and polite, so these two polarities struck me. I obtained this resonance by myself changing from poor social class to middle class and spending more time with the upper class. I always observed that people at the bottom would steal, and try to get money or goods for free again simply because they have no money, the ideas of hopelessness as well. After all, reality is interpreted from personal lense.
@@ernesta2578 Yeah, me and my best friend also took this "poor as the main parasites" interpretation, even though we aren't rich.
I am Korean. There's one more Korean symbol. In Korea, due to the influence of Confucian culture, young people generally use honorifics to older people.
At the beginning of the movie, the young president of the Pizza Generation uses informal language(in a slightly aggressive and irritating tone), and Kim's parents ask the young president to continue to hire them as a part-time job, in honorific language.
I left this comment to help you guys understand and enjoy the film because it seems to be a hard thing to notice due to the limitations of translation.
On Ki-woo going back to the basement: I read that as him feeling guilt for how the two people trapped down there were treated, so he was going to gift them the stone as a gesture of goodwill.
I don't think that holds up given how tense he is when he goes down there. And his whole arc throughout the film.
But admittedly I was hoping he had good intentions, nothing good would come from using a symbol of good luck to commit violence.
He want them to climb their social status (class empathy, a constant theme in Bong filmographyin) the same way he think his family did. But world don't work like that.
I read it as him taking the stone just for self protection in case they would attack him, but actually wanted to help them (knowing/thinking they are helpless down there at the time)
Agreed. He doesn’t seem like he wants to kill them because he checks on the house keeper instead of picking up the rock to protect/attack them.
That wouldn't make any thematic sense and the text doesn't support it. His coldness when he decides to go down and his skittishness at the stairs clearly indicates he's there to finish them off. The film is also very pessimistic in general about the idea of class solidarity. The two lower class families are viciously opposed to one another, and both times when one tries to appeal to the solidarity of the other, it is rejected harshly.
Thank you for teaching me so much about Writing👏🏻
:D Thank you for watching!
Is seriously no one talking about how good the music is in this film? Sound is always the forgotten art in movies. RESPECT.
As an English major, these film disections make my heart so happy. Parasite is an amazing film that everyone needs to see at least once.
I think the most powerful thing about this film is how it swings between naturalistic to abstract space. From a rediculous fights in the basements, which was clearly full of symbolism it switches to the flood scene which felt like reality hitting you right in the face. And all felt natural, tied up in the plot iteself.
This movie is a great example of how movies don't have to be overly complex using convuluted structure and abstraction to set up effective symbolism.
While LFTS didn't mention all the symbols(stairs, America, the diffrent foods), many of them were easy enough to pick up on in the first viewing. Even if you miss a bunch, your average viewer will pick up on enough of them to engage with the film. And it makes repeated viewings enjoyable still.
What's so brilliant about both symbols is how they oppose between each other and reflect the title of the film: The rock is a parasite which lives from the aspirations of the Kim family to get out of poverty; whilst the smell, also lives from them threatening to spread to the rich family, and is the perfect opposite which condemns them to never escape the lower class. A true masterpiece, thanx, guys, great video as usual!!!
One thing that stuck out to me was the parallel between the frame where they were running from the Parks' home in the rain, quickly walking down the long stairs of the city going down to the place they lived in and the long stairs in the house itself. It's like the house *is* society. The stairs inside are the miniature version of the big ones that exist outside.
I also like how the movie shows us that intelligence and hard work isn’t enough to make it out of poverty, as both the son and daughter of the Kim family are shown to be way smarter than the wealthy family, like when they’re talking about the little kids paintings, the son is talking about how metaphorical it is and talks intelligently about it, while the rich wife just nods kinda confused
Kubrick was a master of Symbols, Motifs, Themes. 2001 ASO is one classic example yet the Hollywood award system had no idea of the masterpiece he produced. Using the power of symbols is no guarantee of any award success. In fact it may just spook an audience who are just out for cheap entertainment.
speaks to the quality of these videos that they take concepts i found boring in 9th grade English and makes them fascinating
A welcome compliment!
Lessons from the screenplay posts: 🚶♀️ooh new video
It's about Parasite: 🏃♀️💨
The scene where Ki Woo drops the rock in the stairs (10:40) is a perfect representation of the myth of Sisyphus. At that very moment, the rock comes tumbling down, he looses everything. He has to start again from the beginning, regaining his poverty.
All his life, no matter how hard he works his way up in society, something will bring him back to the bottom. Like Sisyphus, he will try all his life to climb his rock to the top of the mountain, but it will always come down. His quest is therefore vain and eternal.
I find this scene extremely powerful and sad... but true.
Don't forget about the use of HEIGHT and how the cinematography made it clear by taking stair shots angled from below going up to show the rich family(and their neighbourhood)'s wealth and status and then consecutive shots of the Kim family going down levels and levels of stairs to visually portray their poverty and low status. The use of heights also inevitably shows the rich family's access to sunlight or the sky while the Kims could barely see the outside world through their window as they live literally not just on the ground, but underground. It is also cleaner and greener at the top but as a consequence, all their trash and sewage fall down to the poor.
One thing I love about this film is that it reminds me how uncomfortable I always feel to encounter people who **happily** serve you for a living. Because I know deep down no one, if they have a choice, would not want to be made to feel inferior to someone. I just feel like it's all just a show so I cannot genuinely enjoy most personal service experiences, I feel sad.
I used to have a house maid and a nanny, and quite familiar with having a personal driver when I accompanied a family member, though some were distant relatives, I always saw that people who did a personal service job had a struggling family and/or financial problems to take care of. I mean, we all have this sort of problems too, but the nature of their jobs making it worse. I myself am never interested in having a house maid or personal driver and stuff like that even if I were ultra rich and had my own family. I like to have privacy in my house and I know personal service personnels don't really care about me or my family lol.
When I saw the poor family in the film having to put on a face just to serve the rich people's luxury and happy events despite their desperate situation at home with flood and stuff, it was very moving.
I agree, and to me that discomfort sometimes extends to waiters and shopkeeps
I’m glad you make this, I obsessed over the rock, the smell, the line, and all the motifs and themes throughout parasite for awhile. Notice how lower class and the needy constantly struggle and fight amongst each other, trying to cheat their way to a life of wealth. The rock is used as a weapon to literally represent this struggle. But while this is the way they try to achieve wealth it is a dirty way, and after the midpoint they go back to the rock and it’s in muddy water. At the end of the film the son completes his arc and plans on earning money an honest way instead of through cheating the system, and he puts the rock in clean water, contrary to the dirty water after their failures. There is a lot of meaning around it and a lot to think about and I love how smart and interesting this movie is. Great video
What I noticed was how the last note of the music in the fob was a note that shouldn’t be the last now. Normally you come back to the tonic and the human hearing is correct, however if you leave the tonic out, the piece sounds unfinished and the human ear “longs” for the last note. Even the smallest details of this movie are perfect. It shows how Ki Woo’s live didn’t end there but rather it was just the beginning.
Parasite is not a movie. It's an ART. Definitely my most favorite movie. Creating a storyline as brilliant as Parasite would be unimaginable.
Also I want to say that the use of the mobile phone as a key tool for the premise was so unique. Complexity of situations and the way of getting out of them, both were signified with it. That was another thing that reiterated maybe that it can be a boon and a bane alike.
The stone is a 'Suiseki' viewing stone. They are treated like Bonsai. The stones can represent many things: mountain ranges, clouds, waterfalls, etc. I have collected many but my most prized is just normal Granite, BUT... I brought it home because I thought it might be a native American 'Hammer stone' due to its size and weight. The stone is a little larger than a mans fist, smooth and river worn. I placed it on the table next to where I sit every day, outside under my patio cover. One day, about 2 weeks after I placed it there, while looking at the stone, I noticed something, I hadn't seen before.... I saw a number, in the stone, it was the number 2. I was surprised because although I had collected stones all my life, I had never seen such a formation. The stone is Granite (black and white) but the number 2 was formed in Quartz. Upon further examination, I've got several more of the same '2' in the stone, even a 3, but I believe it to be a doubled 2.
What I learned in this movie is that building a city in a mountain is not a great idea for those living on the base, as shit flows downstream. Also works for economics.
Kevin called the stone ‘Dolmaengi’.
This is a way to call a stone commonly seen on the road.
This is the scene where he realizes that
if he puts a stone in an expensive box, people will bow down.
Things like ‘diploma’, ‘tent ordered from America’, ‘art psychotherapy’, or ‘Oscar movie’.
You have changed my perspective on viewing film and stories. I watched lot of films for fun , never new stories can be so expressive until i watched this video. You realy were great and amazing u clearly described the hidden meaning and narrative of writter . I am blow away wow
I grew up lower middle class, and in 8th grade I had made a friend that was very wealthy. Watching this made me remember how much they always told me about how me and my belongings smelled. I could barely go a day without them saying they hated how I smelled, or that I smelled gross, even tho I wore perfume and deodorant everyday. They also would comment about the smell of my moms car, or the smell of my room, making jokes about the smell. It’s fascinating honestly, I couldn’t escape the smell of my status.
Ok fine I don’t need sleep just one more video from this man.
Ok but then sleep, sleep is important!
I always love this channel's analysis on EVERY movie that it does. Well-studied, concise, never condescending. Looking forward to more videos!!
1:22 "spoilers ahead" and behind...
Great to see another vid! Parasite is hands down one of the best screenplays I've read and one of the few that had me compulsively turning the pages. It took me just over an hour to read in one sitting, something I've never done. Phenomenal.
Parasite struck a cord because it touched on the current cultural zeitgeist. Same with American Beauty in 1999. It's the movie that best represents what's going on in the world and what fears and struggles society is grappling with at the time of its release.
I really appreciate that ya’ll always source your definitions from somewhere when you recognize that the definition in question may not be universally applicable.
I thought I read somewhere that the director said that Ki-woo was bringing the stone down to the basement as a "peace offering" to the man in the basement and not as a weapon to kill them, hoping the luck it brought would help the family in the basement and also suggesting that he didn't know at the time that the house-keeper was dead.
Great analysis! There’s so much stuff to talk about in this film, but what blew my mind away was the use of elevation in the movie. Such a masterpiece
What a movie. Great video too 🙌
Mindblowing experience, seeing you here
Thank you!
Here's the mark of a great, even extraordinary film. Months after its release and its acclaim, there have been LOTS of really insightful essays on TH-cam about the power of its various aspects. (Like the concept of "The Line," which has been alluded to in these comments.) And yet here comes one, so many months later, that finds even newer insights into its brilliance. Bravo, Michael. Thank you SO MUCH. Gosh, I wish the upcoming Criterion Blu-Ray would compile some of these essays into its bonus features.
I knew it! I knew it! I knew you would dissect "Parasite"😍😍😍
Won all the Oscars including Best Screenplay! Gotta gotta :)
@@LessonsfromtheScreenplay waiting for Knives Out
@@LessonsfromtheScreenplay Yes, Do Knives out
Imagine realizing that the real parasite all along was that one catchy jingle from a commercial that's now stuck in your head forever
I live long. as a S. Korean, I have been studying storytelling skill with The Lesson’s from screen play. Now I watching Parasite analysis by TLFS.
One of the greatest yet subtle symbolisms is the Ram-don. A dish comprised of cheap commoner food on the bottom, and (relatively) gourmet food on top. Easily symbolizing the status quo, and more overtly, the cast.
This movie was an absolute masterpiece in every way. Ans as you so well explained it was well-accessible even for an audience that is not familiar with Korean culture (like myself). I was so happy it won the Oscar.
Michael i absolutely LOVE your visual presentation style. The colours arent too much, the font is great and the transitions are smooth. Brilliant!!
Thank you!!
Excellent video as always! Seriously well done.
The little boy sniffing the Kims was my favourite scene - genius!
Heck yes! Parasite was a great movie! Thanks for uploading Michael!
So great! Thank you for watching!
I think it happens a similar thing with stairs, they are also used as a symbol, especially to represent the desire to achieve a "different level" of status, and when they have to run from the Parks house to their house, the Kims are reminded that they would have to scale a ton of stairs before having the life the Parks have.
Yes! Parasite was my favorite film of 2019! Can you please do a video on the lighthouse and marriage story which were my second and third favorite films of that year. Also, in the script, when you se that shot of the man chopping fire wood with the axe in the party scene, ki taek was actually supposed to stab mr park with that axe. Thinking that it was the toy axe from the little skit they were going to throw earlier.