The film “Parasite” or in Korean, “기생충” (Gisaengchung), directed
by Bong Joon-ho is a satire that is worth the watch. A great black comedy slash
thriller in its commentary of the social and economic gaps between people of different social classes and within a similar social class, many issues arising amongst the
characters in the movie have their roots due to these gaps. Here is my analysis
and commentary of one of the questions brought up in the film. Mind you, I’m
not going to explain the whole plot of the story (you can go to Wikipedia for
that), but it’s safe to say, spoilers ahead.
Who are the real parasites?
The most obvious thing in the film is the disparity of wealth and the difference in social classes of the Parks (the rich family) and the Kims (the poor family), along with Moon-gwang and her husband, Geun-sae, who are even below the Kims. Living in a cramped and impoverished semi-basement, the prospect of working with the Parks is a way for the Kims to at least get enough money to slightly get away from their destitute living. As we watch the film, at first we see that the infiltration of the Park household by the Kim family members through their portrayals as skilled and qualified characters makes them seem to be the titular parasites of the film. We can see how they usurp the positions of the other staff of the house one by one through design and tactics, all to get a better life together.
The fact is the promise of money and a better life have clouded the Kim family of their humanity, treating their fellow working-class people as nothing but hindrance in their target of getting money. They start to bask in the glory of richness, treating the house as their own home when the Parks are gone for a family outing. In their minds, they imagine a life far beyond poverty. The con committed by the Kims would seem to be a tell-tale sign that they are the titular parasites as they manipulate and exploit their affluent employers through various aspects, all when their employers pay their wage for their services. They are supposedly symbols of low-class workers not caring about what they do in order to get ahead in life…
…but that would be a misguided view of the film.
The rich Parks are, by their very nature, parasites as well. Their richness has caused them to be detached from the reality of life. A heavy downpour one night causes flood in Kims’ semi-basement house, effectively destroying many of their belongings, but for the Mr Park Dong-ik and and his wife, Choi Yeo-gyo, it only cancels their camping trip for their son’s birthday. Add to that, Mrs Park comments how the rain cleans the air for their enjoyment, not realising that her household workers are displaced by the flood. The Parks’ comfortable life is also highly dependent on and aided by the Kims (and their former household workers). Director Bong Joon-ho has stated that the Parks are parasites in terms of labour. They can’t even wash dishes or drive themselves, so they leech off the poor family's labour. The dependency on their employees is even apparent as they don’t even check the backgrounds of their workers and only depend on words of mouth. This can be seen when Ki-jung, the daughter of the Kim family suggest a replacement for the chauffeur (who is fired due to Ki-jung’s manipulation), she gives a fake company card and recommends her father (although obviously this is not to be divulged). A proper person would have check the company and the background of the driver first, but Mrs Park does not do that. One could say she trusts her staff but is it really a hard thing to basically examine things first? In fact, throughout the story, it is shown that Mrs Park does not really play a role as a homemaker or a proper mother to her children. Meanwhile, Park Dong-ik is away with work almost all the time, only to come back at night.
So, who are the real parasites? Undeniably, the two families are entangled in a bond of a parasitic nature – each sucking the marrow of life from another. The Kims, facing poverty, are of course trying their best to ensure that they are free from all the troubles that follow poverty. Thus, they need the Kims to buoy them from drowning under poverty and fight uncertainties every day in getting scraps to keep themselves alive. The Parks, of course think they are good employers and wouldn’t think twice about the salaries given to their staff as long as they do their work well. This also means they feed off their workers (sometimes in ways that are problematic to the staff) and expect them not to go beyond the invisible line that divides the social class.
As much as the film portray both of them as parasites, all of them are not inherently depicted as heroic or villainous. The Kims are grateful to receive large wages from the Parks, while the Parks (although still in the bubble of ignorance far detached from real life issues and keeping noticeable socially crafted distance from their employees) are still quite good employers. All of them have dubious behaviours and do things for the sake of their wellbeing. They all have flaws, and the flaws come from their places in life. They are reflections of today’s society in which people get one thing or two from one another in order to move ahead and gain advantages. The rich has always been in need of the services from the lower class people, and the poor use the rich people to get money and goods through their employments. The social roles of these people have been preserved for aeons and will continue to go on. In our society,
It is easy to blame only one party on being parasites, but we need to accept that parasites sometimes don’t have to look malicious.
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