Imagery and Metaphor: Imitation and Distortion of Reality

Ericka 2022-04-21 09:01:17

I didn't plan to write anything, after all, it's all fragmented ideas. Who would have thought that at night I dreamed that I was walking on a huge staircase with a dark door at the end. Probably in the dark need to write.

It should be noted that although Feng Junhao's business transformation trend is obvious, according to my movie viewing habits, I will not preconceive the psychological prediction of so-called commercial films and genre films, but construct subjective impressions based on my own understanding.

one

According to my superficial understanding, images are symbols and tools for expression.

The proper use of imagery will act on both the content and the form of the film: on the one hand, it forms a metaphorical relationship with the deep meaning of the film, and on the other hand, it helps to create mood and atmosphere.

Of course, no matter what level, it cannot be accomplished by stacking images alone.

It was the first time my son went to Duohui's house. Go up the stairs from the semi-basement to the ground and walk out of the alley. In an empty mirror image, people appear from below the horizon, from point to outline, and walk up the slope road. When you come to Duohui's house, enter the gate, you will see a towering staircase at the entrance, enter the main hall, and opposite the main hall door is another staircase.

"Ladder", from low to high, from poor to rich, from narrow to wide, from the bottom to the upper.

"Parasites", the pesticides that permeated the ground, the "cockroaches" uttered by the characters, that grand and strange escape in the rainy night.

It's so straightforward and naked that it doesn't need scrutiny at all. Coupled with the obvious "distortion" and logical loopholes in the story, my first intuitive feeling is: the extravagance of the image and the weakness of the metaphor make the depth of the story untenable.

two

But maybe after a dream last night, I was suddenly alert that this conclusion might have fallen into some kind of trap.

Metaphors do not necessarily point to reality itself, but may be the opposite of reality.

What Parasite presents is not a fable of survival, but a "high imitation" of reality, delicate and false.

Based on this judgment, and recalling the details of many perspectives and composition in the film, I realized that in fact, everyone has been put into a "miniature landscape", and they are all tool people for people to enjoy.

figure 1

figure 2

image 3

The movie uses everything to show the "sense of space" in the indoor scene. No matter from which angle, the characters seem to be packed into a square "box". (Figure 1, Figure 2, Figure 3)

Figure 4

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Image 6

Observing pictures 4, 5, and 6, the colors and composition are extremely strange. The houses, branches, snow, and grass are all like models. The sky seems to exist in a different dimension. 6) Substitute into the "crystal ball", there is no sense of disobedience.

Figure 7

Figure 8

Figure 9

"See and be seen"

The image of "window" appears many times, and through the method of "peeping", the first and third perspectives overlap. (Figure 7, Figure 8, Figure 9)

There are one or more snoopers A in the indoor "box", and the object of snooping is B outside the window, and behind this A, there is an implicit C that is also snooping on A and B from an internal perspective. This C is actually the The person behind the camera is the director and the audience.

And as the people behind the camera, we should be the all-knowing and almighty God.

The film deliberately overlaps the two perspectives. Before you know it, the audience has actually been used, locked in a "box", and the viewer has become the object of viewing.

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The electronic screen can be regarded as another kind of "window".

The rockery that runs through it, I think, is the embodiment of this grand and coarse-grained "performance".

In the final scene, in his sleep, the son drops a stone in the water. My understanding is that water will distort everything and make everything "distorted", and the property of this stone is "distorted", so it returns to reality in water, which means the end of this "show".

Figure 12

three

If I don't talk about metaphors, but only about the impression of the form, some of the images in the film also make a deep impression on me.

I really like the passage of fleeing in the rainy night. The scouring and flowing of the rain, with BGM, has almost no narrative gap, and it rolls forward like a drum, which is full of dramatic tension and creates a visual spectacle of cockroaches scurrying around. (reminiscent of the human claw machine in "Influenza")

My understanding of "ladder" is: cold, dignified, and in some contexts, it will give rise to a sense of expansion.

Recalling the film, when a huge, almost black staircase appeared in the middle of the picture, and people continued to ascend on the stationary staircase, there were no other distractions at this time, only the surrounding light-colored walls were split. Due to the habit of aiming at the characters, the line of sight is unconsciously forced to the expanding black color in the center of the picture. (Figure 13)

The same goes for "door". But unlike the aggressive expansion of the "staircase", the "door" is more like a mysterious and gloomy black hole, waiting for an opportunity to devour space. (Figure 14, Figure 15)

When such an image appears repeatedly and is repeatedly emphasized, the more you can feel the oppression that comes from facing it directly.

Figure 13

Figure 14

Figure 15

Watching parasites, in fact, you don't have to worry about "how could it be so easy to get into rich people's homes", "how can there be no alcohol left in the house after drinking", "what the rich did wrong and will be killed" These plot-based branches and leaves can be considered as The director deliberately avoided these questions, but I am more inclined to think that the director takes "distortion" as a necessary means and pursues the so-called "realism" and "profoundness", which will appear nondescript.

He can be understood as a small theater (refer to "Secret No. 9" and "Dog Town").

"There are no stories, no characters, just situations."

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Extended Reading

Parasite quotes

  • Ki-taek: [message to Ki-woo] Perhaps you, if no one else, will be able to read this. You were a Scout, so I'm writing this just in case. Have your injuries healed? I'm sure your mother is plenty healthy. I'm doing fine in here. Though thinking of Ki-jung makes me cry. Even now, what happened that day doesn't seem real. It feels like a dream, and yet it doesn't. That day as I went out the gate, I suddenly knew where I needed to go. A house where such a grisly thing took place would surely not be easy to sell. I've struggled to hold on in this empty house. Still, thanks to the house being empty - what was her name, Moon-gwang? - I was able to give her a proper send off. I hear treeside burials are trendy. So hell, I did my best. Those real estate sharks sure are clever. They duped some people who had just arrived in Korea and managed to sell the house. With the parents working and the kids attending school, the family is usually out. But the damned housekeeper stays here 24 hours a day. Each time I go upstairs, I take my life into my hands. And it turns out Germans eat more than just sausage and beer. What a relief. Passing the time down here, everything starts to go hazy. Today at least, I was able to write you this letter. If I send out the letter this way every night, maybe someday you'll see it. So long.

  • Kim Ki-woo: [narrates] Opening my eyes for the first time in a month, I saw a detective who looked nothing like a detective. Then the doctor who looked nothing like a doctor spoke. Even when I heard how much Ki-jung bled that day... even when I heard the words "forgery", "trespassing", "foul play", "murder", and that we were lucky to get away with probation... even when I finally got to see Ki-jung's face, I kept laughing. Though when I went back and watched the news reports, I didn't laugh.