"Parasite" is far from being as simple as class antagonism - the metaphorical "beauty of perversion"

Christophe 2022-04-22 07:01:03

"Parasite" and "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" are the same movie, the difference is that the former is a highly industrialized product, while the latter has a strong author's imprint.

Entering/criticizing "Parasite" can also choose two paths of form and content. Formally, shots, colors, composition, scenes, and highly condensed dramatic conflicts can all be summed up in three words: clean, neat, and clear. Although there are slow motions that increase the pressure and heaviness, it also plays a role in soothing the emotions generated during the orgasm.

All in all, the lens language of "Parasite" is different from the chaos of ordinary commercial films, showing the clarity that industrial films can achieve.

The easiest part of Parasite to interpret is its content, and its metaphors.

The metaphor can point to the class antagonism under the gap between the rich and the poor; it can point to the reality of Korea under the highly developed capitalist system; it can point to the relationship between Korea and the West.

In my opinion, the metaphorical charm of "Parasite" comes from "inverted beauty".

Feng Junhao has the calmness of Li An, like a knife in the dark, which makes people feel chills down their spines.

Li An's "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" may also be influenced by the subconscious or Wang Dulu. From time to time, the film reveals the unclear relationship between Master Li Mubai and the jade-faced fox, which makes Li Mubai's sincerity and teaching appear false and contrived.

The old wife, young body, and wild character all make the unique scholar-official spirit in the film a piece of paper that wraps people's desires, crisp and transparent, looming.

Feng Junhao doesn't have the pressure of the original book (maybe, I don't know), and even if there is, his calm control of "Parasite" seems cruel.

First of all, "Parasite" creates a confrontation between the poor and the rich, ranging from large to living environment, small to food, clothing, housing and transportation, which is on the table.

Immediately after, "Parasite" began to activate the "metaphor of perversion": allowing the poor to easily defraud the rich (obviously this is impossible). In the process of deception, the one below dominates the one above, completing the first "inversion".

Feng Junhao did not stop at the simple and cheap pleasure of the poor oppressing the rich, but further depicted the realistic spiritual outlook of the poor family.

From the point of view of his younger brother Kim Ki-woo: he knew that a girl his friend liked was still "stalking"; he provoked a girl (I forget whether it was underage or not) in a text message to go to bed. The former is the metaphorical destruction of the moral fantasy of "friends and wives cannot be deceived", revealing the true desire of the bottom. The latter is the manifestation of human nature after transcending the moral constraints (teacher-students, friends, adults and minors).

If only the desire to stop at the poor side is real, the conflict in the film will not stand, and I will not compare it with Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.

As mentioned above, "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" has a blade in the dark, and so does "Parasite".

President Park's ambiguous statement about his wife's love; fantasies about dirty underwear in the living room; wife's request for drugs before sex... In order to fire the driver, Kim Ji-ting didn't leave much explanation after leaving his underwear. But isn't the imagination of President Park and his wife about drugs after discovering their dirty panties the misleading result of their daily experience?

In the metaphor, "Parasite" seems to have completed the blatant oppression and insult of the rich by the poor, and it is a one-dimensional revenge, but in fact it contains criticism of both sides.

What else did President Park try to arouse sexual desire? What else has the wife succumbed to for drugs? This is the desire of the rich. What is more terrifying than the desire of the poor is that the desire of the poor is directly naked, while the desire of the rich is hidden under the envelope of civilization, an unpredictable black hole behind civilization.

Just like the construction of this house, on the surface, it is a magnanimous artwork, and there is a cramped and dark air-raid shelter underneath. Whether civilization is civilization itself or an ornament in the basement of desire is unknown. Here, the metaphor breaks away from the simple class opposition between the rich and the poor, and increases the criticism of civilization and the understanding of human nature.

The rule of the inferior over the superior became a visual deception, and the "inversion" was turned upside down again, becoming a bitter mockery of the poor.

When someone shouts: "They obviously did nothing wrong!", "parasitic" is no longer a metaphor for the poor to depend on the rich, but points to the question of what the rich, the West, and civilization are built on. .

Poor/rich, developed/third world, civilized/savage, who parasitized whom?


The original title is "Who Is Parasite Parasite"

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Extended Reading
  • Morgan 2022-03-22 09:01:13

    【9】#Cannes72# The seventh game of the main competition. It is also an Asian genre film, and it is also a story of the lowest level of people. There were knees licking into the competition, and 2,600 Lumiere clapped for eight and a half minutes. Feng Junhao has compassion for the people at the bottom. He did not use the stories of the people at the bottom as a cultural tool or a bargaining chip for personal endorsement.

  • Chadrick 2021-10-20 18:58:47

    Those domestic art film directors who can only focus on the camera and don’t take people to sleep can learn, what a movie is, what is the rhythm of the script, the language of the lens, the hook of the script, and they are immersed in their own day by day. In the country of art, Chinese movies are driven by the faithful believers of the new wave. Because they don’t know how to do it, they are known for engaging in art. They are closed after ten minutes. Can’t catch the audience. Are you filming you there? What about art? Deconstruct the metaphors and themes of the story with attractive audio-visual premises. This is to understand the film and make the film. It is also a long shot. People use it for plot reversal. This is obviously only using long shots to do their own skills. The art director of the fig leaf is full of irony from the film market. You can say that Korean movies always have dark themes over and over again, but they are now at least the masters of Asia in terms of film audiovisual techniques (photography, lighting, editing). Commercial rhythm is not a commercial film. It is the film's job to use commercial rhythm to talk about art!

Parasite quotes

  • Kim Ki-jung: [about Moon-gwang] She may look like a sheep, but inside, she's a fox. Sometimes she acts like she owns the house.

    Kim Ki-woo: Right. Of all the people in that house, she's lived there the longest. She was housekeeper to the architect Namgoong, but then she went on to work for this family. When the architect moved out, he introduced this woman to Park's family, telling them, "This is a great housekeeper, you should hire her".

    Chung-sook: So she survived a change of ownership.

    Kim Ki-woo: She won't give up such a good job easily.

    Kim Ki-jung: To extract a woman like that, we need to prepare well.

    Kim Ki-woo: Right, we need a plan.

    Park Da-hye: [cut to a scene with Ki-woo and Da-hye] I want to eat peaches. I like peaches best.

    Kim Ki-woo: Why not ask for some?

    Park Da-hye: No peaches at our house. It's a forbidden fruit.

    Kim Ki-woo: [cut back to the Kims; referring to Moon-gwang] So according to what Da-hye told me, she's got a pretty serious allergy to peaches. You know that fuzz on the peach skin? If she's anywhere near it, she gets a full body rash, has trouble breathing, asthma, a total meltdown!

    [Moon-gwang falls sick after Ki-woo puts peach fuzz on her]

    Ki-taek: Anyway. I wasn't trying to eavesdrop, but her words came through clearly! So I couldn't help but...

    Kim Ki-woo: Cut, cut! Dad, your emotions are up to here. Bring them down to about there.

    Ki-taek: So I couldn't help but overhear...

    Kim Ki-woo: Keep it focused!

    Ki-taek: [to Mrs. Park] What I'm trying to say is... it's just that, your housekeeper's voice is quite loud, you know?

    Park Yeon-kyo: I understand, it's all right. Just tell me, okay?

    Ki-taek: She said she got diagnosed with active tuberculosis and she was practically shouting over the phone, so upset she could barely control herself!

    Park Yeon-kyo: Tuberculosis? Come on...

    Ki-taek: It's true, she phoned someone saying she had active TB.

    Kim Ki-wooPark Yeon-kyo: Do people still get TB?

    Kim Ki-woo: [cut back to the Kims] Dad, back in the day, people used to buy Christmas Seals, right? Feels like a bygone era.

    Ki-taek: [cut back to Ki-taek and Mrs. Park] But I saw it on the internet. Korea has the #1 rate of TB of all the OECD countries.

    Kim Ki-woo: [cut back to the Kims] But she's still working, as if nothing's wrong - with a kid like Da-song in the house.

    Ki-taek: [cut back to Ki-taek and Mrs. Park] So you've got a young kid like Da-song in the house, and a TB patient is doing dishes, cooking, spraying spittle...

    Park Yeon-kyo: Stop it, please!

    [cut to the Kims putting peach fuzz on Moon-gwang, causing her to fall sick again, and Ki-taek using chili sauce to fake Moon-gwang's blood]

  • [last lines]

    Kim Ki-woo: Dad, today I made a plan - a fundamental plan. I'm going to earn money, a lot of it. University, a career, marriage, those are all fine, but first I'll earn money. When I have money, I'll buy the house. On the day we move in, Mom and I will be in the yard. Because the sunshine is so nice there. All you'll need to do is walk up the stairs. Take care until then. So long.