If we look at the meaning of parasite, it means an organism that lives in or on an organism of another species (host) and derives benefit from it; on the other hand a virus is an infective agent that is able to multiply only within the cell of the host. This article however is not about the viruses or parasites at all; this is about the Oscar winning Korean movie “Parasite” directed by Bong Joon Ho. This movie caught my attention in the times of covid-19 thus the title. Parasite created a lot of hype since it got released and sweeping Oscars, the hype just deepened. During this quarantine, I had sufficient time to watch this movie and check whether it was worth all the hype. It is! This movie is a brutal yet powerful satire about wealth disparity and class divisions. The story revolves around two contrasting families, The Kims, who are poverty stricken and The Parks, who are filthy rich. The Kims cunningly infiltrate into their household on the pretext of job by hiding their identities but could not hide the smell of their poverty. Parks are often seen complaining about the smell coming out of their employees masquerading as tutor, domestic help and diver, yet being oblivious of their reality.
The movie has been making a lot of rounds on social media and blogs for right as well as wrong reasons, the movie clearly does not explain who the parasite is, the Kims or the Parks because both seem to be dependent on each other. The poor derive money from the rich but the rich cannot even wash their dishes and leech off poor for their basic chores so both are parasites. What I loved about the film was the use of symbols to explain ideas. The first symbol that the writer uses is that of the “viewing stone”. The rich friend gives this stone to his poor friend and he treats this as symbolic. The rock that was destined to bring him luck actually got him hurt. It shows that greed can bring untold miseries to a person. The second symbol used is that of smell, the smell speaks of their poverty which is inescapable.
The directorial style is simple, direct and blunt. The cinematography is simple yet excellent and this dystopian horror saves the most heartbreaking shot for its final moments. It gives us the most knowing feeling that the funny dialogues have been distracting us from the reality. The contrasting difference between two classes is piercing, the rainstorm just got the fishing trip cancelled for the rich, but for Kims, it destroyed their house. Hiding in a basement for four years to escape from loan sharks explains the untold agonies and miseries of poor. The scene that finally gives the goose bumps is when Mr Park displays a final act of arrogance when he wrinkles his nose in disgust because of the smell coming from Geun-sae, it was the height of snobbery in such a violent and delicate situation and thus got him killed. The movie leaves for the audience to decide who the parasite is, is it the Rich Park family who are completely dependent on the Kims or the Kims, who con Parks and derive employment from them.

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