Parasite Movie Analysis Essay Example

The 2019 movie, Parasite; directed by Bong Joon-Ho, focuses on the idea of classism, social divides, and the struggles of trying to rise through the ranks. The movie focuses on two families living in Seoul, South Korea; one of the families is on the highest richer end while the other family is on the poorer side. It shows families on the complete opposite sides of each other. Throughout the movie, it shows the poorer family slowly working their way into the richer family's life by getting jobs at the rich family's house. Everyone in the poorer family ends up working for the richer family improving their life now on a higher level but greed gets to them as they want to become the rich family leading to their downfall in the end. The over two-hour movie portrays the lives of two different families from different social classes interacting and details the true divides. Throughout the movie, Joon-Ho uses creative methods such as  lighting, camera movement, and choice of settings and props to help depict the theme of classism that is seen throughout the movie and the struggle that is trying to move up the social ladder

The use of lighting plays a big role throughout the movie as Joon-Ho uses it to show the difference in class levels. When we are first introduced to the poorer family there is natural but more dull lighting. The house is lit with the natural light that comes through their window above ground. The other light in the house comes from lightbulbs giving off a more dirty yellow light or from fluorescent lights making everything very harshly lit. The more dim lighting is Joon-Ho’s way of subtly showing the audience the difference in social status by using more “cheap” lighting for the poorer family.  This is a contrast between how the rich family's house is lit up with more bright natural light coming through its big windows and bright and elegant light from lightbulbs. This technique shows the difference between the two families and their social statuses. Another time this use of lighting is used to show social class is when the third family is revealed to be living in the house's bunker. The lighting in the bunker is harsh white lights that also leave some dark areas making the lighting darker than the poor family and way darker than the rich family. Joon-Ho uses this method of lighting things darker or lighter to show the social standings of the people; correlating brighter softer lighting with wealth and more stark harsh lighting to lower on the social class ladder.

Joon-Ho also utilizes camera movement and shots to also support his theme throughout the movie of social class. In the shots of the richer family's house Joon-ho employs the use of long shots that have more movement to them.  In scenes showing the larger house continuous and longer shots are used, moving through different areas and levels of the house. These shots emphasize the size of their house and demonstrate the freedom the family has in it. For the poorer family, Joon-Ho uses more stagnant simple shots when showing the family’s house since it is not big and does not allow for as much movement. The shots themselves are also shorter because not as much time is needed to show their full house; this is another way in which their lower-class status is demonstrated. The difference in the shots used to present the two houses communicates to the audience the gap between the two families; making them more aware of the two situations. 

The setting and location of the houses and film is an additional technique Joon-Ho employs. The movie itself takes place in Seoul, South Korea; as another large metropolitan area, Seoul has many different types of people from different social classes, ranging from the poorest of the poor to the top 1%. Geographically all the families are very close together but they are all in different “worlds” or social circles due to their class status. This choice of setting also allows for the idea of the families living in the same area and being able to interact with each other possible and seemingly natural. Location of the houses is also another way that social class is represented. The rich family's house sits upon a hill and requires a set of steps going upward to even be on the same level as the entrance. The poor family's house is ground level and a little below, with its entrance being slightly below ground. The house itself is partially underground with the windows being at ground level but on the highest part of the house's walls. Lastly, the secret bunker in which the third family is living is completely underground with a set of stairs leading to the hidden door. The bunker is too far underground for there to be windows or any way of natural light getting in. The choices of the house location is a subtle way of conveying to the audience the difference of social class, with each house being lower than the other. The richest family’s house is higher than all the others, which correlates with their high status. The poor families' houses are located in the middle and below ground which represents their lower-middle-class rank. The secret family who is the poorest of them all, their “house” literally underneath the rich family’s house showing that the rich family is above and higher than them while they are below the surface and not even seen.

The name of the movie itself also represents the idea of classism being the main theme as calling the poor family a “Parasite” dehumanizes them and makes them seem lesser. Bong Joon-Ho uses techniques such as lighting, camera movement, and choice of location to show the gap between the families and convey the theme of classism throughout the movie. All of the techniques used are subtle ways that show the difference in social class between all the families, adding up to create a deep cinematic film with many layers to pull back on and analyze, with classism being the overarching theme with many different messages and social commentary spread throughout the film.