Isabella Hyde

Michael Sanches

Signature Assignment

Parasite​ and Marxist Theory

Marxist film theory focuses on language and how film and language work together. Each

shot has significance and meaning, like a word. The shots are compiled to create a deeper

meaning which is why editing is of vital importance in the Marxist film theory. To my surprise,

Marxist film theory is not about class struggles or the Marxist theory and instead focuses on the

techniques of filmmakers of the Marxist era. This paper will largely not focus on Marxist film

theory but on the Marxist theory and how it applies to ​Parasite,​ though some comments are

made concerning Marxist film theory.​ ​The Marxist theory, or Marxist philosophy, focuses on

materialism and class struggles in society. “​The theory is also about the hustles of the ​proletariat

and their reprimand of the ​bourgeoisie​”(Wikipedia, 2020).

Parasite​ is a film directed by Bong Joon-ho and was a wild commercial and critical

success as it won various accolades, including the Academy Award for Best Picture. I believe

that the film was a success because of the major plotline of inequality and class struggles in the

modern age. The film is encoded to make subtle and major references to the class separation of

the Kims and the Parks. The divisions between the wealthy Park family and the indigent Kims

are highlighted throughout the film which this paper will explain further.

Class divisions are emphasized throughout the film as the characters frequently reference

“the line” which is not to be crossed. In one scene Mr. Park states that he hates “people who

cross the line” and respects Mr. Kim as he is careful to not cross the line. The director of the film
said of the film, ​“Mr. Park says in the film, is they [draw] a line over their sophisticated world

and they don’t let anyone cross it. They’re not interested in the outside world, the subway, and

people who might perhaps smell. They want to push everyone outside of that line and they want

to remain safe behind it,” (Paiella, 2019)​. ​The Parks are insistent upon not crossing the line and

this is apparent as they feed their dogs expensive lobster meat and they must justify enjoying

cheap noodles by adding expensive steak. The Parks lead a lavish life with a large modern home,

employ the labor of the Kims, and celebrate with impromptu camping trips and parties. On the

contrary, the Kims are desperate to cross this line and rise in the class structure. Unlike the Parks,

they live in a semi-basement, celebrate by eating at a bus driver’s buffet, and are figuratively and

literally peed on. The Kims weasel their way into the lives of the Parks in an attempt to raise

their social status.

One significant cinematic feature in the film is the idea of levels that portray social status.

On one side are the Kims, who live practically underground in a semi-basement, and on the other

side are the Parks who​ live on a hill with multiple levels in the home, the lowest level being the

residence of a squatter (the husband of their maid). This separation of levels is highlighted when

the Kims run down from the hill back to their home by the

extreme wide-angle shots that follow them down various sets of

stairs. Woo-shik who plays Ki-woo explains that a

“semi-basement is specific the way of Korean living for the poor

people, but actually, semi-basement means also

semi-overground”(Vanity Fair, 2019). This shows that there is some hope as they can see the
light and are not completely submerged under, unlike Moon-Gwang’s husband who lives in the

secret basement of the Parks and is completely deprived of sunlight and hope.

The representation of the different families is very significant in portraying the classes in

the Marxist philosophy. The Kims, who represent the lower class, are portrayed as cockroaches

in this film. From the very beginning of the film, we see the Kims allow their home to be

fumigated to get rid of the pests whilst they sit on the floor amongst these so-called pests which

draw a similarity between them. As they infiltrate the Park’s home they act as parasites who

leech off of the wealth and luxuries. When the Parks leave for their camping trip, they creep out,

like cockroaches in the dark, and feast upon the Park’s food. When the Parks return

unexpectedly, and “turn on the light”, they scurry into the “the gutters”. This parallel between the

poor and cockroaches is demeaning and may represent a view of the poor as insects that

scavenge for the scraps of the rich, and in this case, it is the dogfood of the Parks.

In contrast, the Parks, who represent the rich, are portrayed as ignorant and selfish. In one

way they are ignorant as they are manipulated by the Kims to believe that Ki-woo is a college

graduate, Ki-jung is an art tutor, etc. They are also ignorant of the way that the proletariat live

and they do not wish to discover this. After the storm, Mrs. Park says that the storm was a

blessing and they were able to trade a camping trip for a party because of the clear skies. She is

ignorant of the suffering that the poor experienced because of the storm, claiming it as a blessing

whilst people were displaced from their homes and lost most of their possessions. Likewise, the

storm was significant because all of the waste flowed down from the rich to the poor and they

had to deal with the consequences of the rich’s problems. The Parks were selfish as they did not

wish to help the poor and they were only there for convenience. When their maid was allegedly
sick, they did not hesitate to fire her although she had been so faithful. At Da-song’s birthday

party, Mr. Kim wished to leave but he was forced to stay to appease Mr. Park, although it was

not a part of his job. Mr. Kim explains this selfishness and ignorance as he says that “rich people

are naive. No resentments. No creases on them.” which his wife replies with “It all gets ironed

out. Money is an iron. Those creases all get smoothed out”. This explains that they maintain their

ignorance because they have money. The portrayal of the rich as ignorant and selfish can be seen

in real life as many rich people turn a blind eye to the problems caused by inequality, lack of

access to education, healthcare, jobs, and opportunity. The Parks prefer to be ignorant about the

suffering of the poor.

There are ideas of Marxist film theory in this film as the plot is not driven by an

individual or protagonist but, it instead focuses on a group(s). The Kims work together to

infiltrate the home of the Parks starting with Ki-woo and following with the rest of the family.

Another aspect of the Marxist film theory is portrayed in one of the final scenes of the film when

Mr. Park is killed. “Deep focus” cinematography is used allowing the audience to focus on

different aspects of the shot. In this shot in particular we see the pinnacle of the film in which all

secrets are exposed which results in violence and murder.

“Deep focus” shot from ​Parasite

 Parasite​ relates directly to the Marxist philosophy as the Kim family struggles to get by

on a meager living by working jobs like folding pizza boxes. The Kims get by with their

resourcefulness and are able to steal wifi from a neighboring coffee shop and free fumigation in

their homes as they leave their windows open. They work hard and resent the Parks because of

the luxuries they enjoy.

Overall, I believe that this film had a lot of symbolism and parallel to the underlying class

structure in real life. Even the title relates to this relationship between the poor and the rich

which is parasitic as they use each other to uphold this system. I think the Marxist theory directly

applies to this film and we see the hustles of the poor, in an attempt to raise social status, and

their resentment of the rich. Perhaps a reason for its commercial and critical success is the

encoding and decoding of this film is so complex. Most people in society, rich or poor, recognize

there are massive degrees of inequality in society; the wealth gap is growing larger and larger.

Through the complex and layered encoding and decoding process, viewers are able to both see

something that they know exists while remaining aloof and indifferent to their own role they play

in it. Perhaps the greatest irony of all is when a bunch of very wealthy bourgeoisie spends

tremendous amounts of money and effort to hold a magnificent awards ceremony to award the

Academy Award to a movie that is highlighting issues of those in power keeping those of the

lowest social class down. As the director accepts the well-deserved Academy Award for his

movie ​Parasite​, literally yards away in Hollywood are countless numbers of homeless and

working poor who are feeding off the scraps and mess left behind from this great party.
Bibliography:

Marxist philosophy. (2020, July 26). Retrieved August 05, 2020, from

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marxist_philosophy

Paiella, G. (2019, October 08). 'Parasite' Director Bong Joon-ho on the Art of Class

Warfare. Retrieved August 05, 2020, from

https://www.gq.com/story/parasite-director-bong-joon-ho-interview

'Parasite' Director Bong Joon-ho Breaks Down the Opening Scene. (2019, November 12).

Retrieved August 05, 2020, from

https://www.vanityfair.com/video/watch/notes-on-a-scene-parasite-director-bong-joon-ho-

breaks-down-a-scene