“PARASITE: A GAP BETWEEN RICH AND POOR”

BY: Warren Paclarin – 12 STEM ERUDITES

Parasite is a thriller/comedy film that was Directed by Bong Joon Ho. It is the
first Asian film to win an Oscar with the title best in original screen display for it explores
the false hope of affluence for those in the lower class and reveals the grim truth of
Korea's economic stagnation. Given that Bong's movie won another award with the title
“the year's best picture award”, it is obvious that the concept of the movie struck a chord
with a sizable global audience. The plot follows the Kim family as they con the much
wealthier Park family into giving them all jobs. They get at ease in the Park's opulent
society, but their path to riches is revealed to be a false dream, as the family ends up
back where they started, in the lower class. The film was made to reflect and satirize the
reality of the times we live in. The huge contrast between the rich and the poor, along
with the accompanying illusion of economic mobility, is the most important motif of
Parasite. In an effort to raise awareness of the absence of assistance for those in need,
Bong set out to expose this. In my opinion, the flood scene and the end scene are the
two that most effectively convey Bong's overall theme and purpose. The flood scene
emphasizes the sharply defined disparity between the rich and the poor and the reality
of many Korean families, while the end scene emphasizes the depressing immobility of
the economy and the false hope that wealth can give to many.

There are different elements in the movie that shows the gap between the rich and poor
such as the way their living, how their house look, the poor lives in a compromised area
because it’s all a family can afford while the rich has the complete opposite. During the
flooding scene it shows the difference between rich and poor in South Korean society.
The extract also examines diverse viewpoints on the erroneous hope of prosperity and
the fallacy of economic mobility. The Director wants to inspire change and raise
consciousness about the income gap by highlighting the substandard living situations of
financially unstable individuals. Symbolism, composition, and dialogue are all employed
to demonstrate the issue of the disparity between the affluent and poor, also remarking
on the ignorance of those with greater wealth toward those in need. Another Element in
the movie is the eating scene where it frequently appears, and it is a classic technique
to illustrate the wealth disparity between the affluent and poor by illustrating the
differences in food. In the opening sequence of the film, the father of the Kim family,
carefully removes a bag containing just two slices of toast, illustrating the family's
difficult way of life. The Kim family then earns a pitiful prize by folding the pizza boxes.
The Kim family's four members eat food and drink beer while seated around a table.
The Kim family visits the driver's cafeteria for a banquet after being hired by the Park
family. Lastly, children from poor households lack adequate educational resources,
good career possibilities, and more importantly a broad worldview as compared to
children from wealthy families. The Kim families are fortunate to have jobs at Park's
home, but they fail to take advantage of this chance. Instead, they imagine Ki woo
getting married to Da-hye, a member of the Park family, and rising to the top class.
Even after learning that the fortunate stone his friend Min Hyuk gave him is a phony
stone that floats on the water, Ki-woo still views it as a valuable object. In the end, he
decides to use this stone to strike Geun-sae, the parasitic "ghost" that lives in the Park
family's basement and would force Ki-woo to leave his work because of his insatiable
desire for money.
In conclusion the storytelling of the rich and the poor is different from many other
movies in the similar genre. The stereotypes of the rich and the poor are shown in many
movies. The poor are kind and optimistic, and the rich oppress the poor. This film
became popular because of its artistic merit and also for enlightening viewers about real
society and ruthlessly exposing the wealth disparity. There is a significant disparity
between the rich and the poor in terms of housing, education, mindset, and other factors
in addition to just money. The lifestyles of the rich and the poor are now divided into
different social classes as a result of these potential gaps. Due to a lack of social
resources, the poor are only getting poorer, but the rich have always been at the top of
society since they have access to good resources. Therefore, the painful reality that it is
getting harder for the poor to change their fate and the constantly solidifying social
strata are what lie behind the gap between the rich and the poor.