Gonzalez 1

Kevin Gonzalez

Mrs. Monica Rodriguez

ENGL 1301-171

5 November 2022

Essay 2 Final

“Act like you own the place” is the

suspenseful tagline for this poster for the

thriller movie Parasite. The poster contains a

couple of people in a backyard with black

and white bars over their eyes. This film is

basically two movies merged into one,

therefore it doesn’t follow a standard

three-act format. This phenomenal poster for

the 2019 movie captures the right amount of

foreshadowing and still makes you wonder

what will happen next. The elements of the

movie poster reveal that these people are

keeping a secret, which the black and white

bars in their eyes clearly indicate, the writing embedded is a red flag suggesting that there is a

secret within the wall of the place, and the mysterious body that lingers through the ground

represents the idea that death an integral part of the movie central theme.

The primary element of the movie poster is that the people have black and white colored

bars over their eyes, symbolizing that they are keeping a secret from the audience and we have to
 Gonzalez 3

watch the movie to find it. The reason is that parasites like worms lack eyes and can only detect

light to determine whether they are above or below the surface, thus explaining why the eyes on

the poster are lined either black or white. The eyes of the Park family have white lines, which

suggests that the parasite is in the light and above ground (rich), while the eyes of the Kim

family have a black line, which denotes that the parasite is in the dark and below ground (poor),

or you could also differentiate that both families are different types of parasites. The conclusion

of the element is that the poster shows the black and white colored bars suggesting that they are

keeping a secret from the audience and have to find out through the movie.

The next element in the poster is the writing embedded which causes a red flag

suggesting that there is a secret within the wall of the place. The writing reads “Act like you own

the place”. This literature shows that the Kim family began taking advantage of the Park family,

starting with one person educating a Park family member and progressing to all Kim family

members working for the Park family without letting them know they are connected. When the

Park family departs on a trip later in the film, the Kim family moves in. The conclusion of this

section reveals that the Kim family had been keeping something from the Park family; from their

point of view, they had taken over the property, but from the Park family's point of view, they

were merely serving as maids and caregivers without being aware that they were related at all.

The last element in the poster is the pale body that lingers through the ground

representing a theme of death. The body on the ground represents the parasite (Kim family)

shows no respect or gratitude for the host family that lets them into their home, trusts them, pays

them, and gives them a better life than they have ever known. The parasites will ultimately be

responsible for all the deaths in the film and for destroying the future of the host mother and her

children. One of the characters who pass away in the film is the Park family’s elderly maid, a
 Gonzalez 3

long-time caregiver for the children. So that she wouldn’t realize they are related and took over

the house, the Kim family sought to kill her. The other important death caused by the parasites is

the murder of the Park family's father. The moment before he is murdered, he was reacting to an

insane, unexpected situation. He was not aware that the Parasites were posers. Before he is

killed, he is terrified for his own family and daughter and simply having a human moment during

an insane, fast-moving crisis. The conclusion is that the Parasites (Kim family) never express any

sense of regret or shame for robbing either the hosts or the former servants. Even after countless

deaths and the obliteration of the previous host family, they feel entitled to stay in the home and

support themselves off the new host family.

In conclusion, the movie poster for Parasite has many elements that can tell you about the

whole movie but with the naked eye, it's just a regular movie poster about an international thriller

film. The director made it this way so that the audience can have a sense of what the movie

might be about and that there are secrets to tell throughout the movie. The film name is also an

element that tells you there is a parasite that is leeching on the host and is taking their blood and

belonging so that they can become superior over the host. Also, the reason they have different

colored bars on their eyes is that parasites like worms have no eyes and can only sense light

which tells if they are over the ground or below the ground. This demonstrates how a work of art

can express a million tales at a glance, even if it appears simple.