Critics and viewers have praised Parasite for its story, acting, and direction, deeming it one of the best movies of 2019. When awards seasons came around, nominations were expected and the film succeeded in its right by sweeping the Academy Awards, earning Best Director and Best Picture amongst its highest accolades. Nevertheless, what resonates strongest with audiences is Parasite's commentary on modern-day society.

Class System (Cool Capitalism As a Focalizer)

Parasite's ongoing theme is the stratification between The Kim and Park families--a direct commentary on South Korea's Capitalist influence on class systems. While the plot implements this element to achieve its dark humor, it's also an instrument leaving audiences pondering the take-away of the film. Are we only meant to laugh at the Kims strategic slithering into The Parks' lives, easily fooling them into trusting them with everything from their home to their best-kept secrets? Or are we to sympathize with the lower-class families of Seoul longing to ascend the social latter through their seemingly futile labor?

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The Kims' assimilation as domestic workers in the Park household only brings them a temporary financial solution, an indirect form of Cool Capitalism. Cool Capitalism is defined as a rewards/benefits system of lower-workers integrated into the Capitalist World; in exchange for their labor, workers are "rewarded" with on-site amenities and other perceived luxuries; it is an unspoken appeasement between large business owners and said employees, while the actual fruit of their labor remains improperly compensated. In Parasite, the Kims revel in their job privileges (considerable pay and access to the mansion's offerings when the Parks are away); yet, the gap between their wages and destituteness remains prevalent. The flooding of the Kim's home is the film's prime example of the class gap between both families amidst a natural disaster; while the Kims are forced to sleep amongst other displaced victims, the Parks soundly rest in the safety of their own home, comfortably aloof to the tragedy that has struck South Korea's lower-class.

Who Is the Parasite?

The Kims arguably fit the bill of social leeches, slowly displacing the former Park employees through lies and under-handed schemes. By the film's Third Act, we get a retrospective to this viewpoint. In reiteration to Cool Capitalism, The Parks feel settled with their humanity in treating the Kims with higher dignity than most domestic workers, but the reality remains: the Kims are solely a means to an end, an end serving the Park's parasitic livelihood. The Park's everyday comforts are facilitated through the Kims' labor; (Ki-taek's driving, Ki-woo's housekeeping, Ki-woo's tutoring, Ki-jung sitting Da-song)  Nevertheless, the Kims remain disposable fixtures in the Parks' upper-class standing, when social class boundaries are crossed (Ki-taek's bordering acts of defiance met with contempt by Dong-ik, Yeon-gyo reminding Ki-jung of the latter's servitude during Da-song's birthday celebration).

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Symbology (Infrastructure, Water, Smell—Fixed Social Class.)

Parasite is ridded with symbology to achieve its social commentary. The Park's Home is situated on a rising hill in Seoul. Infrastructure is metaphorical of the class difference between the Kims and the Parks (The Kims living below in a poverty-stricken district in Seoul; The Parks literally residing above this demographic.) and their general disconnect from the adversities of Seoul's lower-class. Water is prevalent in its reflection of both families' essential resources; while the Parks have an abundance of purified and bottled water, viewing it as disposable (the bottled water rolling unnoticed in Da-song's bedroom), the Kims are both afflicted by their limited accessibility to filtered water and its murkiness when their house floods. Said murkiness symbolizes the Kim's bleak social class ascension; they attempt assimilation into the upper-class through their daily routine with the Parks, but once nighttime falls, a return to their poverty-stricken roots is unavoidable.

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Smell is highlighted when Dong-ik discusses Ki-taek with Yeon-gyo, describing Ki-taek's scent  as "a smell hard to describe," reminiscent of subway scents (transportation of the lower-class). Yeon-gyo follows the comments by noting "it's been ages" since she's ridden public transportation (their disconnect from Seoul's working class). The smell is later reestablished by Da-song, who notes that "The Parks all smell the same." Smell is an extension of the Kims' unsurpassable social class; they are permanently stigmatized by a social construct ascribed from birth.

Ultimately, Parasite is a reminder of the continual class struggle in modern-day society. Whether in South Korea or on a global spectrum, classes clash amidst Capitalist ideals and the oppressive means in embracing them. Parasite achieves its message emotively by rousing laughter through dark humor, instilling nerve-wracking tension in its climax, and leaving viewers to interpret its message objectively; for that, it's a concrete cinematic masterpiece deserving of its every praise.

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