*WARNING: This article contains spoilers*
Winner of the Academy Award for Best Picture (2020), Parasite became one of the most critically acclaimed films of our generation. The film centres around a poor family who deceive their extremely rich employers, with unexpected comic moments. Desiring a better lifestyle, the Kim family infiltrate the wealthy household by gradually replacing its staff members. With a well-paced plot and dark twists around every corner, Bong Joon-Ho’s film is an extraordinary balance of thriller and comedy.
On the surface, Parasite can easily be recognised as a film about the divide between wealth and poverty. The Kim family take every opportunity to steal – even living in the Park family’s house whilst they’re on vacation. The plan seems to have worked, they’re living the life of luxury. Until they discover another family living in the basement; a family that have secretly leeched off the household far longer than they have. Riddled with negative connotations, it’s easy to presume that the title refers to the poorer families within the film. After all, they eat the Park’s food, live inside their home and (most importantly) accomplish all this without the rich family noticing. In actuality, Boon-Ho intended for his title to have a double meaning. In an interview at Fantastic Fest (2019), the director explained “if you look at it the other way, you can say that the rich family, they’re also parasites in terms of labour. They can’t even wash dishes, they can’t drive themselves – they leech off the poor family’s labour. So both are parasites”. However, Parasite cannot be confined by one reading or theory. The film has far too many avenues to explore, which opens up a multitude of themes for discussion. Yes, Joon-Ho’s title explores class division. But, Parasite concerns itself with more than that. It is also a film about performance – wearing an illusion of yourself to hide the truth of what lurks underneath. Parasite is about pretending to be something you are not, and the pending threat of that performance being exposed.
At a glance, the main performers of the film are the Kim family. They give themselves new names, backstories and fake their own qualifications. To add to the comedy, they pretend to be complete strangers to each other when at work. Mother, father, son and daughter assume the roles of housekeeper, chauffer, tutor and an art therapist. Quite literally, they become entirely new characters. Perfecting this performance is key, and the family take particularly comedic measures to ensure it. For example, the son (Ki-woo) even writes scripts for his father to practice. When the father gives an especially angry rehearsal, the son directs “Dad, your emotions are up to here. Bring them down to here”. The son becomes the director, ensuring their performances are realistic. It is the fear of exposing this performance that drives the family to perfect them so extensively.
The theme of what is seen versus what remains unseen, resonates throughout the narrative. Initially, the family appear to be the ones hiding beneath their performative illusions. Until the house itself becomes a performance all of its own. The top of the house (where the Park family reside) is filled with sunlight due to the many windows. However, the basement (where the poor family hide) is dark with very few lightbulbs. Many discussions suggest that the lighting refers to the status of wealth. The rich live in the light because they can afford to, whilst the poor live in the dark. However, if space can indicate wealth, then it can also indicate performance. The sunlit, open area of the house is where the Kim family pose as their highly qualified characters. But in the basement, they become their true selves. The underneath of the house becomes a backstage area, where the performance melts away from the bright stage lighting. Parasite turns the home into a stage and the Kim family become its willing performers.
Parasite’s ending is a closure of the curtain, a literal ending to every performance in the film. After being trapped in the house for many years, the father (Ki-taek) leaves his confinement to be greeted by his son and wife. From the dark basement, he ascends the stairs into a sunlit home that is now owned by his wealthy son, a son that has worked hard for his money and has earned it rightfully. It’s a crucial moment within the film, because it reflects secrets being set free. The Kim family are no longer hiding behind a performance, they have become the official owners of the house. Perhaps Parasite’s ending is a message about earning your own wealth through hard work. Perhaps it’s a comment on peeling back the levels of performance and being yourself. Or perhaps, it’s both of these things.
I thought I knew what Parasite was letting me in for. In truth, nothing could have prepared me for its unfolding story. One moment, I feared for the family’s exposure, the next I was laughing at its sheer brilliance and ridiculous moments. It’s dark, it’s funny – not to mention, it takes the art of lying on your CV to a whole new level. For all its layers of performance, Parasite takes centre stage in the history of cinematic achievement.
Parasite (2019) Directed by Bong Joon-Ho [Film]. CJ Entertainment.
EskimoTV (2019) Parasite – Interview / Q & A with Director Bong Joon-Ho [Video]. Available online: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PeCbpEl3nWs&t=74s
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Kira Curtis 
Jonathan Harper