The Architect of Chaos: Deciphering the True Antagonist in Bong Joon-ho’s ‘Parasite

Release Date: October 11th, 2019

Director: Bong Joon-ho

Box Office: $263.1 Million

The 2020 Academy Award for Best picture Parasite, directed by Bong Joon Ho prevails as one of the best commentaries on society, focusing on the economic inequality and the ever-growing divide between the upper and lower classes in the modern capitalist system. It follows two families, one who live in a crabbed semi-basement (the Kim's) and the other who live in a affluent neighborhood in a beautiful mansion (the Parks). The film tells the tale of the Kim's strategic infiltration into the Parks life. The Kim's begin to act as domestic help for the Parks until the whole household is hired for various jobs. The subtle yet obvious narrative showcases the differences between the poor and the elite, resulting in several brutal, even fatal decisions.

As someone who has watched the movie three times, I could dive deep into the flawless cinematography of the film, or discuss the candor of the script - but there are already several reviews examining these aspects. I will explore what I learned from this powerful story, and how, in ways, it helped me understand my upbringing, my culture and the world around me. I recently just accompanied my roommate in watching the film for the first time, in the end of the movie, he made a remark; “What a tragic ending”

That really stuck with me, Tragic. 

What is tragedy? C. Scott Rigby and Richard M. Ryan described it as, “...a desire to achieve a specific goal that is often pursued as a non-autonomous or obsessive passion.” (Handbook of Media Use and Wellbeing). Sophocles in his greek tragedy uses Oedipus Rex and his doing to depict mythological tragedies. Of course, tragedies almost always result in the downfall of the protagonists, usually as they reach their life goal or what they always wanted. Many tragedies showcase how relatable or underdog characters commit a terrible act without thinking through the depth of their actions. As they realize their error, their world and accomplishments crumble around them, through this chaos they eventually come crashing down.

We see these themes played out perfectly by the Kim family. They take the opportunity given to them, and strategically plan to fulfill their goals for wealth, dignity, and status. They are willing to overlook some moral codes and even abandon compassionate attitudes to maintain and grow what they have accumulated. Like a true tragedy written by Sophocles on Euripides, these characters still remind highly relatable. No matter what they do, who they trick, who they hurt, we, as viewers want them to succeed -  we want them to stay safe, we want a happy ending. According to Aristotle, this was the purpose of tragedy. He argued that tragedy receive so much attention and acclaim because they purge us of our petty concerns and worries, enabling us to release pity and fear.

Some argue that the Kim's experienced their tragedy because of greed or desperation. Many read the film as a narrative about the evils of a detached, cold, and greedy upper class - but, to me, this does not really make complete sense. I have tried to understand the lens of a villainous rich family that pressured the Kim's into their downfall but to me I could not get behind the fact that the worst crime the Parks committed was snobbery and cold manners. I realize we do not know what the Parks did to get rich - it is never explained, there is a chance that Mr. Park was hurting people in order to climb the ladder, or maybe, he simply had wealthy parents - but there was never an investigation or conclusion whether Mr. Park earned his money morally or not. One thing is clear, the film identifies the lack of social infrastructure and welfare programs to bridge inequality and provide resources to the disadvantaged. 

So what is the cause of the tragedy? What is it that plagued all the characters, both rich and poor, to force the motivation of the final crime? 

Status anxiety. 

Status Anxiety is a term coined by the philospher Alain de Bottom, it is concerned with the anxiety stemming from how we are seen, judged, and valued based on our occupation, wealth, or belongings. Growing up in India, a country that boasts a prideful culture focused on family and community, almost everyone is concerned by how they appear to the outside opinion; What will they think about my childs test score? What will they think about what I wear? How I look? What I do? Often, I have been compared to my successful cousins or heard indirect comments of what family friends are achieving in their career pursuits. Over my time, I have realized that status anxiety is the all-motivating fear that we don't have high enough status to earn dignity or respect, it makes it feel as if it is a tall order to hope that the person who asks us what we do for a living should still be interested in us as a friend or human if we say we fold pizza boxes, or worse, are unemployed. I want to remove the possibility of misconceptions, this is not my attempt for me to criticize Indian or South Korean culture/society, but merely my opinion on what I have learned through my experiences and the film.

All the characters in the film are living and breathing status anxiety. The film explores how it is upheld by imaginary rules that ration the line between dignity and respect. First, looking at the Kim's, they are the obvious victims, however, they are a special case. They are not living in low status because they are “dumb” or “lazy”. The opening scenes mitigates this possibility right away by establishing that Ki-Jung is capable of advanced photoshop, or Kevin is an intelligent test-taker. It portrays the Kim's as cunning people who work hard to attain the basic necessities they possess, it is simply unlucky that they are marginalized in this society. Those impoverished are usually made invisible by status anxiety in real-life, those who observe status rules have learned to ignore real life Kim's or think harshly of them and their lifestyle. This idea is showcased through Mr. Park constantly belittling Mr. Kim “poverty” smell. However, by making a family like the Kim's the main characters of the film, Joon ho brings out the obscurity the lower class is usually kept in, and transforms them into sympathetic underdogs that everyone wants to root for.

Kevin is a central figure for the Kim family and he is the one who sparks their tragic journey- he is, in my opinion, the index of the rampant status anxiety that plagues the Kim family. In the beginning, the family seemed content with surviving their day to day life, they would celebrate their small victories and appreciate what they did have, but all this changes with one gift; the stone. When Min gifts the family the collector rock, it becomes a source of inspiration and obsession about status and social mobility for Kevin. As a young and clever man watching his peers grow into great people, he is preoccupied with attaining high status. Ki Woo starts to enter the fineries of the Parks family, enjoying every benefit of his new income, and the status ladder - but towards the end of the film, we see what truly haunts him. When faced with the decision to either cut his losses and run or solidify his ascension in status- he takes a moment to think about what he really wants. Its not the house, not a rich wife - those arent the motivation to his attempt to murder - it was this moment, when he considered whether he could ever fit in with these shiny, comfortable, happy families. After all, what is the end of our status anxiety - our concers that we are being left out or overlooked, our concern that a lack in status means we are less deserving of comfort, happiness or community.

Ki-Taek (Mr. Kim) is another advocate of status anxiety and showcases how it eats away at our identity and self-worth. The symbol for this journey was smell. Throughout the second half of the movie, the smell of characters becomes a signifier of their status. The poor smell fetid and the rich have no recognizable scent - they are simply the “normal” smell, the default, the expected. Ultimately, it is this notion of smell that pushes Mr. Kim over the edge, unleashing an unexpected burst of pent up emotions. In the final scenes of the movie, Mr. Park winces in disgust as he retrieves his car keys from Guen-Se's dying body. Ki-Taek looks at this in disbelief, witnessing how high and low status was being acknowledged and enforced, even during raw human terror. People were dying, still, Mr. Park remains the most valued person in the room. Next, Ki-Taek suddenly turns his knife towards Mr. Park. In my opinion, the breaking point was instigated by the deeply rooted anxiety and frustration around status and its ability to control human dignity- both status and dignity are treated as rare resources, like diamonds that only the rich deserve. 

Lastly, I want to focus on Chung-Sook, specifically the night of the storm. This scene, is arguably the turning point in the film, where the narrative transforms from laying out the plot to diving deep into the main conflict, which in my opinion is pushed by status anxiety. When the family discovers that Moon Gwang- the housekeeper- has been hiding her husband in the basement of the mansion for several years, she whispers in an attempt to relate to Chung-Sook, “We’re not so different”. Chunk-Sook reaction is the epitome of internalized status anxiety, now, there is a possibility she might have undestood that they are not very different in their struggles and deceptions. Yes, living under the house was strange but after all both had been lying to the Parks in order to pull themselves out of poor conditions. But, in this moment, Chunk Sook is angered by the compairons. Instead of offering to help those in similar positions as her, she antagoze Moon Gwang by threatening to call the cops. In many ways, this reaction, this scene highlights the highly competitive and individualistic feeling status anxiety can incite. Paradoxially, those in lower status are the harshest critics of those who are most similar to themselves. They are so preoccupied with the game of status, like Chunk-Sook, that they dont mind competing with others like them and climbing over them- in fact, by climbing over and putting them down- the anxious further assert themselves as those who have been able to climb the rungs of wealth. I have experiences this several times in my childhood, growing up, as a family that endorsed domestic help around the house, I would often hear our driver criticize the work of our maid, as we drive to my piano practice or back from school, I would hear countless stories about the lackadaisical attitude of our chef or how my grandma is being too forgiving of our maid. Those instances I remember did not mean much to me before, but it has made me realize that those who are trying to climb the ladder look down at those they left behind as a mean of building self-esteem. That is why Mooon Gwang mere comparison that they are similar was so insulting to Chunk Sook.

The families did what they did because characters in tragedies are not supposed to make better decisions, instead they are supposed to fail so that we can learn something. 

Therefore, I want to clarify that my interpretation is not meant to offer the idea that the rich should stay rich and the impoverished should just learn to get over it. Living with food, shelter, and utility insecurities is a reality for millions, and everyone regardless of their status or career should have the basic needs. It is an unfortunate reality that demands real change. Additionally, I firmly believe that social mobility is a worthwhile pursuit and we can still work hard to achieve dreams of luxury and monetary success. My message is that we also need to mentally cater to the fact that we live in societies infected with status obsessions and prejudice against demographics. We cannot change what others say or do but we can unassign meaning from what our homes or closet look like to others, we can learn to ignore the boundaries of smell the rich employ, we can ignore the intrinsic voices that say we are not yet worthy of dignity unless we achieve status. I am all for being uber driven and goal-orientated, I am not supportive of the deceiving facade of fame and money.

In the end, the tragedy Parasite reminded me to notice the world around me, it reminded me that there are systems that are inherently unfair, there is a need to take action in our lives, to take care of ourselves, and to help those struggling as the Kims are. This film inspired me to place my internal viewing stones back into the river, and reflect on what truly matters in life.