Police (1985)

Bong Joon Ho’s masterpiece, Parasite (2019) became one of the few international films to break into the American mainstream. It received rave reviews from critics, earned 53 million dollars in the United States, and went on to win 4 Academy Awards including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Original Screenplay, and Best International Film. It is also the first international film to ever win Best Picture.

There are very few international films that transcend the niche groups of cinephiles who appreciate foreign cinema, and are embraced by the general American audience. With Parasite now on Hulu, I showed it to my sister: someone who is self-professed to not like movies. My sister came away saying she loved it and was completely invested in it. For someone who has never seen a foreign language film, she said it may as well have been in English, as she was so immersed in it that she forgot she was even reading subtitles.

Why does Parasite resonate with American audiences? What is it about this film that captures people’s interests? It may be the twists and turns it takes, not only changing drastically in the narrative but also in tone. It may be the conflicting feelings you have for the family; recognizing their actions are horrible but secretly hoping they get away with it. It may be that it is simply a really good movie, and one that a lot of people simply enjoy. However, I think it’s more than that.

There’s a special connection American audiences have with Parasite. While taking place in a foreign country, it is still very relatable. It speaks to our societal structure. It speaks to the gap between the lower and upper classes. It speaks to all of our inner desires for wealth and respect. Parasite speaks to the realities of a Capitalistic society, and Americans know full well what life is like under Capitalism.

Capitalism pits different classes of people against each other. The work of the lower class feeds the profits of the upper class, and the profits of the upper class feed the lower class. It’s a system that requires co-dependency, not unlike a parasite and its host. What question Parasite poses is, “who is the parasite and who is the host?” In a capitalistic society, the gap between classes ensures that one class of people live with constant overabundance, while the other class of people live with constant scarcity.