Prompt
Bong Joon-ho’s 2019 film, Parasite, offers scathing commentary on social norms, dominant ideologies, and spoken and unspoken expectations that govern significant portions of the lives of the film’s characters. Whether viewed in its local context, South Korea, or as a global media object that has captured viewers’ attention despite barriers of language or culture, it is undoubtedly a film that uses striking imagery, settings, dialogue, and themes that ultimately come together in ways that encourage each audience member to ask difficult questions about the reality depicted on-screen and the reflection of our own lived reality that this filmic projection offers.
For this Argument Essay, your task will be to connect scholarship engaged in this course to the film itself, drawing on the themes below, and articulated through the academic writing techniques discussed in class and in your course textbook. Specific details regarding length, formatting, and other expectations are included in the second half of this assignment guide.
▪ “Parasite” as a concept: Who or what is the “parasite” in this film, and how did you make this determination? How is this demonstrated through the film’s framing of characters in each of the three main families and/or the conditions in which they live and work?
▪ Sets and/or environmental elements: What is the role of setting and environment in this film, and how are these used to convey particular messages? Examples of these are: elevation (hills, slopes, above vs. below ground), structural elements (homes, stairs, windows), weather (rain, flooding, sunshine), sensory elements (lighting, the use of scent within the film), etc.
▪ Parasite as a local media object: What are the elements that make this film a distinctly South Korean media object? What is missed, or lost, by audiences who rely on translation of the original language, lack of knowledge regarding specific customs or cultural symbols? Do these overlooked elements impact the commentary of the film?
▪ Parasite as a global media object: What makes this story so appealing on such a wide scale, to the extent that it has received global acclaim? What makes this film relevant outside the context of South Korea, and why does it impact audiences who may miss nuances of language, cultural context, or symbolism that a South Korean audience will find familiar? Does this widespread enjoyment of the film impact the commentary it offers?
▪ “Here and Now” vs. “There and Then”: Allegories or social commentaries in media objects are frequently situated in fictional realms (e.g., the future, an Earth that doesn’t exist yet, another planet or fantasy realm, etc.). Parasite, however, is very much set in the “here and now”. Does this authorial choice enhance or hinder the impact of the commentary offered by the film (or does it do both? Or neither?)?
Sample Solution