Abstract

This paper analyses how Bong Joon-ho, through his 2019 Academy award-winning film ‘Parasite’, critiques the inequal class structures existing within the modern society, urban poverty and capitalism as a whole. Through the film, he poses a vital question to the viewers of the film that in the late-capitalist society, who really are the parasites? One of the modes through which Bong Joon-ho critiques the inequal class structure is through his clever use of architecture and set design in the film. Also, the two ways to find out as to who really are the parasites are to borrow Jim McGuigan’s concept of ‘Cool Capitalism’, and Antonio Gramsci’s concept of ‘Cultural Hegemony’. Both of these concepts could be used as a tool to read and find out as to how Bong Joon-ho critiques the inequal class division and the class structure. Also, the film doesn’t necessarily critique the characters belonging to different class, but rather Bong Joon-ho criticizes the structures themselves, as well as illustrating the various complexities of solving this inequal class structure.