Jan Vincent L.

Lanuza Analysis in Broadcasting

BABr 2-2N Prof. Sonny Versoza

Parasite: A technical masterpiece

One quality for a film to be great is its technicalities, the elements that helps
produce the movie itself. Remove the symbolisms and representations for a while. and
see how applications, such as camera work, and others, led Parasite into being called a
hit for fans and critics alike.
As a realism piece, the production encompasses itself on how to better explain it.
The impact of the sound, lighting, editing, the angles of each shot, and the set design
helped on fulfilling that objective.
As sound editor Marvin M. Kerner says in The Art of the Sound Effects Editor
(1989), "the function of sound effects is three-fold". And that is to simulate reality, to add
or create something off scene that is not really there, and to help the director create a
mood. To quote Kerner, for most films, sounds sets the tone and mood of a certain
scene. It could be wonder, confusion, a suspenseful act, an evil action, a disturbing
moment, or a future happening. This was no exception for Parasite. On lighting and
editing, meanwhile, was the highlight. As the theme was economic struggle, the
mentioned two played a role on making it known. The color palette was between on light
and dark colors only. The dark colors represent hard life, secrets, and dark thoughts,
elements that centers on poverty, the Kim family and the housekeeper. The light colors
show positivity, prosperity, and happiness for the Parks and the Kims. Total opposites
but tells the story completely. Then, the angles and the set design reveal the status. For
the home of the Kim family, its set design was designed to look like a basement and
was shot to make it look lower to describe their unfavorable position. As for the Park,
their house was set on a hill, made it look higher, especially when Ki-woo first ventured
there, to signify their high standard in their lifestyle.
As Andre (1987) had stated, Formalist film theory is a theory of film study that is
focused on the formal, or technical, elements of a film: i.e., the lighting, scoring, sound
and set design, use of color, shot composition, and editing. To make it more precise of
the point, the formal aspect any film, the pre-production, production, post-production
process, materials used, the theme that they focused on, the visuals and sounds
employed are the key aspects on bringing any concepts to life.
Parasite: A struggle and the real perception between classes
To fully understand the premise of class struggles in the film, the Marxist Analysis
can be utilized to see what type of society was the film trying to portray. To Kenton (2018),
Marxism posits that the struggle between social classes, specifically between the
bourgeoisie, or capitalists, and the proletariat, or workers, defines the development of the
state. In a sense, the relationship between two differing social groups shows the current
situation of the society.
In the film, the struggle stems from the economic conflict. Some scenes, such as
the Kim lying their careers in order to get a job, the gap between poor and rich was pretty
evident. There certain situations that perfectly portrays it. Throughout the film, the Park
couple, sometimes their child too, had been bemoaning something of a horrible “smell”,
especially to Kim Ki-taek but were shared with his family. In the words of Mr. Park, “People
who ride the subway have a special smell”, pertaining to the working class. In the other
side of the spectrum, in the Kim’s home, a recurring part in their household life was their
dislike on one particular person, a drunkard who kept on urinating near them, in which
they would usually drive them off by throwing water at him. These scenarios signify two
things: the rich despise the poor and the poor despises their fellow poor people and would
do anything to be one with the rich, even if conning their way to the top, Another thing to
point out was the storm that had plagued the city as the movie nears its conclusion. Its
destruction had affected the Kim’s and their neighbors, forcing them to evacuate, while
the Parks barely felt it at all, only seeing it as a nuisance, stressing further the bridge that
separates them.
According to Palmer (2010), one of the central tenets of Conflict Theory is that
those in power are able to control or manipulate the media and the public at large so that
they can escape criticism. Subsequently those in power can do or say things that if a less
powerful person exhibited the same behavior they would be ridiculed or possibly be
committing a crime. The premise of this statement was also apparent in film as the Mr.
Park could show his displeasure to the unprivileged as he may want but the end result of
Kim-Ki-taek killing the former because of it and whole con act committed by the rest of
the Kim family in order to survive made them vilified and hated. The situation depicted the
unfair reality of the world: the rich could but the poor couldn’t, in a justice standpoint.
The film played a role on representing the unspoken, yet known truth of the world:
the breach that separates the working and the ruling classes is still enormous as both
received unequal treatment and opportunity. Economically and socially, they are different,
as a result. That is the harsh actuality of everything.
Parasite: A haven of symbolism and latent meaning?

The film Parasite held a lot of symbolic themes, moments, and themes to explain
factors, such as class struggles and inequality. Next to the technicalities, it can be said
that is the backbone of the entire thing
When talking about the symbols in the film, Semiotics and Marxism goes side-by
side as the film tackles social and economic conflict and the signs enhances its meaning.
Besides the audial symbols defined earlier, there are some visual symbolism that
are also there, subjectively interpreted on what does it mean.
According to Robinson (2011), signs are often used to differentiate one person or
group from others, indeed it was. In the Parasite’s case, to vary the social classes. The
utilization of the Morse Code by Ki-taek and Geun-sae, one with gratitude for “housing”
and assisting his escape from the troubled world and with pleas of help, asking for escape
from his prison, represent the cycle of life in poverty.
Another thing to note was the rock at the beginning, gifted by Min-hyuk to Ki-woo,
setting the events in motion. As stated by the former, it could bring material wealth to
anyone who had it. The rock, the pillar and beginning of everything, stands for greed and
the want for cash badly, to the point of transforming themselves into con artists.
The title “Parasite” itself spoke symbols. The term came from the parasitism
relationship between two species. It is “a relationship between species, where one
organism, the parasite, lives on or in another organism, the host, causing it some harm”
Paoulin (2007). In this case, the Kim’s gained exponentially from the Park’s by lying to
their resume, cheating the family maid, and stealing their money, harming their finances
and the trust they gave to them on helping their family.
In the film, meaning was created through one theme: economic conflict. Signs,
symbols, and actions were manifested through it. The story of a family trying to get by
with all means necessary was the focal point of this dark comedy/suspense movie and
every indication and figures placed helped relay the message and the reality of it all.
References:
Andrew, Dudley (1976). The Major Film Theories: An Introduction, Oxford, New York:
Oxford University Press. Retrieved at September 25, 2019.
Kenton, Will (2018). Marxism. Retrieved at September 19, 2019. Retrieved from
https://www.investopedia.com/terms/m/marxism.asp.
Kerner, Marvin (1989). The Art of the Sound Effects Editor. Retrieved at September 25,
2019. Retrieved from https://www.infoplease.com/features/movies-tv-and-music/movies-
and-film-sound-effects-and-their-functions
Palmer, Nathan (2010). Conflict Theory, Power, and the Media. Retrieved at September
22, 2019. Retrieved from:
https://thesocietypages.org/sociologysource/2010/06/28/conflict-theory-power-and-the-
media/
Poulin, Robert (2007). Evolutionary Ecology of Parasites. Princeton University Press.
Retrieved at September 22, 2019
Robinson, Andrew (2011). An A to Z of Theory Roland Barthes and Semiotics. Retrieved
at September 20, 2019 Retrieved from https://ceasefiremagazine.co.uk/in-theory-
barthes-1/