Parasite — The Power of Symbols

(keyboard clicking) - Hi.

I'm Michael, this is "Lessons from the Screenplay."

"Parasite" is a tense social satire about a poor family, the Kims,

who con their way into becoming the servants of a rich family, the Parks.

In February 2020, it made history by becoming the first non-English language film to

ever win Best Picture at the Academy Awards.

Which raises the question,

why was this South Korean film able to resonate across the world?

There are many answers to this question.

Co-writer and director Bong Joon-Ho executes masterful filmmaking from start to finish,

the performances are compelling,

and the plot tells the story of a disillusionment arc in a visceral way.

But I want to focus on one aspect in particular,

the way "Parasite" cleverly utilizes symbols and motifs to express its theme.

These are tools that can transcend culture and language,

directing our focus to the film's exploration of wealth vs. poverty, again and again.

So today, I want to demonstrate how Bong Joon-Ho establishes key symbols to represent

the Kim family's aspirational beliefs

as well as the truth they can't escape.

To explore how these symbols are developed into motifs

that enrich the character's emotional journeys.

And to examine the way these motifs come to an explosive end

that fully renders the film's theme.

Let's take a look at "Parasite."

A symbol is simply a thing that represents or stands for something else.

And as John Truby points out,

this simple representation can have a powerful impact on an audience,

writing "symbols give you a hidden language "that emotionally sways the audience.

"Just as matter is highly concentrated energy, "a symbol is highly concentrated meaning."

There are many symbols in "Parasite,"

but there are two in particular

that I want to follow,

the viewing stone and smell.

The viewing stone is introduced early in the film,

shortly after we meet the Kim family.

From the very first scene,

we understand that they are living a life of poverty.

But the son, Ki-Woo,

believes they can work their way out of poverty and join the affluent class.

When Ki-Woo's wealthy friend Min pays the family a visit,

he brings them a gift,

a viewing stone. (speaking foreign language) The captions for Ki-Woo's response say. (speaking foreign

language) And in the screenplay,

that line is written as. (speaking foreign language) In both cases,

the intention is clear, the viewing stone is a symbol.

An Bong Joon-Ho says, "that rock is assigned "this very unique position.

"It's a kind of obsession for the young son.

"Throughout the film, he's trying to imitate Min,

"his rich friend who initiated him into this world.

"Min disappears in this film after giving him the rock,

"but the rock is sort of the remnant of his character."

The viewing stone represents Ki-Woo's belief

that he is destined for a more successful future,

just like his friend Min.

This first symbol is introduced early in the film on page nine,

but the second symbol I want to examine isn't explicitly introduced until page 57.

At this point in the story,

the entire Kim family has infiltrated the home of the Parks,

masquerading as strangers in various domestic positions.

And as Bong Joon-Ho says, "the jobs "that these characters take, tutoring, "housekeeping,

and driving, feature "a rare moment where the rich

and poor "are together in a very private space

and so close "to one another

that they can smell each other.

"It was kind of the perfect device in the story."

Da-Song suddenly starts sniffing the air.

Da-Song runs over to Ki-Tek

and shoves his nose in his pant leg.

He runs over to Chung-Sook and shoves his nose in her belly,

starling her greatly. (speaking foreign language)

When the Park family's young son notices

that all the Kims smell the same,

he's unknowingly threatening to reveal their true identities.

But beyond serving a function in the plot, smell is used as a symbol.

It represents the poverty that the Kims, and particularly Kai-Tek,

can't escape. (speaking foreign language)

But rather than simply introducing a symbol

and utilizing it once,

symbols can be repeated, and even manipulated, over time.

As John Truby again writes, "a symbol creates a resonance,

"like ripples in a pond, every time it appears.

"As you repeat the symbol,

"the ripples expand and reverberate "in the minds of the audience "often without their

being consciously aware of it."

When symbols are repeated, they create a motif.

The word motif has several definitions,

but for the purpose of this video we'll use the literary definition detailed in

an article by MasterClass.

"Motif is a literary technique

that consists "of a repeated element

that has symbolic significance to a literary work."

So in "Parasite," the introduction of the viewing stone

as a representation of Ki-Woo's aspiration for wealth creates a symbol.

But when the film repeatedly brings the viewing stone back it becomes a motif.

So what's special about repeating a symbol to create a motif?

Let's look at how

and when "Parasite" brings back the viewing stone to examine this.

Returning to earlier in the film,

after Ki-Woo receives the stone he starts taking bold actions to pursue his aspiration

of wealth and status.

With Min's recommendation, and after forging a college degree,

he gets a tutoring job for the Parks.

So right when the Kim family seems to have achieved some success,

the script brings back the symbol of the viewing stone.

A short, barely standing drunk man is relieving himself in the corner.

Ki-woo jumps up.

He grabs the viewing stone from the table and walks toward the door.

Seeing the symbol of the viewing stone again reminds us of its original meaning,

Ki-Woo's aspiration for wealth and status.

But when we first saw it, Ki-Woo had no prospects,

now he and his family are on their way to achieving their goal.

The next time we see the rock, however, Ki-Woo's aspirations are in jeopardy.

After the Park family nearly discovers their true identities,

the Kims return to their semi-basement apartment and find it completely flooded.

Something touches his foot in the water.

He bends over and reaches into the murky depths,

eventually finding the viewing stone that Min-Hyuk gave the family as a gift.

Ki-Woo pants heavily as he hugs the rock.

It's like he just found a precious treasure.

Again we remember what it once meant.

First aspiration for wealth and status,

then what seemed to be success toward that goal.

And now, as Ki-Woo clutches it to his chest,

we see how he is desperately clinging to this goal

that is slipping away. (speaking foreign language) This recurrence has created a motif,

one that externalizes Ki-Woo's inner feelings about wealth and status.

The symbol of smell becomes a motif as well.

After it's introduced as a representation of the poverty Ki-Tek cannot escape from,

that idea is reinforced over

and over again. (speaking foreign language) Ki-Tek becomes nervous,

he smells his t-shirt. (speaking foreign language) Ki-Tek, Ki-Woo,

and Ki-Jung can do nothing but silently take hit after hit.

The Park family's relationship with poverty

and the invisible line

that separates them is explored throughout the film using the motif of smell.

We've now seen how a story can take something like a stone

and imbue it with meaning to create a symbol,

and how that symbol can be repeated, commented on,

and manipulated to create a motif.

But there's one last step in this progression.

In "Parasite," the two motifs together express the story's theme.

So what is theme?

In a recent podcast we did for the patrons of "Beyond the Screenplay," the

whole LFTS team weighed in on how to define theme

and how to recognize it.

As Tricia Aurand said. - Theme is a lesson

that you could take away from a story

that is textually supported by the story.

So it has to be something that you can point to.

This is in there, and this is in there, and this is in there.

All of these things are related to this large question about life, or humankind,

or the universe. - But then how is theme different from motif?

In "The Cambridge Introduction to Narrative," author H.

Porter Abbott describes the differences between motif and theme.

"As technical terms, they are often used interchangeably,

"though motif is especially varied in its meanings.

"But as a general working rule for the discussion "of narrative,

a theme is abstract and a motif is concrete."

Essentially, a motif is something you can point to in the text of a

film.

The viewing stone appears on screen, smell is discussed in characters' dialogue.

But theme is the meaning being expressed by these motifs.

In "Parasite," we can see this most clearly

as the story builds to its climax.

After their narrow escape and the flooding of their home,

we see a kind of despair beginning to take hold of Ki-Tek. (speaking foreign

language) The motif of smell comes back again

and again to remind Ki-Tek of his place in the lower class,

pushing him toward a breaking point.

Meanwhile, Ki-Woo is very close to attaining his dream of wealth

and status. (speaking foreign language)

But there's a problem.

The previous housekeeper and her husband, tied up in the basement,

know Ki-Woo's true identity and could ruin everything.

So the motif of the viewing stone returns

as he grabs the symbol to use

as a weapon against those who threaten his dream.

But while Ki-Woo is hoping to use the stone to free him once

and for all from a life of poverty,

it actually becomes a symbol of his destruction.

And it's at this moment that the motif of smell returns, one last time,

in the film's violent climax.

When Ki-Tek is confronted with the fact

that the smell of poverty is an inextricable part of who he is,

and finally snaps.

Symbols are introduced and assigned meaning, repeated and modified to create motifs,

which ultimately express one of the story's core themes.

People in poverty, regardless of their dreams,

often do not have the power to join the affluent class.

"Parasite" is an excellent example of how to use the age-old literary devices of

symbols and motifs to elevate an already great premise.

They can transcend language and culture, creating stories that resonate across the world.

And in the case of "Parasite," the result is a pitch-perfect social satire

that speaks to our times

and leaves us with a film

that has become a symbol of its own. (dramatic music) Hey guys,

Michael here.

Hope you enjoyed the video.

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