(keyboard clicking) - [Michael] 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. - [Tricia] 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. I want to quickly tell you about a project I'm involved
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One little symbol that I found interesting and may not be obvious to audiences who haven't lived in Korea was the beer. When the poor family was still super poor, they drank a "beer" called Filite. This is actually not classed (legally) as a beer and has much lower taxes on it, and is thus much cheaper than even the cheapest true beers. It was my beer of choice when I lived in Korea :)
Later on, as they get some money, they start drinking imported Japanese beer which is more expensive. (Asahi? Sapporo? I don't remember exactly.)
They never mention it vocally, but it's an interesting little bit of symbolism.
Loved this film! Even enjoyed the other symbolisms through the film - like the fact that the Kims lived in a semi basement apartment and every time they’d go home, they’d walk downhill. While every time they wanted to go to the house of their employers in the affluent neighborhood, they’d walk uphill. Denoting uphill for wealth and downhill for poverty. What a brilliant film.
My favorite part was when the daughter was smoking calmly on top of the overflowing toilet, Like she was used to living around shit that she’s inmune to this whole ordeal, just a little scene which gave more meaning to the interpretation of their poor life’s. A true master piece of a Film.
I freaking love this movie
I did a paper on the symbolism of Suzuki rocks also known as Scholars Rocks a month before I saw the film. As soon as I saw the rock on screen my mind was whirring trying to figure out how it fit into the story
I always hated symbols in English class in high/middle school. I do like that the son straight up says how symbolic in this.
That’s so metaphorical.
This is so metaphorical.
Great movie!