Okay- so I haven't rewatched Parasite Yet- but I did come up with another theory... in which I'm going to kind of break down all of the different parasitic relationships in Parasite.
So you should only read this if you haven't watched the movie yet because there is a major twist in the movie that you want to keep as a twist... but I'll write a little synopsis just in case you need a refresher. In the movie Parasite explores the relationships between the Rich and The Poor- and even explores the relationships of the poor and how they fight amongst each other just for a slightly better place in life. The Kim family is a poor family trying to work their hardest to fold pizza boxes for money- they then each con their way into working for the Parks- a wealthy family. When the wealthy family leaves for the weekend, they leave the mother of the Kim family- Chung-Sook- who is their housekeeper in charge of watching their house. The entire Kim family ends up staying at the house as well... and they are greeted by the Park's former housekeeper Moon-Gwang- claiming that she left something in the house and begging for Chung-Sook to let her in. We then see that there is a hidden bunker underneath the Park's house and Moon-Gwang's husband Geun- Sae was living there hiding out from Loan Sharks that were trying to kill him.
Geun-Sae?
Geun-Sae seems the most obvious choice for Parasite in the movie. He's living in the Parks house and feeding off of their food like a literal parasite. His position is also probably the lowest of the movie... yet somehow he is the most content in his role in life... He might live in the basement with only some company from his wife when the rest of the family is away... but he has a roof over his head and he's safe and protected from the loan sharks. He isn't even trying to escape the basement until the very end of the movie after his wife had died and he had nothing to lose and wanted Revenge.
He even turns on and off the lights for Dong-Ik Kim as a sign of respect because he has provided the house for Geun-Sae to live in.
The Kim Family?
Honestly... I can't really think of the Kim family as Parasites at all... and yes- they too are living off of the Parks and at the end of the movie Ki-Taek finds himself in the same exact position as Geun-Sae... but they give wayyy more to the Park family than they take from them.... up until the murder that is... but aside from that- they are providing honest work and helping the Park family with anything they need. Plus they seem to be friendlier with the family than the help that the Parks had previously employed. Both of the Kim parents listen to the Park parents and offer help and advice to them. And even though the Kim's took advantage of the Park's in order to get the job... they were happy with their jobs for a time and had things not taken a turn- they would have continued to work for the Park family.
The Park Family?
I feel like The Park family are the major parasites in this movie... and really they don't even know it. They really take advantage of their help and they're so replaceable to the Parks that it's kind of sick. Da-hye mentions that she cannot eat peaches because their housekeeper Moon-Gwang is very allergic. When Moon-Gwang is fired Chung-Sook gives them peaches and they're really excited because they can finally eat peaches. They didn't really worry about Moon Gwang being sick or anything... they're just happy to eat peaches. When the Park family comes home- Yeon-Gyo demands the food to be ready for them right when they're in the door. It isn't like the dish was hard to make- but still... the housekeeper wasn't even expecting them home and now she had to prepare food for the family... that most of them didn't even end up eating.
The Park's also benefit from the Kim's being in their position... and they don't directly know that they do... but they treat the Kim's differently because of this fact... which is what eventually pushes Ki-Taek to the edge. They keep holding their nose around the Kims, saying that they smell like "people who ride subway's" when neither of the Kim's remember what riding a subway was even like. The Parks were happy for the rain when it basically destroyed everything that the Kim family owned. And last but not least... when Dong-Ik begs Ki-Taek for the keys while Ki-Taek is desperately trying to save his daughter who was just stabbed in the heart. It's... just kind of terrible that they keep treating the Kim family as Help more so than actual humans that are doing a lot to help them.
Alright... I think that is all I want to say. Overall... really a sad movie with a very bleak ending. All of these people are parasiting off of each other in some way or another... and it's just maddening. You can see how Ki-Taek was driven to madness at the end.
Let me know what you guys think of this breakdown and what other breakdowns you'd like to see.
Bye!
-Shannon
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