Monday, June 9, 6:30 pm to 10:00 pm
Instructor: Paul Wright, Ph.D., Main Line Classical Academy
A tour de force of acting and storytelling, Bong Joon-ho’s Oscar-winning Parasite (2019) signaled a watershed moment in the Academy’s history of celebrating—or failing to recognize—the achievements of international cinema. The first non-English-language film to win Best Picture, Parasite also won awards for Best International Feature, Best Director, and Best Original Screenplay.
Yet the film’s Oscar triumph sometimes obscures the fact that it’s also one of the most subversive films ever made. As a satirical depiction of haves and have-nots chafing under a mutual dependency, Parasite lays bare the class tensions seething beneath the constrictively polite society of Seoul, Korea. Never losing sight of the humanity of its characters, Parasite explores larger truths about inequality, class code-switching, existential dread, and the political equivalent of Freud’s “return of the repressed.” This is a film that resonates with audiences anywhere, while at the same time retaining the specificity of its Korean context.
Parasite also features a career-defining performance by Song Kang-ho, patriarch of the poor Kim family that finds its way into the family circle of the wealthy Parks. A film as much about what we refuse to see as what we acknowledge, Parasite has lost none of its sting or its gallows humor and will have first-time and repeat viewers debating it long after the lights come up.
Are you interested in “just” seeing this movie? Visit the public screening page here.
Cinema Classics Seminars offer an entertaining and engaging way to learn more about some of the true classics of world cinema. All students receive an introductory lecture before the film and a guided discussion after the film. In addition, those in attendance receive a ticket to see it on the big screen, as well as popcorn and a drink. Please note: the screening associated with this seminar will be open to the public, as well.
Please contact BMFI Programs and Education Coordinator Jill Malcolm with any questions.
