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Film Analysis of Parasite in the Light of Marxism

Received: 2 October 2022    Accepted: 18 November 2022    Published: 13 January 2023
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Abstract

The media text chosen for this research is the film “Parasite”. The purpose of the study is to correlate the film with Marxism. Marxism can be defined as the political, social, and economic philosophy. It was invented by Karl Marx that highlights the struggle between two classes of society; the bourgeoisie or capitalists, and the proletariat or working class. A critical analysis of the film has been done to distinguish where Marxist theory was observable. The findings showed that the film Parasite is a perfect illustration of Marxism. It gracefully depicts the class system, which can also be correlated to the real world. On one side, it showed an elite class, so, on the flip side, it exposed the lower class. Hence, both are standard social classes in today’s society. The film doesn't only depict Marxism but also shows the dark side of humanity. On one point, it gives hope to the Proletariat class by delivering a message that upward mobility is possible. So, on the next point, it also alerts the Bourgeoisie class that if the working class tries to become rich, they struggle for it, and are ready to cross all limits to achieve it. Henceforth, a powerful and substantial connection was observed between the film Parasite, Marxism, and the society.

Published in International Journal of Literature and Arts (Volume 11, Issue 1)
DOI 10.11648/j.ijla.20231101.11
Page(s) 1-4
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Parasite, Media Text, Film Analysis, Cultural Studies, Marxism, Karl Marx

References
[1] Bansal, P., 2019. Theory of Class and Class Struggle. [Online] Available at: https://abhipedia.abhimanu.com/Article/sociology/MTAwMTg0/Theory-of-Class-and-Class-Struggle-Fundamentals-Of-Sociology-sociology [Accessed 11 October 2022].
[2] Blackwell, W., 2012. Culture, Ideology, and Hagemony. Malden: Wiley & Sons.
[3] Cliffs Notes, 2020. Types of Social Classes of People. [Online] Available at: https://www.cliffsnotes.com/study-guides/sociology/social-and-global-stratification/types-of-social-classes-of-people [Accessed 11 October 2022].
[4] Fay, B., 2021. These 7 Habits Will Help You Become Rich. [Online] Available at: https://www.debt.org/advice/how-to-become-rich/ [Accessed 4 November 2022].
[5] Gingrich, P., 2022. Marx's Theory of Social Class and Class Structure. [Online] Available at: http://www.u.arizona.edu/~gradisek/STORIESmarx.html [Accessed 11 October 2022].
[6] IMDB, 2019. Parasite. [Online] Available at: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6751668/ [Accessed 10 October 2022].
[7] Jung, E. A., 2020. Bong Joon Ho on Why He Wanted Parasite to End With a ‘Surefire Kill’. [Online] Available at: https://www.vulture.com/article/parasite-ending-explained-by-bong-joon-ho.html [Accessed 5 November 2022].
[8] Marx, K. & Engels, F., 2020. The Communist Manifesto. Karachi: Liberty Books.
[9] McCabe, E., 2018. Karl Marx’s Theory of Class Struggle: The Working Class & Revolution. [Online] Available at: https://www.socialistalternative.org/2018/05/05/karl-marxs-theory-class-struggle-working-class-revolution/ [Accessed 11 October 2022].
[10] Ryan,. A., 2021. Bourgeoisie. [Online] Available at: https://www.britannica.com/topic/bourgeoisie [Accessed 10 October 2022].
[11] Roth, J., 2010. Your Money: The Missing Manual by J.D. Roth. In: Your Money: The Missing Manual. California: O'Reilly Media, Inc., p. 338.
[12] Shrm, 2021. What should HR do when an employee’s body odor is affecting the workplace?. [Online] Available at: https://www.shrm.org/resourcesandtools/tools-and-samples/hr-qa/pages/bodyodoraffectingworkplace.aspx
[13] Storey, J., 2018. Marxism. 8th ed. New York: Routledge.
[14] Team, T. I., 2021. Marxism: Theory, Effects, and Examples. [Online] Available at: https://www.investopedia.com/terms/m/marxism.asp [Accessed 14 November 2021].
[15] The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica, 2022. Proletariat. [Online] Available at: https://www.britannica.com/topic/proletariat [Accessed 10 October 2022].
Cite This Article
  • APA Style

    Sagar Samy. (2023). Film Analysis of Parasite in the Light of Marxism. International Journal of Literature and Arts, 11(1), 1-4. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijla.20231101.11

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    ACS Style

    Sagar Samy. Film Analysis of Parasite in the Light of Marxism. Int. J. Lit. Arts 2023, 11(1), 1-4. doi: 10.11648/j.ijla.20231101.11

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    AMA Style

    Sagar Samy. Film Analysis of Parasite in the Light of Marxism. Int J Lit Arts. 2023;11(1):1-4. doi: 10.11648/j.ijla.20231101.11

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  • @article{10.11648/j.ijla.20231101.11,
      author = {Sagar Samy},
      title = {Film Analysis of Parasite in the Light of Marxism},
      journal = {International Journal of Literature and Arts},
      volume = {11},
      number = {1},
      pages = {1-4},
      doi = {10.11648/j.ijla.20231101.11},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijla.20231101.11},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijla.20231101.11},
      abstract = {The media text chosen for this research is the film “Parasite”. The purpose of the study is to correlate the film with Marxism. Marxism can be defined as the political, social, and economic philosophy. It was invented by Karl Marx that highlights the struggle between two classes of society; the bourgeoisie or capitalists, and the proletariat or working class. A critical analysis of the film has been done to distinguish where Marxist theory was observable. The findings showed that the film Parasite is a perfect illustration of Marxism. It gracefully depicts the class system, which can also be correlated to the real world. On one side, it showed an elite class, so, on the flip side, it exposed the lower class. Hence, both are standard social classes in today’s society. The film doesn't only depict Marxism but also shows the dark side of humanity. On one point, it gives hope to the Proletariat class by delivering a message that upward mobility is possible. So, on the next point, it also alerts the Bourgeoisie class that if the working class tries to become rich, they struggle for it, and are ready to cross all limits to achieve it. Henceforth, a powerful and substantial connection was observed between the film Parasite, Marxism, and the society.},
     year = {2023}
    }
    

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    N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijla.20231101.11
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    T2  - International Journal of Literature and Arts
    JF  - International Journal of Literature and Arts
    JO  - International Journal of Literature and Arts
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    AB  - The media text chosen for this research is the film “Parasite”. The purpose of the study is to correlate the film with Marxism. Marxism can be defined as the political, social, and economic philosophy. It was invented by Karl Marx that highlights the struggle between two classes of society; the bourgeoisie or capitalists, and the proletariat or working class. A critical analysis of the film has been done to distinguish where Marxist theory was observable. The findings showed that the film Parasite is a perfect illustration of Marxism. It gracefully depicts the class system, which can also be correlated to the real world. On one side, it showed an elite class, so, on the flip side, it exposed the lower class. Hence, both are standard social classes in today’s society. The film doesn't only depict Marxism but also shows the dark side of humanity. On one point, it gives hope to the Proletariat class by delivering a message that upward mobility is possible. So, on the next point, it also alerts the Bourgeoisie class that if the working class tries to become rich, they struggle for it, and are ready to cross all limits to achieve it. Henceforth, a powerful and substantial connection was observed between the film Parasite, Marxism, and the society.
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Author Information
  • Department of Media Studies, Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto Institute of Science and Technology (SZABIST), Karachi, Pakistan

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