HOUSE OF DREAMS, OR NOT

Abstract

In this paper, we will discuss the role of the built environment as storytelling in the context of Oscar winner Parasite, a film by director Bong Joon-Ho (2019). We will look at the potentiality of the built environment in unveiling film narratives, especially regarding immanent forms of class struggle and exploitation in everyday life. We will investigate the troubling power relations between the rich and the poor in contemporary society and the ways that the concepts of alienation/estrangement, objectification/reification and commodity fetishism can be used to bring these relations to the fore when analyzing the movie.

Keywords: Parasite; built environment; inequality; class struggle; alienation; everyday life.

Author Biographies

Renata Archanjo, Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte, Natal (RN), Brazil

Associate Professor at the Department of Foreign Modern Languages and Literature and at the Postgraduate Program of Language Studies (PPGEL, UFRN). Associate researcher at the Institute of Multilingualism (University of Fribourg, Switzerland).

Peter Hitchcock, Baruch College, New York, United States of America

PROFESSOR at Baruch College, and The Graduate Center, The City University of New York (CUNY); PhD (CUNY); research interests in literary theory, cultural theory, Marxism, Bakhtin, working-class fiction, world literature, postcolonialism, and film studies.

Márcio Moraes Valença, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte - Natal (RN)

Professor at the Postgraduate Program of Architecture and Urbanism – Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte (PPGAU – UFRN); Senior researcher at the Centro de Estudos Sociais (CES – Coimbra University).

References

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SITES:
(There are numerous sites with information about the movie and the filmmaker commented on in this paper. We list a few of them below. The site texts are not referenced in the paper.)
WHAT IS ‘Parasite’ really about? Dani di Placido, FORBES, 12 February 2020. https://www.forbes.com/sites/danidiplacido/2020/02/12/what-is-parasite-really-about/#74bfe71a2394 . Retrieved on 4 April 2020.
THE HALFWAY underground homes of ‘Parasite’ are real spaces of desperation and dreams. Victoria Kim. Los Angeles Times, 14 February 2020. https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2020-02-12/movie-parasite-korea-bong-joon-ho-banjiha . Retrieved on 3 April 2020
PARASITE REVIEW – a gasp-inducing masterpiece. Mark Kermode. The Guardian, 10 February 2020. https://www.theguardian.com/film/2020/feb/09/parasite-review-bong-joon-ho-tragicomic-masterpiece . Retrieved on 4 April 2020.
‘Parasite’ Has a hidden backstory of middle-class failure and chicken joints. S. Nathan Park. Foreign Policy (FP), 21 February 2020. https://foreignpolicy.com/2020/02/21/korea-bong-oscars-parasite-hidden-backstory-middle-class-chicken-bong-joon-ho/ . Retrieved on 4 April 2020.
'Parasite' Director Bong Joon-ho 'Wanted To Reflect The Truth Of Current Times'. Neda Ulaby. NPR, 10 December 2019. https://www.npr.org/2019/12/10/785090210/parasite-director-bong-joon-ho-wanted-to-reflect-the-truth-of-current-times . Retrieved on 4 April 2020.
Bong Joon Ho Reveals the Significance of 'Parasite's Scholar Stone. Patrick Brzeski. The Hollywood Reporter, 7 January 2020. https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/bong-joon-ho-reveals-significance-parasites-scholar-stone-1265811 . Retrieved on 4 April 2020.
Bong Joon-ho on weaving his personal memories into Parasite. The South Korean director digs into the details of his acclaimed film. Karen Han. Polygon, 14 October 2019. https://www.polygon.com/2019/10/14/20906430/parasite-bong-joon-ho-interview-rock-peach-spoilers . Retrieved on 4 April 2020.
Bong Joon-ho’s Extensive Storyboards for Parasite. Jason Kottke. Kottke.org. 1 April 2020. https://kottke.org/20/04/bong-joon-hos-extensive-storyboards-for-parasite . Retrieved on 4 April 2020.
Bong Joon Ho on Why He Wanted Parasite to End With a ‘Surefire Kill’. E. Alex Jung. Vulture. 14 January 2020. https://www.vulture.com/article/parasite-ending-explained-by-bong-joon-ho.html . Retrieved on 4 April 2020.
Making of 'Parasite': How Bong Joon Ho's Real Life Inspired a Plot-Twisty Tale of Rich vs. Poor. Patrick Brzeski. The Hollywood Reporter. 8 November 2019. https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/features/making-parasite-how-bong-joon-hos-real-life-inspired-a-plot-twisty-tale-rich-poor-1252015 . Retrieved on 4 April 2020.
Building the ‘Parasite’ House: How Bong Joon Ho and His Team Made the Year’s Best Set. Chris O'Falt. IndieWire. 29 October 2019. https://www.indiewire.com/2019/10/parasite-house-set-design-bong-joon-ho-1202185829/ . Retrieved on 4 December 2019.
Inside the House From Bong Joon Ho’s Parasite. Rachel Wallace. Architectural Digest. 31 October 2019. https://www.architecturaldigest.com/story/bong-joon-ho-parasite-movie-set-design-interview . Retrieved on 4 April 2020.
Parasite – A Bong Joon Ho film. International Press Kit – Festival de Cannes. Jong Joon Ho. 30 May 2019.
The Ending of ‘Parasite’ and the Fantasy of Wealth. Matt Goldberg. Collider. 8 April 2020. https://collider.com/parasite-ending-explained/ . Retrieved on 20 December 2020.
Parasite director Bong Joon_ho: 'Korea seems glamorous, but the young are in despair'. Steve Rose. The Guardian. 31 January 2020. https://www.theguardian.com/film/2020/jan/31/parasite-director-bong-joon-ho-korea-seems-glamorous-but-the-young-are-in-despair . Retrieved on 20 December 2020.
Bong Joon-ho and Parasite: A Triumph of Messy and Real Korean Culture. Kyu Hyun Kim. Association for Asian Studies. 4 August 2020. https://www.asianstudies.org/bong-joon-ho-and-parasite-a-triumph-of-messy-and-real-korean-culture/ . Retrieved on 20 December 2020.
Fresh from Oscar wins, 'Parasite' director Bong Joon-ho is still pondering what they mean. Euan Kerr. MPRNEWS. 13 February 2020. https://www.mprnews.org/story/2020/02/13/fresh-from-oscar-wins-bong-joon-ho-says-hes-still-pondering-what-they-mean . Retrieved on 20 December 2020.
Parasite house designed from "simple floor plan" sketched by Bong Joon-Ho. Bridget Cogley. 16 April 2020. Dezeen. https://www.dezeen.com/2020/04/16/parasite-film-set-design-interview-lee-ha-jun-bong-joon-ho . Retrieved on 20 December 2020.
Published
07/08/2024
How to Cite
ARCHANJO, Renata; HITCHCOCK, Peter; VALENÇA, Márcio Moraes. HOUSE OF DREAMS, OR NOT. Mercator, Fortaleza, v. 23, aug. 2024. ISSN 1984-2201. Available at: <http://www.mercator.ufc.br/mercator/article/view/e23013>. Date accessed: 05 nov. 2024. doi: https://doi.org/10.4215/rm2024.e23013.
Section
ARTICLES