Korean Names are HARD! - Parasite Review

An opportunistic family has infiltrated Linus Media Group and supplanted the hosts! Just kidding, it's Riley, James, and David again :)
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[@danielwilson6323]

The theme is in the title: Parasite. As the viewer we are asked who the parasite is, is it the family in the basement? Is it the family who works for the parks? Or is it the rich family who is a parasite on society? The movie doesn't really answer this and I would say probably you could argue any and all of these positions

[@Tomanista]

James: "I don't want to sound ignorant" Proceeds being ignorant

[@surft]

You forgot the element of time involved here: The stabbing scene was just the next day after they nightmare of the flood. Their stress is at their limit + the rich father kept on telling him that , "I'm paying you right? "Mr. Kim finally realizes the fact that the rich are really the ones who use them. For all their successes in their con, they have now failed and now this asshole rich guy is trying say 'drive me to the hospital and forget about that dying art teacher while Mr. Kim's daughter 'the art teacher' is dying. The stabbing scene was the culmination of all that stress , an irrational action. They sucked at folding pizza boxes because of again time, they had a deadline coupled with the fumigation.

[@DizzyBusy]

You missed this snippet of a detail that the Kim family lost their money because of a failed investment they did in the past, the King Castella. It was a food trend that didn't last long in Korea. The Kim family don't see themselves as "lower working-class", they were a middle class bunch. They fell down the ladder hard, that's why they needed to climb it back up. But the metaphorical ladder has now gotten more slippery and taller. That's the tragedy

[@JosephHerzog]

Im working my way backwards through this channel. Discovered it in January 2022. Incredible to see how their studio progressed, but in reverse 😂

[@gabrielchen7069]

I think the Kim Ki-woo dating the rich daughter thing has to do with Kim Ki-woo trying to emulate his buddy Min's life, because he wants to be him.

[@raficusx]

You had confusion about the boy scout decoding the light bulb Morse code--except it does pay off. It feeds into the kid's superstition about the ghost living in his home that led to his trauma, realized the housekeeper's husband returns and causes him to faint (again) at the climax of the film.

[@SparkFromWithin]

I have been binging some of the episodes here on YT in no particular order, because I like films, I believe Riley is a treasure, and I like James. But I find myself liking David more and more, I think he is my favourite of the trifecta.

[@movieswithgabe]

Ive just started watching this channel and couldn’t agree more. At first while I didn’t care much for David’s takes, I’ve learned that he’s easily the most consistent and gives the best reasoning for his opinions

[@Tomanista]

Davids headphone cord gives more tension than I can handle

[@whooosedooo]

You can say Korean name easily as just their First name or Last name. For example, director "Bong Joon Ho", His first name is "Joon Ho" and last name is "Bong". Just think as Backward. Most Korean names are mainly Three or Two words. First word Park or Kim or Bong is Last name and rest of it is First name. :) Its quite hard to pronounce the full name but if u realize some, not so hard.

[@nyatella]

Joon ho is pretty common name, can also just call him joon or jono if you're so bad at pronouncing korean names JAMES

[@TheFPSPower]

Damn, I really liked this conversation, you guys have a great dynamic for this stuff, it feels like a really natural conversation.

[@kuntalhalder]

James is spot on in his observation that BJH's English movies suck mostly because of Hollywood production. Please watch his earlier Korean movies, especially Memories of Murder which is possibly better than Parasite.

[@sugarfreebaker]

It really did add so much to this movie, watching it with my Korean wife. Love the podcast! Thanks

[@aren987]

Train to busan is a good shout

[@typhon1861]

I loved Riley but now love him even more after he sang a bit of Black Betty from Caravan Palace

[@h33tology]

I didn't know Caravan made a Cover for Black Betty. I've only thought Black Betty as a Ram Jam only song lol.

[@ultraokletsgo]

10:04 I love that a lot of the themes and threads click all at the same time for James and dudes like "You've convinced me."

[@BrandonWestfall]

“What about you James? Are you racist?”

[@mackstertube]

I did notice they had some Snowpeak brand gear (I think in the first basement) which is excitement camping stuff but if you look at Koreans idea of camping by looking at their website you will see it's high end camping. I have a couple of things from them.

[@cosmicdust5572]

I really enjoyed your conversation I literally watched the whole video from beginning to end. And I really loved 'assassination' which describes the korean independence activists against Japan, full of humor. It was really intriguing, So yeah It would be interesting listening to you guys talking about this movie.

[@solonec.4285]

Although the well-to-do friend Min recommending Kevin for the tutor position is helpful, Min chooses Kevin over one of his college buddies because he doesn't view Kevin as a threat. This isn't because they have some sort of 'bro code', it's because he also looks down on Kevin and doesn't think the rich girl could fall for him. The relationship between Kevin and the rich daughter happens for two reasons. From the daughter's perspective, she's neglected and desperate for attention. She instigates the relationship with Kevin and probably with Min as well. From Kevin's perspective, he tries to emulate Min because Min seems to have everything he feels like he lacks himself: Kevin's father describes Min as having "vigor" - Kevin tells the rich daughter during their first session that she needs to have "vigor". Min berates the urinating man - later on, Kevin tries to berate the urinating man, where beforehand, he is passive in that situation. Kevin tells his family that he plans on dating the rich daughter officially when she enters university which is the exact same thing Min tells him. When are heading home in the rain after everything goes wrong, Kevin says to himself, "what would Min do?" By the way, high school "sophomore" is an accurate but bad translation. This is because high school is three years in Korea and fours years in the US. The better translation would be 11th grade. Also, as cringe as it is, it's not unusual for high school girls in the US to seek relationships with older guys either. Regarding the badly folded boxes. Another thing many overlook is that they were folding the boxes while the fumigation/"free extermination" was in progress so there was almost zero visibility and they could barely breathe.

[@nyatella]

learned helplessness is what riley is describing about trying and trying but always failing

[@asb6493]

You have to see memories of a murder

[@Azureisfun]

Korea really does put America and American culture on a pedestal... Ask any expat who lives or lived there.

[@Azureisfun]

Adding to that. The climax is also very Korean. Smelling bad is really offensive. You can actually Google and find holding your nose and taking a selfie near "foreigners" was a thing. It's a deeply offensive thing in Korea.

[@DinerLingo]

Exactly--you see that in the amount of Korean words that are the same as in English & the love of US universities.

[@mollywin8768]

Mr. Kim kills Mr. Park because of stress and all the comments made leading up to that scene but mostly because he watches the man who practically worshiped him laying on the ground dying while mr. Kim has to grab the keys from underneath him. Mr. Kim makes a disgusted face while turning over his body not because he's touching a stabbed person but because of the smell. It highlights the complete disregard for the lower class.

[@wombat7961]

They were tear gassed while folding boxes... they knew they were going to do subpar work. Also its a great way to show that for the systematically oppressed such as the half-basement family they opportunities you do get will be subpar. So this family showcases the hardship of non-opportunities which keeps them stuck in poverty, because their ability and willingness to exceed expectations or be a model for excellence does not matter.

[@waffe605]

Yo, James. Have you only watched his English movies. Pog-Joon Ho really goes out on his Korean films.

[@paulelroy6650]

Seems like he has yet said he hates all his films. Not surprised he seems the type to hate foreign films.

[@nevezeraa]

I think that scene where mr park says that the panties left in the car by kim's family daughter would get him so "hard" also brought alot of anger and reason to get to kill mr park at least in the moment. Theres also that think about the rain, the rich are talking about how cool the rain was while the poor just almost lost their house...

[@nyatella]

David, an intellectual.

[@Jawnderlust]

Which one of you 3 is the Rich Evans?

[@crislop-fw1mj]

My favorite podcast

[@apoema42]

There is also this big element of meritocracy that seems to be missed by you guys. In the first scene, we meet the rich friend of the son and he is educated and is going to study abroad, meanwhile the young Kim is really clever but poorly educated. Which is explicit stated in the scene. The theme continues afterwards, all members of the Kim family are very clever, meanwhile, the Parks are at most pretty mediocre if not quite dumb. In Korea, educator/intelligence is a big measure of status, the movie is saying that many people are intelligent but never got the chances to actually study and grow in life.

[@rendanfuls]

I don't like podcasts and movie reviews but for some reason I've spent the past week watching this channel. And then it snapped. It's differentiated by the nuance of sweet and holyshitly thoughtful Riley and gamer/cinematography god David fighting off a smug, pretentious asshole who's read two philosophy books and looks for every opportunity to let you know about it

[@user-gx6tn2it2e]

i really agree

[@apoema42]

I think the pizza boxes is another criticism of the capitalism. We keep saying to everyone that "If only you try hard enough you are going to succeed". So here we have this family trying their best to make as many boxes as possible, as fast as possible to earn as much money as possible and the only think they succeed in is getting a lot of the boxes wrong. They would never succeed in life by making boxes, there is no trying hard enough.

[@ilovenycsomuch]

I don’t agree that the rich family was the only one who didn’t get screwed over, maybe not as much but they definitely got screwed over. Obviously they were lied to constantly by the poor family... not cool. The son was the only one who provided any real service (although I suppose if the dad could drive fine than him too, I’m not sure how much goes into being a personal driver), but it seems like he spent most his time doing shenanigans with the daughter than actually teaching her... Sure the rich mom was a bit naive but that doesn’t change the fact that the poor sister blatantly lied as some art expert & screwed them over with her bullshit services. I don’t remember much about what the poor mom did. I also believe they screwed them over too when they framed the housekeeper & driver & got them fired. The rich family enjoyed their services for years & they were very disappointed when they had to let them go. And the rich family was not at all rude to the poor family like a lot of ppl say. Apparently making private comments about someone’s smell justifies getting screwed over & also murdered??? All the dad ever did was mention that the poor dad smells terrible when he thought he wasn’t around to hear it (sorry he didn’t know the dad was actually hiding & snooping on them...). It even shows acceptance that he was still willing to keep the poor dad as his driver despite the fact that he smells repulsive. If someone smelled disgusting all the time you know you hate being around them & just want to get away, it’s gross! And also the comment the rich dad made at the party about keeping things strictly business or something like that which is what set the poor dad off on a murdering spree... are you kidding me what’s wrong with that? It’s complicated mixing in relationship dynamics with someone you’re paying for their services, it IS a business transaction & it’s perfectly reasonable if the rich dad wishes to keep it as such, many ppl are that way & that’s their choice. And you know by the end members of the rich family get STABBED & MURDERED but no they didn’t get screwed over in any way what do they have to complain about? I really can’t stand how the rich family is overly vilified in this movie & by ppl on reddit & stuff. It’s not their fault that the poor family is in their situation while the rich family is where they are, & seeing how manipulative & cutthroat the poor family is they definitely would switch places & happily put down others into the same poor circumstances as they showed no empathy towards the other struggling family. I think the rich family was always reasonably kind especially for where they come from & the poor family are the real villains if anyone. Anyways rant over lol

[@fodinski1]

The way you guys don’t get this movie shows your American privilege. I’m not trying to be a dick, But I’m from a third world country and i identified so much with Kim’s son. The rock that pursues him is the responsibility to make it for his family. And the father giving up plans is because he just lost every thing he had. All his labor, for his entire life, gone with the water, so to him, what’s the point? You guys just don’t understand the humiliation, of being told you smell, of feeling you don’t belong in a relationship, of feeling ashamed of where you live, who you are. And you never had a chance, it’s enough to break a man.

[@fodinski1]

@@slaphammer1999 *north american

[@jordanm2984]

I'd like to see James see The Host

[@rzkrdn8650]

It is perfectly named parasite, sucking the good stuff, and eventually killing its hosts. That being said, I don't know why the stabbing became a twist for me haha

[@downwiththatsortofthing624]

You missed the point of the film. Everyone is a parasite. The rich are killing the poor, and the poor and the rich kill each other. The rich wife has everything money can buy, except a life and a sense of self-worth/self esteem, and her husband is feeding off her; killing her...

[@nyatella]

props to riley for showing so much respect 👍👍👍

[@TylerNieman]

Surprised there was no real note of the environmental/climate change aspects of the film.

[@user-gn1cl9ix7p]

So, Riley has known James for HOW LONG, and he still didn’t know how to pronounce his last name?

[@nyatella]

hmm i think it was logical that mr kim stabbed mr park, put yourself in mr kim's position, if you rewatched the car scenes you will see how snobby mr park was to mr kim and how much that can hurt a man's ego. also they put all this effort into raising a child and when they are dead in front of you you lose all sense. if you were a parent and a man who has an ego, maybe you would understnad more.

[@studioseppuku9454]

Mr Kim snaps and stabs Mr Park at the end because it is a conclusion of the theme. The rich parents are freaking out simply because the son fainted at the sign of blood while Mr Kim's daughter has literally been stabbed in the heart. Mr Park tells him to grab the car so the son can go to hospital, the daughter as a lower class employee is invisible to them when clearly she needs more help. It just shows in the end how disposable they are to the rich.

[@Bob-md2ye]

The only thing worse that pretentiousness, it contrived pretentiousness.

[@yorafi1]

1:20 BJ ho?

[@pradeepkumar-st4ex]

There's been a tamil movie called "Minsara kanna" which has the same kind off story

[@VenLouie]

the journey that started from joking about "bonggo" and james being called out for it, and ended with the other two joining in saying it... this could be a movie, they should do a carpool critics episode on this episode

[@rawrsty]

hmm

[@ezekielkresie5858]

James really couldn’t take 5-10 minutes to learn the characters names? I wish Riley and David would have pushed back more

[@6gradosproducciones]

why tho? i don't care

[@triknives]

@@6gradosproducciones Because its pathetic not to acknowledge the names of humans? Especially in a language with simple syllables?

[@triknives]

Agreed, took me out of the podcast. Especially after a Vegan tirade. How quaint.

[@MrROKinROK]

A "7 out of 10"? It seems as if what's lauded as part of Bong's brilliance by some in your party (the bookends) is what seemed to detract from the experience of others (the Malcolm in the middle), namely, the subversion of expectations. Here's a list of some of the grievances Malcolm had: a) 24:41 Nothing came of Da-song's & the Morse code. b) 26:16 Not enough backstory of the Moon-gwang & her husband was explored. c) 33:00 The couch sex scene was a missed opportunity. d) 40:36 There were no consequence for Ki-woo & Da-hye's love story. e) 41:50 The pizza box folding fiasco was an inconsistent descriptor of the family. a) What you viewed as "problematic" because it didn't payoff the way you EXPECTED was actually a testament to the subtlety of Bong's script. Bunker man was trying to relay a desperate message to the son. He remained bound & gagged and his wife just told him that she was concussed and could no longer see. He knew she was dying so he did the only thing he could do in the only way he could do it: call for help via Morse code. It was a longshot. Da-song would have to see it, decode it, and somehow communicate it in a way that would ultimately lead to the discovery of the bunker and the rescue of his wife. As "luck" would have it, Da-song happened to be in his teepee looking into his dark house as the lights began to flicker. But being a mere Cub Scout just learning Morse code, he was unable to decode it properly. He mistook "HELP ME" for "HOLP ME", likely concluding it to be gibberish or just a random flickering of lights w/o a sentient source. The dramatic purpose that served was that bunker man's call for help would go unanswered and his wife would die as a result. But the grander purpose it served was to set up the denouement. Bunker man explained that (in his "crazy" state of mind) he would send messages of gratitude to Mr. Park through the lights. He knew that Da-song was likely the only one in that family who could decipher it but he didn't think through how that message would be relayed to Mr. Park or even contemplate the ramifications of Mr. Park learning that intelligible messages were being sent through the lights in his house. But in that exposition, we learned that Korean men of Mr. Kim's age were familiar w/ the basics of Morse code, but to the next generation of Koreans it would be "all Greek" to them... unless they were Scouts. So while Da-song knowing Morse code served as a (very dramatic) red herring of sorts, the importance was that Scouts knew Morse code. In other words, a man of Mr. Kim's age would know how to send Morse code and his son, whom we can surmise had gotten to the level of Boy Scout, would know how to decipher it. That was the purpose of the scene. Bong subverted expectations of that immediate payoff (the rescue of Moon-gwang via the little boy) and instead set up the means by which Mr. Kim's would later communicate to his son. b) Here's the thing to remember. This is ultimately the story of the Kims. Of course, as with ALL other movies, the other characters have backstories. The dude on the right was correct about the HBO spin-off. While specific details were not disclosed, Bong did hint at the fact that Moon-gwang's backstory would be addressed. The one thing he specifically mentioned was that something happened to her since the time of her dismissal and her return to the Park manor that rainy night. Bong had in mind the untold story of why she returned all bruised & battered but this movie had no time to tell it. My personal theory is that we'll learn of her really conniving side. That she engineered the camping trip by planting the specific idea into Da-song's head during their secret texting sessions. I even think we'll learn that she manipulated the original homeowner (the architect) into staying mum on the bunker (or worse). c) Here again, the disappointment seemed to be that Malcolm's expectations of a trope payoff were not met. He took exception to the fact that the awkward eavesdropping on the Parks' intimacy wasn't cringey enough. But that's because the entire purpose of that scene sailed over his head. Here was the context of that scene: When Mr. Park started to feel amorous, he commented that the couch was like the backseat of a car. He then mentioned that if she put on those cheap panties he found in his car, he'd be really turned on. She picked up what he was throwing down and begged for drugs. She was doing her best impersonation of what she thought a lower-class, drug-addicted tramp might say. They were role-playing. And not just that. But behavior which to them was reprehensible enough to be a firing offense in the light of day was a secret fantasy of theirs in the dark of night. They were fantasizing about being lower class. But Bong didn't just leave it there. He skillfully wove it. The rich wife was lying down on the front of the couch and the rich husband was lying behind her as they were watching their rich son doing his thing out in the rainy yard. But remember the "reveal" of the Kims enjoying the spoils of their infiltration? After sending the Parks on their way to their camping trip, we cut to Mrs. Kim lazing on the couch. She sits up to reveal that her husband is there lying behind her... and her son is out in the sunny yard doing his thing. Through literal symmetry, Bong was showing us the contrast of the families. In the same formations, the Kims were playing "rich" and the Parks were playing "poor". And that's what Malcolm considered a "missed opportunity"? d) AGAIN, Malcolm was disappointed because what he's come to expect from movies was not paid off in any "traditional" way. But if it wasn't "love," did it have to be paid off? Personally, I don't think they were in love. I think to him, her acceptance represented his "belonging". I don't think it's a coincidence that when "confessing" to his family about how he felt about her, he used the exact same words as Min used when speaking about her (that as soon as she enters college, he was going to ask her out). And that wasn't the first time he "borrowed" Min's words. After failing to confront that serial urinator, they see Min yell at him, "get a fuckin' grip!" and they were impressed. And wouldn't you know, after improving their stations a bit under the Parks' employ, they decide to finally confront that man. How? Ki-woo yells, "get a fuckin' grip!" It's almost as if he was trying to be like Min, even going as far as attaining something he said he desired. And then there's Da-hye. Did she finally find the love of her life in Ki-woo or is crushing on older guys her thing? She was the aggressor in her and Ki-woo's relationship which suggests that he wasn't her first rodeo. And I find it hard to believe that Min would've been so head-over-heels over her without some type of assurance or even reciprocation. Why didn't Bong write out consequences of their "love" (like all Hollywood movies tend to do)? Why didn't he write out a storyline you thought he should've addressed? Perhaps because "it" wasn't what you thought it was. e) I think you're misinterpreting the pizza box thing. The fact that 25% of the boxes were folded incorrectly wasn't an indication that they were collectively incompetent or inconsistent in their endeavors. The implication was that ONE of them was screwing up, namely, the father. After being informed that 1 in 4 were done incorrectly, Mrs. Kim turned a judgmental gaze towards Mr. Kim who averted his eyes in shame. Clearly, he's the one who screwed up. And the sad part is he's the one whom we saw taking the box folding so seriously. There's nothing inconsistent about this scene. It's consistent regarding the father's history of failures and consistent regarding the way his wife treated him (and though this is a topic for a different lengthy post, I think it's the introduction to what makes him snap at the end, failures and emasculation). But in addition to that, the aftermath with the pizza girl also presages the con they eventually pull on the Parks. You may have missed it, but after Mrs. Kim tries arguing about getting paid in full, Ki-woo uses his charm to try to diffuse the situation. He says they'll agree to take the payment minus the 10% penalty, but in exchange for a full-time job at the pizza shop. He reasons that it was a screw-up by one of their temps that created this urgent need for them to farm out the box folding task. He said he knew the temp went AWOL just when a large order pizzas were placed. When asked how he knew of these details, Ki-woo said his sister knew the guy and his sister proceeded to bad-mouth him. I think the implication is that this clan sabotaged the situation to create this opportunity. Perhaps they tricked the temp into going AWOL right when a large order was placed. Or maybe they placed a large fake order themselves so the pizza shop would be desperate to look for last-minute box folders. It can be inferred that they conned a temp into getting fired so they could get the temporary folding gig and hopefully a full-time job. Sound familiar? That was a near perfect set-up scene for a family we were about to follow. And it's being decried by Malcolm as just the opposite because he didn't grasp the nuances (or even the basics) of what actually happened. I'm not saying that everyone has to love or even like this movie. But when the reasons for not appreciating the film range from not meeting expectations or not being written the way a certain viewer would've written it, that's not a mark on the film or film-maker. And it's even worse when the things being "critiqued" are actually misunderstood aspects of brilliant nuance that should be lauded. So whether or not Parasite can merit a 7 is a matter of taste. Whether it deserves a 7 for the reasons cited is a matter of understanding. My two sense.

[@eraserboy12345]

It should be ""My two cents", and not "two sense". I agree with your write up though.

[@MrROKinROK]

@@eraserboy12345 Yes, I'm well aware of the original expression. But thank you.

[@jdellabeat6245]

@@MrROKinROK Can we be friends? You totally thrown another perspective right at me.

[@borussiaredsox5269]

@@MrROKinROK what was the meaning then, behind writing it “my two sense”?

[@Lerppunen]

If the movie was made in the US nobody would think it was good. It sucked.

[@jam6875]

2:30 lol what? stopped watching right there

[@VenLouie]

its bong joon ho. just say it. yall have no problem saying "robert downey junior"

[@srw788]

Wow, I came hear because a friend pointed this out. "I'm disrespectful". Nah, just an insensitive asshole. If I can learn all the names and pronunciation for my wife's family you a Podcaster can learn the names of the shit they are talking about instead of handwaving it away.

[@Ninjanoodles78]

I'm pretty sure James doesn't understand film as an art.

[@greenstorm5568]

To all the people reading the comments: bezos does pay taxes

[@StefanBacon]

Oops, didn't click off fast enough. Movie ruined. I thought the spoilers would come later.

[@sawamatsu]

stopped watching after James decide to butcher a simple name.

[@imtriggered8123]

there's a lot of fanboying going on here

[@Lerppunen]

The movie fucking sucked.

[@richmeisterradio]

Davids sentimentalism is genuinely annoying at times.

[@Arkantos117]

I don't think the rich family did anything wrong.

[@downwiththatsortofthing624]

You find nothing wrong with an amoral family, with an over-reaching sense of self-entitlement? They dispose of their workers (people) like you would dispose of a dirty rag. They have no regard for anyone, but themselves (and even that is tenuous). They are repulsive excuses for human beings... Mind, thats a theme for almost everyone in this film!

[@JustJordano]

I think you are giving to much credits to Bongo just like someone talking about a conspiracy theory. The movie was too long for me.