1. Sociological Imagination Manufacturing Consent

     “The smell crosses the line. The smell of people on the subway.” This is the line from director Bong Joon-ho’s film ‘Parasite,’ which won the Golden Palm Award at the Cannes Film Festival in France, and the Oscar Best Picture Award at the Academy Awards in the United States.

     Sociological imagination refers to the ability to recognize that ‘who you are’ and ‘how your life will go’ have a close relationship with society, and to figure out how the three interact. This term was first used by American sociologist Wright Mills. The ability to encompass a topic from a distance and see the relationship between the two is ‘sociological imagination.’

     Why did Bong Joon-ho’s movie ‘Parasite’ capture the hearts of many? Listening to Bong’s interview and directing intentions, I think he is rich in sociological imagination. Bong even graduated from college with a sociology degree. The world that Bong sees will be deep. He will see beyond what he can see. Bong succeeded in showing the world that he sees to the public without preaching. That’s why the movie, ‘Parasite,’ is special.

2. Watching the movie ‘Parasite’ through Sociological Imagination

     Sociology and class are inseparable. From the sociological point of view, I would like to talk about the class parts of the movie ‘Parasite’ by mobilizing my sociological imagination.

2-1 Host and Parasite

     The way the Ki-taek family and the Mungwang couple fight with each other without contempt for the landlord suggests that they cannot escape the class structure designed by the vested interest. Although it does not appear in the movie, there is a golden spoon because there are more parasites in a capitalist society. Although accidental, Ki-taek became a victim after resisting such a class order.

2-2 Residential Environment

-Those who have the privilege of seeing only what they want to see and those who don’t

     Families with semi-basement views are limited. A family living in a semi-basement area sees everything they don’t want to see through the window above the wall, including road urination by passers-by, while passers-by don’t care about the family’s eyes at all. On the other hand, the richer the person is, the more he is open to the view. Park’s modern mansion shows only beautiful things that people want to see, while outsiders can’t freely see the house. ‘Parasite’ emphasizes the difference in perspective.

-Smell and Odor

     The ‘smell’ that Park refers to is not an odor that smells because it has not been washed. It is the smell of class. Park does not hesitate to say things like how people smell on the subway. Park said this to his wife in a private space, but it is the sadness of this movie that Ki-taek’s family heard it.

2-3 Who Can Plan and Who Can’t Plan

     For Ki-taek’s family, planning is a synonym for failure. Their failure is separated from their ability. Ki-woo and Ki-jeong are competent. When they are hired by the Parks, her mother Chung-sook also shows the image of a well-educated housekeeper. The Ki-taek family makes us think that unemployed people are not just a matter of ability, but that it may be a matter of opportunity. 

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