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Abstract

Bong Joon Ho’s 2019 film Parasite shares significant imagery with the apocalyptic teachings in Matthew 24:36-51. Both feature oblivious carousers before a flood, sleeping homeowners, and domestic workers caught unaware by a returning homeowner. This article argues that this shared imagery gives Parasite an apocalyptic edge that intensifies the film’s warnings about potential consequences of extreme economic disparities in capitalism. This article develops this argument by (1) highlighting the apocalyptic features of Matthew 24:36-51; (2) describing the convergence of imagery between Parasite and Matthew 24:36-51; and (3) exploring how the film’s apocalyptic edge illuminates urgent and latent dangers of extreme economic disparities. The shared imagery functions in both similar and different ways in Parasite and Matthew 24:36-51. In both, this imagery reveals latent dangers and fosters increased attentiveness to them. While Matthew 24:36-51 envisions an external divine force meting just judgment, Parasite centers on an immanent catastrophe that injures indiscriminately. Because characters do not experience rewards or punishments in accordance with their merit, Parasite has a tragic dimension absent in Matthew 24:36-51. The competition catalyzed among those with few opportunities for economic advancement harms all involved. The dangers of extreme economic disparities lurk beneath the surface and are prone to irrupt at unexpected times. Parasite is immanently apocalyptic because dynamics intrinsic to capitalism catalyze its violent ending.

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

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