Killing the Host: Class and Complacency in Bong Joon-ho's 'Parasite'

South Korean genre master Bong Joon-ho's latest film – which nabbed the top prize at this year's Cannes – is an audacious dark comedy that is as impressive in its conceit as in its perfectly genre-calibrated execution. But the absurd premise and intense action at its narrative's heart, as well as the down-on-their-luck family at its centre, are best understood as components of a parable about economic inequity, writes Laurence Barber.

Additional keywords:
Asian cinema, bourgeois, middle class, affluence, wealth, privilege, Song Kang-ho, Slaughterhouse-Five, Billy Pilgrim, Kurt Vonnegut, Snowpiercer.