Comparative Film Analysis: Parasite & Bombshell - Stories of the Marginalized



Comparative Film Analysis: Parasite & Bombshell - Stories of the Marginalized 

Parasite, directed by Bong Joon-ho, is a thriller about the poor Kim family who through a series of conniving schemes, weaselled their way into the rich Park family household. However, they discover something they should not have inside the house, which ultimately ends with a Shakespearian or Tarantino like tragedy. Bombshell, directed by Jay Roach, is a drama that follows the true story about women who dealt with sexual harassment in the workplace of FOX news from former CEO Roger Ailes. The film explored individual sacrifice for the greater good, where the victims needed to give up their personal career goals in order to get the truth out there. The obvious difference in these movies is that one of them is Korean and the other is American, however, they both follow stories of the marginalized, and how the choices they make in their life can lead to their eventual demise or victory. I believe that Parasite was named based on organisms (The Kim family) of the same name, which thrive off a host (The Park Family) by feeding and spreading. Bombshell on the other hand can be a reference to the result of 3 powerful women coming together with large accusations that can disrupt one of the largest media companies in America.

The creators of Parasite described it as "a comedy without clowns, a tragedy without villains (Kermode 2020," and with 4 Oscar wins, was the biggest movie of 2019. Bombshell did not disappoint either, winning an Oscar at the same event, and while their winnings differ, their storylines are not that different at the core. Two stories of the marginalized and their supposed rise to fame, stories about the routes that can be taken to success, for better or worse. It is important to note that Parasite is a fictional story while Bombshell is based on the true events that occurred at FOX News. Both movies do a clinical job in presenting characters that fit current stereotypes yet hold their own identity. The Kim family is poor but clever, and the Park family is rich but clueless, which is an interesting juxtaposition. This all comes down to position and what it takes to get into a particular position in today's day and age. The same applies to Bombshell where the women are all much more famous than the CEO of the company and are the face of the company, but it is the man at the top with all the power.

While both films have high production value, Parasite carries much stronger directing and cinematography elements than bombshell with Bong Joon-ho creating a masterpiece that combines the like of Shakespeare and Quentin Tarantino. There is a room in the Park family house that's doorway is pitch black, this mystery feature of the movie adds a subtle but extremely creepy element of surprise. Another amazing scene is when halfway through a mysterious door opens and no one has any idea what the never-ending stairs lead to. Bombshell did not have many of these cinematic effects but rather focused on a strong storyline. The entire mood of both movies was extremely eerie and suspenseful. Music was subdued in order to focus on the serious storylines without distraction. Both movies were rated highly by critics with Parasite achieving a 99% on Rotten Tomatoes, 8.6/10 on IMDb, and 96% on Metacritic. In comparison, Bombshell achieved 69% on Rotten Tomatoes, 6.8/10 on IMDb, and 64% on Metacritic making it evident that Parasite is a higher critically acclaimed movie.

Both films received their fair share of controversy with topics involving racism and misogyny. After Parasite’s legendary Oscar win, people said a non-English film should not be winning an American award. Jon Miller who is a conservative new reporter even tweeted that “these people are the destruction of America (Ma 2020).” Even a member of the Academy’s actors branch didn’t think foreign films should be rated along with regular English-speaking films. There were even people who believed the movie is connected to the current COVID-19 pandemic, with tweets such as “Corona Virus took over the Oscars...too soon?? #TheOscars #Parasite (Ma 2020).” Bombshell had to deal with its own controversy with some of the real people depicted in the movie claiming certain aspects of the film not being true. The real Megyn Kelly, who is at the heart of the movie, had her own controversial moments in her career such as when she states, “For all you kids watching at home, Santa just is white (Bramesco 2019).” With this information in mind, it is evident that both movies dealt with their own share of controversy, however, the kind dealt with in Parasite is rooted and far more racism and bigotry.

Works Cited

Anonymous. "Parasite (2019)." IMDb, https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6751668/

Bombshell. Dir. Jay Roach. Lionsgate, 2019. Film. 

Bramesco, Charles. “How Fox News Drama Bombshell Lets Megyn Kelly off the Hook.” The Guardian, Guardian News                         and Media, 10 Dec. 2019, www.theguardian.com/film/2019/dec/10/fox-news-drama-bombshell-megyn-kelly-charlize-                theron-roger-ailes. 

Kermode, Mark. “Parasite Review – a Gasp-Inducing Masterpiece.” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 10 Feb. 2020,                 www.theguardian.com/film/2020/feb/09/parasite-review-bong-joon-ho-tragicomic-masterpiece.

Lionsgate. "Bombshell poster." Wikipedia, 2019https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Bombshell_poster.jpg

Ma, Alexandra. “South Korea's 'Parasite' Made Oscars History, but It Still Couldn't Escape Racist Criticism.” Insider, Insider,                 10 Feb. 2020, www.insider.com/parasite-oscars-wins-racist-criticism-coronavirus-2020-2. 

Parasite. Dir. Bong Joon-ho. CJ Entertainment, 2019. Film.


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