Bong Joon Ho, the director behind the South Korean dark thriller comedyParasite, talks about how the hit Netflix seriesSquid Gameand his film resonate with audiences on a global level. In 2019,Parasite, a movie that touches on class discrimination and greed, took the world by storm, grossing over $260 million worldwide, and became the first non-English-language film to win Best Picture at the Academy Awards. Meanwhile,Squid Game, is the first Korean drama to become the most-watched show in the U.S. on Netflix.
Ahead of his new film,Mickey 17, Bong talks toThe New York Timesabout the global phenomenon ofSquid GameandParasite.The director recalls not having American audiences at the front of his mind while making the 2019 film and shares a conversation he had withSquid Gamecreator Hwang Dong-hyuk, who echoed his sentiment. Bong believes that sinceMickey 17andSquid Gameexplore living under the “hierarchy of society” and “capitalism,“which is the reality in most countries, their work translates well on a global level. Check out the rest of his comments below:
[While making Parasite], I never had the thought of “This will translate well globally.” But I talked with Hwang Dong-hyuk, the director who made Squid Game, and he told me he never intended it, either. He just made it, and it’s on Netflix, so it spread all over the world. But it wasn’t surprising, because Parasite and Squid Game were about the hierarchy of society. Simply speaking, they’re about capitalism. And except for one or two countries, everyone’s living under capitalism — it’s a universal language.
What Bong Joon Ho’s Comments Mean For Squid Game And Parasite’s Success
Authentic Human Experience Has No Borders
When discussingParasite’s ending, Bong shared that one of the themes he explored in the movie was “infiltration” and the idea of whether someone can truly belong in a world that’s so jarringly different from the one they are born into. Referring to one scene where the protagonist stars in his flooded basement apartment after returning from his new employer’s lavished life, Bong shared that he too had very similar experiences in real life. His comment reveals thatthe film’s success had a direct connection to authenticity.
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Similarly,Squid Gameexplores the hardshipsworking-class families face. While the deadly game that takes place on an isolated island may be fictional,Hwang has previously revealed that the series wasinspired by real-life labor strikes. Much of the characters' background runs parallel to real-life situations, and critics have been explaining how the show, despite taking place in South Korea, tackles the issues that many Americans face, including using gambling as a way to gain massive wealth and struggling to raise money for hospital fees.
Our Take On Squid Game And Parasite’s Global Reception
Both Creators Bring Something Real Into Their Work
ParasiteandSquid Game’s successcomes from how theyconfront real-life issues through the lens of normal people, and if both creators were thinking about the global audience, they’d be reaching and guessing instead of creating something that speaks true to their own experience.
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Bong’s comment about capitalism being a “universal language” brings up a very interesting point, and in the case ofSquid GameandParasite, it seems to be true. Both works zoom in on the issues that happen within the borders of South Korea, buttheir global successes prove that the topics they tackle, includingclass division, family, and greed, have no borders.
Bong’s new film,Mickey 17,marks the first feature he has ever made with a Hollywood studio. Though being a sci-fi movie seems nothing likeParasite, it explores a familiar concept of a disposable employee being replaced by a new iteration of himself every time he dies, and aligns well with the 2019 film’s themes.
