‘Parasite’ makes film history at Oscars

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By Molly Marshall, Staff Writer

The 92nd annual Oscars, at the Dolby Theater in Hollywood on February 9, had a historic moment as a foreign film “Parasite” won best picture. All the A-list celebrities were in attendance and showing their best looks and many who attended expressed  mutual respect for the movie “Parasite.”

“Parasite” came out in 2019 and is a South Korean film that broke numerous records and earned many accolades. Director Bong Joon-Ho won awards for best director, best picture, best original screenplay, and best foreign-language film. The film has earned an estimated $267 million worldwide according to Business Insider magazine.

For anyone who hasn’t seen “Parasite” a basic summary on IMDB says: “A poor family, the Kims, con their way into becoming the servants of a rich family, the Parks. But their easy life gets complicated when their deception is threatened with exposure.” This film is both a comedy and dark as it shows just how far people will go to get what they want.

“Parasite” made history by becoming the first South Korean movie nominated at an American Awards ceremony. Not only did they win four out of six awards that they were nominated for but they also paved the way for future South Korean culture in western media.

One question you might be asking yourself is how is a non-western film only now making history at award shows like the Oscars? That is because western countries have a tendency to disregard films  that are not in English or do not have famous people in them. This is a breakthrough and it has been a long time coming.

Just because a film is in a different language does not mean that you should discount masterpieces like the movie “Parasite.” This is just  the beginning for non-western films to make history at award shows. Joon-Ho’s translator, Sharon Choi, supplemented his acceptance speech by saying, “once you overcome the one-inch tall barrier of subtitles, you will be introduced to so many more amazing films.”