Post-colonial film criticism: a study of Parasite's class narrative and the output of the South Korean local film and television industry

Abstract

Abstract

With the continuous development of world cinema, South Korean cinema, through sustained exploration, has risen from a position of near obscurity to become a film-producing force attracting the attention of more than half of global audiences. The efforts behind this achievement and the process of its development merit analysis. From the perspective of post-colonial film criticism, this article discusses the class narrative represented by Parasite and the output of the South Korean local film and television industry, and, drawing on an extensive body of literature, conducts an in-depth study of Parasite's post-colonial class narrative, communication, and audiences. The findings indicate that, through extensive background exposition and spatial narration, including class narration, the film presents a realistic work free from cultural barriers. It is precisely for this reason that the film has been favoured by audiences in countries across the world, meeting the cultural needs of the public and enabling viewers to gain insights from its expression without requiring an excessive understanding of the film itself. The film also successfully enabled Korean cinema to break through its constraints and to present a new image before global audiences.