Parasite Review THE STONE
We all know Bong Joon Ho’s love for symbolism in his films, from the scarecrow in Memories of Murder. Some may leave for ambiguity. Today, join me, as I try to dissect the meaning of the rock symbolism’s use in his film Parasite.
Even I’ve thought whats the function of the rock in Parasite. Whats the meaning of the stone?
I’m gonna summarise some instances where the rock was used and their meanings. They re three instances where the rock is used, if I am not mistaken, first instance, when the friend brings it over, HUGE SPOILER ALERT, second instance when they found their house completely drowned, & clings to it, dearly, like it is the only thing in life, like Ki-Woo is lonely, and he says, “It’s true. It keeps following me.”, and hugs it all the time, not wanting to let go, third instance, when when he is at the rich family’s home.
The rock seems to have brought fortune in the first instance, or its just there for suspension of disbelief, instead making it straight out that he had come to hook him, to the tutoring job, it sorts of blends in gives reason to be there, makes it realistic, but I wouldn’t know what it was on Bong Joon Ho’s mind. You can never truly get inside one’s head. So I wouldn’t know what he was thinking. Or maybe it has some personal meaning.
In the second instance, sticking to the misfortune, it seems to represent, now that they’ve got everything they want, Ki-Woo starts to question himself if he truly fits in here, shown by a scene where he asks Da-Hae, “Do I look like I belong here?”, hence represent a weight on his shoulders. And prior to the scene he had been complaining to his father about the plan.
Since he was a resourceful man. He had someone run of plans. And hence the weight point. We see a scene where he hugs the rock, representing the weight if his problems, and the ‘following me’ mention, showing that he cannot run from his problems or solve them, stuck in somewhere.
In the second instance, and third instance I’d come to in a jiff, it seems to represent misfortune, to have brought misfortune.
In the third instance, the rock appears, when he goes to the rich family house, where the person stuck in the basement, hits him with it on the head, which would cause a mental defect. Drawing the unfortunate part to a close.
It is when he is walking down the stairs of the basement when he slips the rock, and loses it and falls down the basement, as he reaches for it, he is hooked by the wire. Spelling his misfortune.
Thats my interpretation, and it gives weight to the stone, probably where the stone really serves the plot is in the instance when the man stuck in the basement hits the boy Ki-Woo on the head. Then if it had made its appearance it would’ve lacked weight, arising questions, where did the stone come from, but by making the stone part of the story, a ‘true’ prop, it solves the whole story. Giving the story some form of arc.
And I sort of believe if they had put the stone, in the third instance, it could’ve been meaningless. Although some may believe, its meaningless, and is actual redundancy.
And when he put the stone back into the river.
