It wasn't long ago that PARASITE made headlines by winning big at the Academy Awards. History books will show that was on Feb 9, 2020. Even though, that feels like decades ago. PARASITE was hailed for its relevant topic about class differences and this divide between rich-poor made it a huge hit across the world. It felt like an appropriate movie for 2019 and one to close off the decade in style. However, PARASITE now feels like a relevant film of 2020 and going forward it may perhaps be remembered not for class differences but instead on a microscopic human level.
This remarkable article by Ai Weiwei in the April 4 Globe and Mail edition points towards a different kind of parasite and its impact on a human.
"What, exactly, is a virus? About one-thousandth the size of a bacterium, a virus cannot survive or reproduce on its own. To live, it must enter, attach to and parasitize a living cell. Viruses have been doing this for tens of thousands of years – entering living bodies and dying when the host body either kills them with its immune system, or when the body dies itself. This happens because the immune system’s battle with viruses also kills normal cells, and if too much of that happens, the host body can perish, taking the virus with it. In this fight to the death, both sides can lose."
A little bit later, the concept of parasite meshing with its host is seen in a different light.
"The actual fate of the world today is a freakish amalgam of different systems. For Western capitalism to continue expanding, it has had no choice but to partner with exploitative, authoritarian states such as China, to profit in ways that the West cannot at home. By doing so, despite the seemingly deep ideological differences, Western capitalism has allowed Chinese communism into its structure, virus-like, and the two now share a fate."
Replace the house in the movie with a human body and the above words take on another meaning.
This remarkable article by Ai Weiwei in the April 4 Globe and Mail edition points towards a different kind of parasite and its impact on a human.
"What, exactly, is a virus? About one-thousandth the size of a bacterium, a virus cannot survive or reproduce on its own. To live, it must enter, attach to and parasitize a living cell. Viruses have been doing this for tens of thousands of years – entering living bodies and dying when the host body either kills them with its immune system, or when the body dies itself. This happens because the immune system’s battle with viruses also kills normal cells, and if too much of that happens, the host body can perish, taking the virus with it. In this fight to the death, both sides can lose."
A little bit later, the concept of parasite meshing with its host is seen in a different light.
"The actual fate of the world today is a freakish amalgam of different systems. For Western capitalism to continue expanding, it has had no choice but to partner with exploitative, authoritarian states such as China, to profit in ways that the West cannot at home. By doing so, despite the seemingly deep ideological differences, Western capitalism has allowed Chinese communism into its structure, virus-like, and the two now share a fate."
Replace the house in the movie with a human body and the above words take on another meaning.
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