Include personal thoughts on the films.
The existence of capitalist societies in the world today is one of the factors that have immensely contributed to societal social stratification in almost every part of the world. The stratification results in rules that practically define the norms in each rank, which in turn determine the legitimacy of this ranking, despite its adversity on specific groups (Kerbo, 2017). This form of stratification leads to hierarchical solidification, whereby each rank comprises a particular group of people governed by precise rules, conformed to particular behaviors, and expected to live in specific ways. In Black Mirror (season 3 episode one), the social stratification and the method used to rank individuals portray capitalist societies almost similar to those created by financial ability today. However, the film Parasite provides a comprehensive depiction of the hierarchical society involving the rich and the poor, revealing the livelihoods and the priorities of each. This paper compares the forms of social stratification present in the films Black Mirror (NoseDive) and Parasite.
Setting and plot
Black Mirror is a science fiction film that mainly focuses on modern society surrounded by technological gadgets controlling human life. In NoseDive, the setting shows a luxurious community where the main character Lacie is determined to raise her ratings, which are necessary for social classification. Parasite, on the other hand, depicts two families, one rich and the other poor, in different living conditions in a normalized situation depicting the current world. The wealthy family headed by Park Dong-ik lives in a luxurious home. In contrast, the low-income family headed by Kim Ki-taek lives in an impoverished neighborhood showing the privileges of each group. Each movie uses different approaches to show societal stratification and its effects on people.
Definition of poor and rich
The visual storytelling aspects of Parasite help the audience dive into the livelihoods of each family, poor and rich. The film begins with a long-range camera shot from the window of the Ki-taek household, showing people going on with their daily activities in the street at the ground level of the area (0.54). The image also shows a close-up shot of clothes (socks) hanging inside the house, creating a visual representation of both the street or neighborhood and the household before revealing Kim Ki-woo, a son of the family, using his phone. The audience gets a view of Kim’s household introducing props such as a table of four that reveals the number of family members, and a low lying roof showing the possible location of the home in a basement. On the contrary, NoseDive presents a high-income society with a well-furnished ad clean neighborhood and neatly built houses. The wide shot view introduces the viewer to a more advanced community where the poor or less disadvantaged are defined differently.
Economic ability is one of the determinants of social stratification in society today. However, the prevalence of social media has presented other levels of social acceptance, which is better depicted in Black Mirror’s Nosedive episode. In Nosedive, belongingness to a lower social class, or the less privileged is determined through social rating, which is likely to promote or demote a person from one grade to the next based on their perception. The satire in the film is evident in Lacie’s life, who continuously tries to elevate her rating status for her to upgrade her life. One ironic aspect of this film is that despite the struggles depicted by this character, her life isn’t bad after all, primarily comparing her current apartment with what she desires to live in. She looks dissatisfied with her life compared to the Kim family in Parasite, who, despite being in need and struggling to earn money, present no extreme discontent with their life. The two films represent the struggles among the rich and the poor whereby, whereas the underprivileged individuals are trying to get food and other necessities, the rich are trying to earn more luxury although they have enough.
Determinants of social classes
The social ratings are the primary methods used to determine the social classes in Nosedive, unlike in Parasite, where the financial ability of a person builds the gap in society. Lacie’s low ratings become a hindrance in several occasions including attending her friend’s wedding. The social scores are also used to determine the living location of a person as Lacie is seen struggling to achieve societal approval by raising her ratings. In her world, every action is judged by those around you, and every person’s average score of everything hovers above their head. Each time Lacie gets a rating, a close-up view of her level is shown on the screen. The film also uses close-ups to show her facial expressions that signify the impact of each rating on a person. Additionally, in this future world, the classification allows a person to move to a particular estate, which is the primary struggle for Lacie, who wants to achieve a 4.5 rating. On the contrary, Parasite presents the current world and how the rich and the poor are affected by different aspects. In a middle range camera angle, Kim-taek continues to work as other family members cough after street fumigation content is allowed to enter the house to help them deal with bugs. This cloudy scene shows the struggles of the less privileged in this society. Another scene showing their struggles is the flooding in their house that forces them to sleep in the gymnasium. Compared to Lacie’s world in Nosedive, Kim’s household better represents capitalism in society today.
Societal social classification appears in different forms, although financial ability has been a significant determiner of the same. The impact of social media on the young is considered adverse in many circumstances, mainly due to behavioral change. In the future world presented by Nosedive, social media is depicted as a primary determinant of the social ranks, and its influence on the lives of the main character Lacie reveals a real struggle. In one of the scenes, she continuously practices laughs and smiles as she prepares for her day at work. In most cases, she ends up messing her ratings, such as at the airport where, unlike other situations, she is being herself and expressing her real feelings. The same scenario appears during her speech at the wedding, after which she gets arrested, that ironically shows the price of being human. On the other hand, humanity towards Kim’s family leads to tragedy for the Park’s family after the killing of Park Dong-ik. Additionally, Kim Ki-woo begins a romantic relationship with Da-Hye after being trusted by his college friend Min-hyuk, who hands over the tutoring job to Ki-woo. Aside from the social stratification depicted in the films, both films show humanity levels in a different way and affecting each group differently.
The hierarchical solidification of society cannot be ignored in the present world and bearing many characteristics presented in fictional scenes. In NoseDive (Black Mirror), social status is determined by other people’s perceptions about an individual, ignoring their personalities and humanity levels. On the other hand, financial situations and ability build the societal hierarchies in Parasite whereby the rich appear to be more human than those form the lower class. This is unlike in Nosedive, whereby Lacie from the lower level gives everyone five stars, although she doesn’t receive such from many of them. The two worlds in these films reveal the role of movies in promoting social norms and defining the hierarchies as perceived by many people. Further, the films present the different sides of social ranks, an important aspect when characterizing present-day society.