Placing these two pieces of media side by side, it’s hard to imagine they are anything alike. Great Gatsby was written over 90 years ago and Parasite was just released on my Hulu homepage. Despite the timelines and the cultural differences between the two, they both address the inequality present in the class system.

Right before the Great Depression era hit America in 1929, Fitzgerald wrote the novel, Great Gatsby, during the Roaring Twenties. The flapper ultimately defined this era; her provocative short skirt complimented well with the power move of the 19th amendment and she represented women everywhere or at least the women who were rich.

An influx of money was pouring in for the nation’s capital after wartime devastation; America was at her peak but instead of congratulating this time like the rest of Americans, Fitzgerald seems to mock the class system that was beginning to emerge. To Fitzgerald, the American Dream wasn’t all bells and whistles but rather a less sadistic embodiment of the greed that fuels America.

Gatsby’s dream of achieving success -or his version of it- ultimately could not be satisfied; it is shown through his tragic death that the American Dream can only remain a dream.

Opposite to Great Gatsby, Parasite is set around the time of the 1997 Asian financial crisis. In a scene where the Kim family eats dinner at an open cafeteria, it is mentioned that the Kim family used to own a chicken and cake shop before it closed down.

Another scene is when they meet the man in the basement of the Park’s home. He has escaped to the basement to hide from his debt collectors after his chicken business fell through. Were the writers simply craving Korean fried chicken while writing the scenes?

This is a reference to a time in South Korea where the middle class was hit the hardest and resulted in an influx of mom-and-pop chicken places lining the streets. As businesses were starting to crash due to the competitive and changing economy, fried chicken served as a quick and easy street food that the middle class relied on for temporary income. Due to the overwhelming amount of pop ups in South Korea, most businesses closed down after the economy became steady. However famous chicken joints such as Bon Chon Chicken and Choong Man Chicken have made their way into western culture and serves as a reminder of how the 1997 financial crisis in Asia has spread globally. Woodbridge, Virginia wouldn’t be the same without the devastation of the economic struggles of Asia. While the chicken story is seen as a comical anecdote in the film, it reflects how financially unstable the middle and lower class were in comparison to the rich during this time. We root for the Kim family and their plan to get rich quick -even if it’s to manipulate a completely innocent family- because of a crippling economy that is not working in their favor. Just like Great Gatsby, it’s with this blind hope to reach the success that leads them to their demise.

The path to success for both Gatsby and the Kim family is through manipulating and deceiving those on top to match their status. Gatsby presents himself as a self turned millionaire, but then his shady past of being a bootlegger is revealed. Not only did Gatsby deceive the government -the Prohibition Act was in place during this time- but he deceived the other characters by masking his profession of just being a ‘businessman.’

Similar to this manipulation, The Kim family slowly trickle their way into Park’s family household by lying about their professions. An Easter egg I found in both the film and book is that Gatsby previously attended Oxford -which he is embarrassed to say because of his weak attendance- and it is questioned by the people around him. They don’t believe that he has attended Oxford whether it’s because he keeps his profession very secretive or he still lives in the West Egg. In Parasite, the son forges Oxford documents to make his tutoring gig seem more legitimate, which he takes no guilty conscience over. The family that interviews the son isn’t impressed by the Oxford papers probably due to them already being surrounded by intellectuals that they merely glaze over these accomplishments.

Soon, the entire Kim family is now working for the Park’s and now sits in their chairs slightly elevated from the fat wallets in their back pockets. They are disillusioned into believing they have reached the financial success that the Parks have. However, the film reminds us that their comfort is only temporary once the Kims meet their own ‘parasites.’

The use of geography in Great Gatsby and architectural choices in Parasite pair off well with each other in conveying the harsh lines that the class system has set in place between the fortunate vs. unfortunate. The geography of Lost Island had a clear purpose in physically separating the two classes, but the architecture completely went over my head until I watched the film for the second time. There is an additional message on how the idolization of the upper class can lead to one’s self-destruction of their place in society.

In Lost Island, the two eggs, West Egg and East Egg, separate the rich and the middle/lower class. When Nick Carraway goes to the East Egg, he feels “uncivilized” because of the customs he is used to in the West Egg shown by the uncomfortable dinner parties at Tom’s house which are juxtaposed by the fun lively parties in the West held at Gatsby’s. Even with the luxuries of living in the West, Nick can not get used to the upper-class lifestyle and gravitates towards Gatsby rather than Tom. Nick realizes his comfort with living in the West and grows to accept it; he serves as a FOIL to Gatsby who can not let go of his fantasy of living in the American Dream. Instead of Gatsby being content with his mansion in the West, he wants to settle in the East although it can be argued whether he is more inclined to go for Daisy or for the life that she lives which is being mega rich.

Parasite uses the location of the Kim and Park family homes to establish their places in society. The Kims live in a semi-basement, half underground and half window level to the ground floor, where they must walk down steps to get inside. Their semi-basement home teases the Kims that if they were just a little bit more over the ground, their home would be

acceptable to society. Interestingly enough, in 2010 after a devastating flood in South Korea, They pledged to gradually eliminate banjiha homes and provide other forms of affordable housing instead.

This Los Angeles Times article goes more in-depth about how these semi-basement homes were banned in South Korea due to the inhumane idea of having people live underground like ants. This minor detail in the movie was personally sought after by the director Bong Joon-Ho to find an accurate depiction of what it was like living in the lower middle class in South Korea. After the release of Parasite, there has been high demand for rent on these semi basement homes in South Korea which seems strange but there could be worse things that fans take from this movie. So already, the Kims home isn’t even up to par with the government’s standards.

In contrast, the Parks live in a contemporaneous mansion that they must walk upstairs to get inside. The Kims are never seen going upstairs and the Parks are rarely seen going downstairs in their home. Scenes of the two families inside their homes physically project their rankings in society. When the Kims decide to manipulate the Parks by working for them, they are seen entering the home on the same staircase the Parks use. The Kims have now made the first step to achieving their dream of financial success. No longer do they look up to the Parks, they are on the same level as the Parks until they go back home into their lower grounds. As the story progresses and the Kims become comfortable working with the Parks, we seem to believe that the Kims got what they wanted. But the Kims will always be working for the Parks and not with the Parks.

Another similarity I found between Great Gatsby and Parasite was the use of light. Situated in the East Egg, the optime of the upper class, there is a “green light” on the horizon that Gatsby watches from his home. Gatsby watching the light with his arm “stretched towards it” is a metaphorical visual of Gatsby reaching for his deserved place amongst the rich, to bring him closer to the American Dream. Gatsby throws elaborate parties every weekend in his mansion and has flashy materialistic tokens, but this dim light is the only light that Gatsby obsesses over. While living comfortably, the image of the light from the east egg is a reminder of how he will never be satisfied with his financial state. It teases him similar to how the semi-basement from Parasite teases the Parks.

By far the creepiest element of Parasite is the man that has been secretly living inside the basement of the Park’s home who is eerily obsessed with Mr. Park. There is a scene where the man is seen pushing the buttons of the light fixtures every time Mr. Park enters the home. He is so meticulous with the pattern of them lighting them one by one with Mr. Park’s steps. Regardless of being trapped downstairs in the dark basement, the man helps Mr. Park without needing his expression of gratitude and overall is a complete simp for Park. Yet he has never met Mr. Park. Why does the man light up the house every time Mr. Park walks into the house? He idolizes Mr. Park for the power he holds in the family. Being able to control the light of the house gave him power within the house. However, this power convinces him that he can live a normal life with the Parks, and in the end, he emerges from the basement only to be killed. Never let your light electrician know you care. The light in both scenes give false security -Gatsby seeing it in a distance and the man controlling it- which makes the man overly ambitious and Gatsby too hopeful.

The Great Gatsby was born during the Roaring ’20s during the acme of America’s economic growth. Parasite was born in 2019 -we don’t need to get into any more detail about 2019. For these two works to be over 90 years apart and extremely well praised by readers/viewers, the topic of economic immobility through the class system and the disparity between the ranks has stayed relevant. While striving to make financially smart choices -not opening a mom and pop chicken shop as you see many others opening in the busy streets of Seoul- and remembering those that have helped you get where you are -the family working together, even if it was to deceive a whole other family- these are the best methods to achieving your version of success. The class system will always be in place, but you have the power to decide how to act on it.