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The Host 2006

I LOVE BONG JOON HO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

As someone who's only seen Parasite before, I was really happy to see that The Host has the same mix of comedy and horror!! It's one of my favorite movies we've seen before, and I really enjoyed how it touched on such a variety of themes, such as parenthood, class struggles, activism, anti-war movements, systemic oppression, and environmentalism (with the monster very similar to Godzilla).

For one, the role of activists is incredibly important in the story, while systems of power that are traditionally seen in Western culture as the "good guys" are actually the ones causing trouble and moving against the plot and our main characters. A moment that especially caught me was when Hyun-seo first tried to play the role of a reliable, calming adult, by telling Se-joo that everyone was coming to save them once she got out: the doctors, the police, the soldiers. But in her leap of faith, she is caught, silently and slowly put back in her place, ready to be eaten. I really love how this was directed, and how it shows audiences that the ones responsible for keeping citizens safe do not keep them safe in practice. Throughout the movie the director shows that authority figures can actively endanger citizens, and it is our responsibility as friends/family members/community members to look out for each other in the end. In addition, Nam-il's friend's situation where he's 60-70k in debt, even when he's done all the right things like go to college and get a salary job, is very relevant to today and also serves to highlight that financial struggle pervades through even those who make the "right" choices. Nam-joo also may parallel how there's no "right time" for activism, or how winning above everyone else (ex: a 1st place medallion vs. a 3rd place medallion) doesn't need to be the highest priority.

I was also shocked by the use of Agent "Yellow" by the police, as it was such a clear reference to Agent Orange and the general use of military tactics against civilians. Being Vietnamese, I was appreciative of this comparison, as some of my friends didn't know what Agent Orange was, and it was a great use of horror to spark discussion. I also found out that the story at the beginning was real, and 24 gallons of formaldehyde WAS actually dumped into the Han River. As someone who works at an autopsy lab, very cautiously around a lot of formaldehyde, this was wild to hear!!

Finally, what made the movie so special to me was its portrayal of the medical field. In so many movies, medical horror often ends at gore, but I appreciated that Bong Joon Ho shows medical horror as also emotionally manipulative and abusive. As a pre-med I've heard so many stories about how patients, especially women or people of color, come to doctors in pain but are ignored because the staff "don't believe it's that bad", because "they're not in their right mind", or because "they're just making it up." So just like in the Hyun-seo scene, Gang-doo experiences this "ray of hope" moment where the White doctor feigns concern for him, just for this trust to be abused in favor of officials having a cook-out right outside the door. From the Tuskegee Syphilis study to the lobotomies of primarily women in the 1950s, there's an extensive history of medical abuse in the US, so I appreciated that this was touched on.

Overall, it was such a wild mash-up of topics, but I had a great time following along. I'm curious to see if anyone has more thoughts on the use of the fish monster too.

i think this is now one of my favorite movies of all time thank you for reading lyjilings