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I saw on somewhere that the stone floating in the water meaning the stone is fake and the possibility of achieving wealth is just a illusion and it is why the stone didn’t kill him despite hit on his head.

When they're running to their home after floods and son says "What will Min do in this situation" the daughter screams "Min woudn't be in this situation" is powerful.

SPOILER when the Kim family first finds the housekeeper's husband in the secret bunker they also smell him, highlighting the different status even in the poor community.

_i think the scene that hit me the hardest in this film, aside from the ending, was when Ki-Taek was driving the rich woman home from the market, and she said on her phone: (paraphrasing a bit here)_ *_"the sky's so blue today. thanks to the rain yesterday, it wiped out all the pollution."_* _and that's exactly what class difference is. the rain that flooded houses and displaced the poor from their homes, is seen as nothing but a blessing by the rich._

I always marvel at the scene where Yon-Kyo notices Ki-Tek's smell while driving. She has her bare feet up on the back of the passenger seat and then notices the horrible smell. Ki-Tek, sitting right next to his employer's bare feet, focuses in on his own scent with an air of disgust towards himself. I've never seen a visualization of the saying "their shit don't stink" before but it is so perfect.

I just saw this film. It hit me so hard and so sad. There was this girl in my university who was noticeably part of a struggling family. She worked hard, she was normal, she had a character but she was nice as anyone else. But one thing I heard once or twice being mentioned about her was "she smelled". My classmates (usually the wealthy ones) always said that. Sometimes in a mean way, sometimes in a "I like her, but there is this thing about her...". And the thing is... It was true. And once I had a project with her and went to her house. It was an old house, and the walls kept the humidity, which gave that smell. But I as well had noticed that smell before, in an old house of my cousins. They just didn't have the money to fix some filtrations. And I had even noticed it in myself one time when there was a leak in my bathroom which took long to repair. I was so self conscious. Because I knew people would judge me like they judged my classmate. And wondered if my wealthy friends thought the same "she smells". When I saw this film... I couldn't avoid thinking at how evil all that was. Now I don't smell... But it's because I have a job that allows me to repair my house, to buy perfume, to buy lotion... But deep down I think. Without all that. Without the money to avoid it, we all smell.

Wow, this is so metaphorical

*"Why was this South Korean film able to to resonate across the world?"* well, in the words of bong himself: "We all essentially live in the same country, and it's name is Capitalism"

I'm surprised you didn't touch on the symbol of "the line" that Mr. Park keeps bringing up. Like that shot of Mr. Kim in the office with him and he's seated right next to the line in the office window. Never crossing it, but always close.

I think it's really cool that of all senses that Bong Joon-ho could have used as a symbol, it's smell: the one sense you can't visually perceive in cinema. You can show how things feel, you can show how tasty things can be, but you can't show smell. It's invisible and inescapable, just like the poverty of the Kim family.

The gift that Min gives the Kim family is also known as "suseok" or scholar's stone, similar to the "gongshi" of Chinese scholars. These items are coveted by a very specific, erudite, and often privileged caste of Korean society. They also represent a history far removed from the present. Bong Joon Ho has stated in interviews that this gift is a very strange choice, in my interpretation it is symbolic of an old-money plutocracy that has almost no application to the Kim family. This gift is useless to the Kims and even the mother states that food would be better. Instead, this symbol of the vast differences in culture and valuation between the upper and lower classes becomes a literal weight that the poor family drags around as a symbolic token of hope and eventual (false) prosperity. The fact that the son is smashed in the head with the stone towards the movie's conclusion only reinforces one of the most central themes of the film: that the system which produces wealth inequality also renders relations between classes problematic: each cannot understand the other. Although Min had the best of intentions in giving this gift to the Kims, his inability to grasp the reality of their situation, to provide them with a false hope in this useless stone, is the motivating force that pushes the film towards its inevitable and tragic conclusion.

As a Korean-American, I am thrilled and surprised how well "Korean" symbols translated so universally across the globe. That speaks volumes about Bong's mastery in storytelling.

One word: *R E S P E E E E E E E C T*

Water is also a huge symbol imo; the flooding of their house, the water they throw on the drunk man, the sparkling water the rich family drinks etc etc

My favorite motif in the film are ascent and descent. During the first act, it is all about ascent. The Kims are slowly moving up, both metaphorically in infiltrating the Park family and taking part of their societal status, but also physically as the Park's home is on top of a hill, while the Kims' home is on the bottom of society and physically on the bottom of the city, all streets away are on an incline (and they live in the basement apartment of the building to boot). The second act is characterized by descent. First into the basement of the Parks' home, and finally a long way to the Kims' house, downhill all the way, while metaphorically their scheme almost completely falls apart and their home is destroyed by the flood. The third act shows both, as the dangers from the basement come bubbling up and bring a great downfall to all involved. One of the final scenes has the son of the Kim's climb a hill to observe the house. But this is only temporary. A fake. He is only pretending to be of a higher class, but inevitably he will have to leave the hill again. In the same scene he speaks about making an honest go and amassing enough wealth to buy the house and free his father trapped on the basement, even lower than the family was at the start of the film. However, that idea is a pipe-dream, no more real than the ability to stay on top of the hill permanently.

Parasite is phenomenal film .one of the best of the decade, it deserves all the oscars. The academy made the right choice. Great work Michael! Thanks for this video.

This ultimately disproves David Benioff's assertion that, to paraphrase his words, "themes are for 8th grade book reports."

I grew up being singled out, ignored, spoken down toward, and even vilified in public for being raised on WIC, Food Stamps, and the Medical Card. This film is very special to me.

Still breaks my heart that Ki-Jung died of all the people, the fact that the wealthy mother foreshadowed that all of the art tutors lasted only one month, her misfortune that she perished when her time was up.

I am surprised that how they treat the stone, more specifically what fluids touch the stone. I think it gives so much more meaning to the already existing symbol of the stone. First at the beginning we can see the mom brushing,cleaning the stone, and they start taking over the family. Then in the downpour, it touches sewage water this is when their luck gets all erased and things start going badly. Third time it touches the son's blood, and murders ensue. And finally when he lets go of the stone, he places it in a little creek where the clean water wipes away all the bad thing, cleansing it and the family with it.

When he places the stone back on the bottom of the stream, it’s almost like he places his aspirations back in his stream of consciousness, returning it to the other unrealized daydreams and thoughts he will never act on. If he hadn’t made an effort to make a better life for himself and his family, would his sister still be alive and so on. Is it even worth it to try changing your life?

I especially liked the moment where he puts the rock in the stream and all the other rocks look exactly the same as the one he put so much meaning into.

I love that when the son smells the kims, he doesn’t say they smell bad. Only the parents mention the smell is bad. Which proves that the parents have made it a bad smell because they associate it with being poor

Also this is a small bit, but the university chosen to be forged isn't just any university, it's one of the three "Ivy league" schools of Korea.

Parasite is so well-detailed, you can pick any object held by the characters and it would probably still be a symbol for something.

Thank you for blessing us with this while we're in quarantine

There is also the symbolism of height throughout the movie. The Kim family lives right under the street which shows that they are poor but have enough hope to think they can get out of it. Meanwhile, the Park family not only lives above ground on a hill but you all have to take stairs to even get to their house in the first place, showing not just how rich they are but how disconnected they are as well

Great video! When I left the theatre, I kept thinking about that scene of Da-Song sniffing the Kims. I thought it was a way to represent how he's unknowingly learning his parents' habits of telling people apart by class status through smell.

_"The multilevel, the conscious and the unconscious, is natural when I write scripts, when I come up with ideas and stories."_ *~ Bong Joon Ho*

In the movie when we first meet the kims, we can spot them drinking Flite which is considered as a cheap beer and after Ki-Woo and Ki-Jung start working for the parks, they can now afford Sapporo, a premium beer.

The smell theme doesn't wait till page 57 of the screenplay to be introduced... one of the first shots is Mr Kim flicking a stink-bug off his table. The fumigation scene also pertains

It may be harder for the Western audiences to understand, but the movie also touches a lot on the North vs. South Korea divide as a motif, trying to demonstrate that the communism and capitalism are not that different. For example, when the housekeeper and the husband caught the Kims on video and threaten them, referring to the 'send' button as the nuclear button. Also, housekeeper's husband keeping posters in the basement of the Park husband with the words "CEO" etc and worshiping him, in a very similar way North Koreans may idolise their leader.

Can we take a moment to appreciate how the videos are always so well-written and produced? The smooth flow between ideas combined with the minimalist yet sort of crisp visuals and music actually make me feel like I learn a lot more. Thank you, LFSP team and stay safe!

The symbol of smell is actually introduced much earlier than page 57 of the script. In the film's first scene, Ki-Tek notes that the house is full of "stink bugs." It's actually why they're trying to take advantage of the "free" fumigation through their open window.

Dear Hollywood: Never ever "remake" this gem of a movie. Like. Ever.

The final detail in the story, and I love how subtle it is, is that only after Ki Woo is left literally brain damaged from his symbol (the stone) does he actually begin to believe he can - through legitimate means - achieve wealth and join the affluent.

"People in poverty, regardless of their dreams, often do not have the power to join the affluent class." That's a strong real statement there.

I just realized..... the movie combines the symbol of the ascent and descent with the idea that “Plans never work” to show in multiple ways that the impossibility of the poor family’s social rise. In the last scene, the son begins his letter to his dad by stating, “I have a plan.” This Opening by itself shows that he is destined to fail, as it was proven earlier in the movie that “plans never work”. And at the end of the letter the son says all the dad has to do is walk up the stairs. Walking up the stairs, literally moving up, is a symbol of social rise. But as hinted by the beginning of the letter, this will never happen.

Literal “smells like broke in here”.

For Min to offer the job to him as a tutor, was because Min knew that the son is from a poor family and therefore assuming he would not stand a chance with the rich daughter. He had rich friends who could’ve taken the job as tutor but knowing that the son, being poor and not being in college, was a safer option. Either way, Min was also benefitting from it. Also reminding us that people always do things to benefit themselves and their own motives. Another thing that I took note was when the poor family returned to their flooded home, it reminded me of rats running into the sewers. With all the trash in the murky waters, the lighting and all.

When Ki-woo picks up the Viewing Stone with the intention of using it to hit/scare the person peeing outside their window, I read it as him symbolically assuming his friend Min's persona since the stone can be read as a stand-in/remnant of Min's character and Ki-woo seemed particularly impressed with Min's handling of the same event at the start of the film.

There's something vaguely Daoist about how the main character laughs constantly after getting nearly brained. It's like the injury allowed him to laugh at the absurdity of life.

*IT’S SO METAPHORICAL!*

I'm so glad Parasite got the attention it deserved

11:25 That's an interesting take on that final shot of the stone, though I guess at the time of watching I read it slightly differently in that just like the stone, people are only deemed special or gain privilege and status simply because other people deem them so, otherwise we're all just rocks in a river. A scholar's stone is simply so because someone decided to put it on a pedestal and give it the title, yet it bears no real higher importance over any other stone you may find.

Thank you for teaching me so much about Writing👏🏻

I thought that Ki-Woo was bringing the stone to the basement as a peace offering, wanting to share his hope with the other family. But they don’t recognise this hope, content to serve the rich family, and ignorantly use the symbol as a simple weapon.

One of my favorite details in Parasite is Kim's going through the city in heavy rain after escaping the mansion unnoticed. Majority of the time they go downwards, symbolizing their fall to the bottom of society ladder. Amazing movie and well deserved Best Picture winner.

I say this all the time but the translators did an amazing job. The comedic beats still hit even in english.

at the end, those symbols somehow give away who the real parasites are by definition : "A parasite is also a person who uses others to obtain an advantage without doing anything in exchange". Those symbols serve to reinforce the inequality between the wealthy and the poor. We might think the poor are the one profiting from the rich, until we realize : - they are being kept apart even thought they are working for the rich, with their smell and status until they die (the wealthy don't give a damn about their well-being during the flood or the ending) - the rock, admiration for the wealth are translated via "hope". Instead of realizing how unfair their conditions are, the poor are hypnotised to think everything will always be "better" by emulating the wealthy, and fighting against other poor people (the theme inside the movie) instead of being compassionate and cooperate. The rich are the ultimate parasites, as they are feeding the poor with those notions and concept, which reinforce their status, and never allow anyone to cross that invisible "line".

I was always confused as to what motifs meant. But you've explained it so simply and deeply that I get it now. Thank you!

Man I just love the score for this film. MASTERFUL

On Ki-woo going back to the basement: I read that as him feeling guilt for how the two people trapped down there were treated, so he was going to gift them the stone as a gesture of goodwill.

I was tense this whole time wondering if you were going to show that shot of those eyes coming up the stairs. That shot will forever haunt me.

And of course, don't forget that the whole point of the viewing stone is that the movie is a variation on the myth of Sisyphus.

I am Korean. There's one more Korean symbol. In Korea, due to the influence of Confucian culture, young people generally use honorifics to older people. At the beginning of the movie, the young president of the Pizza Generation uses informal language(in a slightly aggressive and irritating tone), and Kim's parents ask the young president to continue to hire them as a part-time job, in honorific language. I left this comment to help you guys understand and enjoy the film because it seems to be a hard thing to notice due to the limitations of translation.

Lessons from the screenplay posts: 🚶‍♀️ooh new video It's about Parasite: 🏃‍♀️💨

Don't forget about the use of HEIGHT and how the cinematography made it clear by taking stair shots angled from below going up to show the rich family(and their neighbourhood)'s wealth and status and then consecutive shots of the Kim family going down levels and levels of stairs to visually portray their poverty and low status. The use of heights also inevitably shows the rich family's access to sunlight or the sky while the Kims could barely see the outside world through their window as they live literally not just on the ground, but underground. It is also cleaner and greener at the top but as a consequence, all their trash and sewage fall down to the poor.

Kubrick was a master of Symbols, Motifs, Themes. 2001 ASO is one classic example yet the Hollywood award system had no idea of the masterpiece he produced. Using the power of symbols is no guarantee of any award success. In fact it may just spook an audience who are just out for cheap entertainment.

This movie is a great example of how movies don't have to be overly complex using convuluted structure and abstraction to set up effective symbolism. While LFTS didn't mention all the symbols(stairs, America, the diffrent foods), many of them were easy enough to pick up on in the first viewing. Even if you miss a bunch, your average viewer will pick up on enough of them to engage with the film. And it makes repeated viewings enjoyable still.

speaks to the quality of these videos that they take concepts i found boring in 9th grade English and makes them fascinating

One thing I love about this film is that it reminds me how uncomfortable I always feel to encounter people who **happily** serve you for a living. Because I know deep down no one, if they have a choice, would not want to be made to feel inferior to someone. I just feel like it's all just a show so I cannot genuinely enjoy most personal service experiences, I feel sad. I used to have a house maid and a nanny, and quite familiar with having a personal driver when I accompanied a family member, though some were distant relatives, I always saw that people who did a personal service job had a struggling family and/or financial problems to take care of. I mean, we all have this sort of problems too, but the nature of their jobs making it worse. I myself am never interested in having a house maid or personal driver and stuff like that even if I were ultra rich and had my own family. I like to have privacy in my house and I know personal service personnels don't really care about me or my family lol. When I saw the poor family in the film having to put on a face just to serve the rich people's luxury and happy events despite their desperate situation at home with flood and stuff, it was very moving.

One of the greatest yet subtle symbolisms is the Ram-don. A dish comprised of cheap commoner food on the bottom, and (relatively) gourmet food on top. Easily symbolizing the status quo, and more overtly, the cast.

I also like how the movie shows us that intelligence and hard work isn’t enough to make it out of poverty, as both the son and daughter of the Kim family are shown to be way smarter than the wealthy family, like when they’re talking about the little kids paintings, the son is talking about how metaphorical it is and talks intelligently about it, while the rich wife just nods kinda confused

Is seriously no one talking about how good the music is in this film? Sound is always the forgotten art in movies. RESPECT.

What I learned in this movie is that building a city in a mountain is not a great idea for those living on the base, as shit flows downstream. Also works for economics.

I think the most powerful thing about this film is how it swings between naturalistic to abstract space. From a rediculous fights in the basements, which was clearly full of symbolism it switches to the flood scene which felt like reality hitting you right in the face. And all felt natural, tied up in the plot iteself.

One thing that stuck out to me was the parallel between the frame where they were running from the Parks' home in the rain, quickly walking down the long stairs of the city going down to the place they lived in and the long stairs in the house itself. It's like the house *is* society. The stairs inside are the miniature version of the big ones that exist outside.

1:22 "spoilers ahead" and behind...

As an English major, these film disections make my heart so happy. Parasite is an amazing film that everyone needs to see at least once.

Great to see another vid! Parasite is hands down one of the best screenplays I've read and one of the few that had me compulsively turning the pages. It took me just over an hour to read in one sitting, something I've never done. Phenomenal.

I always love this channel's analysis on EVERY movie that it does. Well-studied, concise, never condescending. Looking forward to more videos!!

The scene where Ki Woo drops the rock in the stairs (10:40) is a perfect representation of the myth of Sisyphus. At that very moment, the rock comes tumbling down, he looses everything. He has to start again from the beginning, regaining his poverty. All his life, no matter how hard he works his way up in society, something will bring him back to the bottom. Like Sisyphus, he will try all his life to climb his rock to the top of the mountain, but it will always come down. His quest is therefore vain and eternal. I find this scene extremely powerful and sad... but true.

I’m glad you make this, I obsessed over the rock, the smell, the line, and all the motifs and themes throughout parasite for awhile. Notice how lower class and the needy constantly struggle and fight amongst each other, trying to cheat their way to a life of wealth. The rock is used as a weapon to literally represent this struggle. But while this is the way they try to achieve wealth it is a dirty way, and after the midpoint they go back to the rock and it’s in muddy water. At the end of the film the son completes his arc and plans on earning money an honest way instead of through cheating the system, and he puts the rock in clean water, contrary to the dirty water after their failures. There is a lot of meaning around it and a lot to think about and I love how smart and interesting this movie is. Great video

Great analysis! There’s so much stuff to talk about in this film, but what blew my mind away was the use of elevation in the movie. Such a masterpiece

parasite is a very well written movie It talks about power, greed and hope,it says that how humans are capitalist by nature, That a person only thinks about himself that when a poor family has power, they will not help other poor but will only think about themselves, There is a power hierarchy in the society and the one who has more power, he considers the one with less power as a filth. This film talk about privilege also that a higher class person gets everything but a lower class person has to work 10 times more to get that, Everything in this film was well balanced there is no villain in this film the real villain is the situation Yes bong didn't give any reason for "all or nothing" but that's the whole point that's why it feels surprising,The murder of Mar Park by Mar kim was a very psychological act,The murder of Mar Park by Mar Kim is very surprising and to understand it, you need to understand the psychology of Mar Kim. Kim never wanted to kill Park, it was the situation that led to this act,Jealousy and anger have already boiled over in Kim's mind against Park,And it's shown in a very subtle way,He used to respect the park a lot, but later he came to know that he just thinks of him as a worker who stinks alot This thing was deeply disturbing to Kim inside,A big truth was already revealed in front of Kim(secret bunker),And right after that he heard Mr. Park say about himself that he stinks, and later her whole house got washed away by the rain all trouble came upon him in one night Still, he has to go to work in the morning, where the Park family is about to enjoy a birthday party But still the park treats him like a worker wo stinks they are completely unaware of his problem,Even when geun se killed Kim's daughter, Park was only thinking about his son and he should logically think about his son first But Kim felt bad for this work of Park because of his hatred, when Park shrunk his nose to avoid the smell, then Kim felt worse,in that situation, his suppressed hatred and jealousy came out in the form of anger, which led to the murder of the park. Kim had no Big reason to kill Park and he never want to kill mr Park it just happened to him like a DREAM a BAD DREAM And he got punished for this because he did wrong he had to leave his family and stay in the bunker and later he also apologized to the park, but now nothing is going to happen with this apology, crime was already committed now he will have to atone for it ,this shows the jealousy and hatred of the lower class against the higher class, And the movie never justifies Kim's crime,Kim was not a psycho killer, he was a normal person, he committed this crime, which he regrets, but now nothing is going to happen by regretting,In the last, a conversation between a father and son is shown which is very emotional, a son will never consider his father a criminal He also knows that my father is not such a person, but nothing can happen now,In the end, the film ends on Hope, despite all this, ki woo never stops hoping,I don't know whether he will be able to get that house or not, but God bless him to buy such a house so that when it rains next time, he can enjoy it with his family like mr park does. Both families were not parasite in this film the real parasite was human greed,hatred, jealousy and situation

Parasite struck a cord because it touched on the current cultural zeitgeist. Same with American Beauty in 1999. It's the movie that best represents what's going on in the world and what fears and struggles society is grappling with at the time of its release.

What's so brilliant about both symbols is how they oppose between each other and reflect the title of the film: The rock is a parasite which lives from the aspirations of the Kim family to get out of poverty; whilst the smell, also lives from them threatening to spread to the rich family, and is the perfect opposite which condemns them to never escape the lower class. A true masterpiece, thanx, guys, great video as usual!!!

Parasite is a standout film because it’s about *social immobility* rather than *social inequality*. But personally, I feel most people forget about another interesting theme of a story, which is ”how to be happy in the unfair and unequal society.” The housekeeper and her husband Geun-sae had literally nothing, but simply being with each other was already sufficient for their happiness. Whereas for Kim’s family it was never enough. Even when they were given the second chance to just leave Parks forever, Kims still desired for more, and that’s why they have paid the price for their hunger. Apart from being a depressive and horrible reflection of a modern society, Parasite also teaches us to value what we already have, especially simple but important things like friends, family, and love. Somehow this idea really inspired me so much that I even made a video about it. But watching your video made me fall in love with the film even more. Beautiful and aspirational, both the movie and your video, thank you! 🔥

What I noticed was how the last note of the music in the fob was a note that shouldn’t be the last now. Normally you come back to the tonic and the human hearing is correct, however if you leave the tonic out, the piece sounds unfinished and the human ear “longs” for the last note. Even the smallest details of this movie are perfect. It shows how Ki Woo’s live didn’t end there but rather it was just the beginning.

You have changed my perspective on viewing film and stories. I watched lot of films for fun , never new stories can be so expressive until i watched this video. You realy were great and amazing u clearly described the hidden meaning and narrative of writter . I am blow away wow

Also I want to say that the use of the mobile phone as a key tool for the premise was so unique. Complexity of situations and the way of getting out of them, both were signified with it. That was another thing that reiterated maybe that it can be a boon and a bane alike.

I really appreciate that ya’ll always source your definitions from somewhere when you recognize that the definition in question may not be universally applicable.

Here's the mark of a great, even extraordinary film. Months after its release and its acclaim, there have been LOTS of really insightful essays on UKposts about the power of its various aspects. (Like the concept of "The Line," which has been alluded to in these comments.) And yet here comes one, so many months later, that finds even newer insights into its brilliance. Bravo, Michael. Thank you SO MUCH. Gosh, I wish the upcoming Criterion Blu-Ray would compile some of these essays into its bonus features.

I actually never noticed this before, but they also use the rock to hurt and kill other members of their class in pursuit of that wealth. Instead of aiming to hurt the ones that perpetuate their poverty, they are pitted against each other, further protecting the upper-class while also depriving others of those resources and opportunities.

June: wait for it July: wait for it Aug: wait for it Sep: wait for it Oct: wait for it Nov: wait for it Dec: wait for it Jan: wait for it Feb: wait for it Mar: PARASITE THE POWER OF SYMBOLS ITS LFTS YES

I miss these video A LOT. Love the podcast, but I get so much more out of these videos. I cannot imagine how hard these were to make. The research, writing, editing, and VO are all top notch which makes me think that so much time goes into each.

I love your analysis. That diagram of symbol being repeated as motifs to express a theme explains things very clearly. Aspirations towards wealth by the poor but also separation between the wealthy and the poor. Excellent movie

This movie was an absolute masterpiece in every way. Ans as you so well explained it was well-accessible even for an audience that is not familiar with Korean culture (like myself). I was so happy it won the Oscar.

Yes! Parasite was my favorite film of 2019! Can you please do a video on the lighthouse and marriage story which were my second and third favorite films of that year. Also, in the script, when you se that shot of the man chopping fire wood with the axe in the party scene, ki taek was actually supposed to stab mr park with that axe. Thinking that it was the toy axe from the little skit they were going to throw earlier.

Parasite is not a movie. It's an ART. Definitely my most favorite movie. Creating a storyline as brilliant as Parasite would be unimaginable.

Michael i absolutely LOVE your visual presentation style. The colours arent too much, the font is great and the transitions are smooth. Brilliant!!

I knew it! I knew it! I knew you would dissect "Parasite"😍😍😍

Excellent video as always! Seriously well done.

I was eagerly waiting for your take on Parasite. Thank you for such an informative video. Totally worth the wait!

Michael you nailed it. I love this movie so much, and you did probably one of your best video, though I could state the same for all your work. congrats, and keep up posting those amazing videos. respect !

Haven't you skipped over a crucial appearance of the stone? When, in their hubris, they consider using it to fend of the drunkard? I always felt like this is the part in the traditional fairy-tale where the stone turns against them. Adds a possible lens through which this wasn't a hopeless endeavor but their own fault.

I thought I read somewhere that the director said that Ki-woo was bringing the stone down to the basement as a "peace offering" to the man in the basement and not as a weapon to kill them, hoping the luck it brought would help the family in the basement and also suggesting that he didn't know at the time that the house-keeper was dead.

Fantastic analysis, once again. I appreciate your approach to digging into a movie AND the screenplay. It's unique and is certainly working. Thank you!