How does The Host (2006) depict national or global concerns?
- Apr 27
- 3 min read
Bong Joon-ho's The Host is a film extremely adept at showing current national issues as well as global concerns through the medium of a eco monster story. The film distinctly higlights government ineptitiude, drawing from real world events, aswell as how threatening an alien an invading force can be. From the getgo the imposing US presence in the film is apparent, with the Military mortician demanding the chemicals being dumped in the river being a US member. This leads into the emergence of the monster seemingly brought about by this US morticians overt lack of care.
Going against the grain of other monster flicks which present the 'Monster' often as the protagonist or main attraction, Bong Joon-ho introduces the monster at a difference with the scene following main character Park Gang-du and his scramble to save his daughter.
"Shooting the scene in this way never allows the monster to be the protagonist, or for its size and the scale of its impact to be sensationalized"(Schulze, 2019) The monster, a clear allegory for US intervention and looming presence in South Korea, is never allowed to hold the camera despite still causing immense chaos and irreparable damage. The film shows a very blunt depiction of the directors opinions and a clear distain for Political relationships.
The intial issue that occured of the dumping of chemicals was a real life event that did occur in 2000 of a US millitary member. The film doubles down on it's American representation when the US intervenes after the South Korean government is unable to contain the supposed virus. "The host the outbreak not just medical and biological problem but as both the symptom and the consequence of a necropolitical logic in which the government's responses to an epidemic perversely targets those most vulnerable to it"(Yoo, P.4, 2021) to make the US officials so domineering and excelling in refusal to listen, the film supports a indirect influence that the US has had on South Korea. The government's approach to the virus also seems to be only pro-American.
"The United States government is portrayed as an irresponsible, puppet-string- pulling imperial power that unilaterally interferes with South Korea's domestic affairs."(Hsu, 2014) However, the film still also portrayed the South Korean government as inept and cold. The South Korean government proceed to wall off the supposed infected victims farm more concerned with the numbers and the statistics than the lives of its citizens or feelings. Main character Park Gang-du is segregated, particularly by the government, his requests and pleadings to save his daughter after having a phone call with her despite supposedly being dead fall on deaf ears with not only his own government refusing him, but the US government deeming him someone who they believed to have dementia and must be a 'Infected'. The scene featuring the man coughing at the crosswalk highlights the detrimental impact that the consequences of a failing leadership can have on a society. The scene clearly voicings memories of the SARS outbreak that emerged in 2003 however for modern viewers, the scenes rather familiar of the 2020 Covid epidemic showing that the concerns raised by the film 20 years ago are still just as prevalent in society currently.
Finally, the host illuminates broad concerns about the procedures of government and the competence to manage a crisis while caring for your citizens. The depiction of South Korean's government, inability to succeed in any marker and lack of care towards its own people resonates with audiences worldwide, reflecting the shared struggles many go through. As well as this, the film, particularly comments on the influence the United States has had on South Korea, especially in recent tensions, framing it nearly as the films real antagonist while the monster is seemingly a distraction. While seemingly a monster movie, the film clearly has a lot more to it, and has proven that the mask that it wears underneath it's most important parts are still relevant today.
Bibliography
Hsu, H.L (2014) The dangers of biosecurity: The Host (2006) and the geopolitics of outbreak. In Eco-trauma cinema (pp. 113-133). Routledge.
Schulze, J. (2019). The Sacred Engine and the Rice Paddy: Globalization, Genre, and Local Space in the Films of Bong Joon-ho. Journal of Popular Film & Television, 47(1), 21–29.
Yoo, S.-K. (2021). Necropolitical metamorphoses: Bong Joon-ho’s The Host and Parasite. Science Fiction Film & Television, 14(1), 45–69.
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