There is a striking parallel between Bong Joon-ho’s “Parasite”, which
received an Oscar last year for best picture, and this year’s “White
Tiger” that opens this Friday on Netflix. Both films have been widely
described as “class struggle” thematically and both involve servants
staging a revolt against their masters. In “Parasite”, a destitute South
Korean family finagles their way into a wealthy household as hired help
and uses their leverage to become the new masters. In “White Tiger”, a
Dalit named Balram Halwai (Adarsh Gourav) from an even more impoverished
family in rural India, maneuvers his way into becoming a chauffeur for
Akosh, the son of a powerful landlord who has been oppressing his fellow
villagers.
This is what happens in “Parasite” as well. The paterfamilias of the
usurping family becomes a chauffeur after placing soiled panties in the
family’s car, thus leading to his dismissal for using the car for his
sexual escapades. Balram uses a different ploy. When he discovers that
the head chauffeur, who enjoys greater privileges and lords it over him,
has been keeping his Muslim identity a secret, he rats him out and takes
his place. It should be obvious at this point based on what you have
read above that the subaltern characters have little in common with the
revolutionary movement. The point of the films is more Hobbes than Marx.
Society is a jungle and you have to become a wild animal to succeed.
full: https://louisproyect.org/2021/01/20/white-tiger/
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