The Host (some people just don't get satire)

There are some spoilers for the Korean film, The Host, in this blog, so I wouldn't recommend reading this if you haven't seen the film and plan on doing so at some point.

Now that I've gotten that out of the way, I just saw The Host last night and was impressed. I then read some reviews today and was quite surprised at all the negative reviews I read from the average joe's. Not all, but many reasoned that the film wasn't scary enough, that there were some plot holes that made absolutely no sense whatsoever, and that for all the hype it received, they were extremely disappointed. But, overall, from their commentary and from back-and-forth messages passed by them and others, the fact of the matter was/is they didn't/don't understand satire. I'm not saying this to tick people off and I'm not saying that they're stupid and I'm the oh so bright one. But, the fact of the matter is that some people have a difficult time understanding satire. Many seemed to think that this was going to be a horror film. While there are some horror-like qualities to the film, overall, it's anything but a horror film. It's a satire. It's more similar to the likes of Kung Fu Hustle and/or Shaun of the Dead than Jaws and/or Halloween. I think many people had this preconceived notion that since a "monster" took part in the film, it was thereby to be of the horror genre, but that's not the case.

At the start of the film, a United States' scientist orders an assistant to pour dirty phermaldahyde into a drain, which allows a tadpole in the Han River to mutate into a 30-foot long creature, almost a hybrid of Godzilla and a Black Bass. The creature leaps from the water onto the land and attacks humans everywhere its mouth and/or tail can reach. After it leaps back into the water and the authorities close off the area, those that had direct contact with the creature are taken away, in fear that they have contracted a contagious and potentially fatal virus from the monster. The main character of the film and his immediate family are a few of those that are set aside, labeled as "infectants," and a multitude of tests must be performed in order to discover if that "virus" exists within them and if there's anything that can be done to prevent its spread and/or save that individual's life.

Now, I may have to watch the film again to understand some more symbolism and ironies that are depicted throughout the film, but the film is a political satire. The "infected" family are scapegoated after they escape from the hospital and the media makes them out to be more of a danger to society than the monster itself. Later in the film, a U.S. doctor tells an Asian doctor that from what's been revealed through other contacts of the creature, there is no actual virus. Throughout the film, protests abound in regard to the looming Agent Yellow which is to be used to hopefully destroy this creature and to the freedom of the family of "infectants".

One could potentially look at the symbolism and ironies in different lights. When I viewed the film, the "virus" was used to provoke fear in the Korean citizens and due to that fear, to help allow the authorities more control over their people. The creature symbolized the government (or possibly a terrorist). When citizens spoke out, the creature made its presence known. It swallowed citizens and then spit them right back out onto the ground. Since the government had issues in capturing and destroying the beast (bin Laden, anyone), they attempted to scapegoat others through the media, in attempt to get the public more fearful of others outside the beast that they couldn't capture and to cover-up for the United States' scientist who was responsible for the beast in the first place.

The main character's daughter is picked up and hauled away by the monster and in the middle of the film, she calls her father via cell phone. The father, in the hospital, attempts to tell all the employees there, but they all believe him to be delusional. The father becomes very frustrated and belts out such statements as, "You never listen to anything I have to say! My thoughts count too!" Again, this points to a conflict between the authority's crave for power versus the people's crave for freedom. In the end, while the Agent Yellow slows the beast to a virtual halt, it's the people who lay down the final blow to kill the monster.

Due to my 26 years all residing in the U.S., I viewed the film as a satire on 9/11 and the events that followed. Bin Laden was created in a sense by the U.S. and it was the United States scientist ordering his assistant to pollute the water and in essence, create the beast. After the initial attack, as could be expected, a tremendous fear was spread all across the nation and all looked to their leaders for guidance. Due to this occasion, authority's took advantage of the people's vulnerabilities and attempted to garner more control of the citizens. Those that spoke out against the government, were, in essence, called treasonous and forced to shut their mouths or else the monster would get them. Even though the authority's knew of the monster's creation, they wouldn't admit such a thing and used scapegoats to cover-up their mistake(s). In the end, it was the people who had to take charge and destroy the monster or just the simple idea of this monster, so that their fear could slowly dissipate. At the end, the news media showed a conference clip of U.S. authorities stating that there was misinformation regarding the virus. The people took charge and freedom reigned supreme over the authority's wish for total control. I viewed this last night and I'm sure I'm forgetting a few portions of symbolism to the film that were very important, but as one can see, it was very political, regardless of how one wants to interpret it and with it, was very satirical on politics in general, especially that of South Korea and the U.S. Some people seem to just see the creature in the film as just that, the creature and nothing else. It's difficult for some to see beyond the surface and see what the surface of something represents on a deeper level. I'm anxious to see this film again, because I'm sure I missed a couple symbolisms here and there and will come to an even greater appreciation with each and every viewing. I only hope others are able to do likewise.