The triumph of Parasite at last night’s Academy Awards is huge for many reasons. It’s huge because it’s a terrific film. It’s huge because it’s the first foreign-language film to win Best Picture. It’s huge because it’s a movie that actually comments on society today, satirizing issues that are prominent in our current culture. And it’s huge because Parasite is very much a black comedy. It’s been a long, long time since a film as biting and dark and humorous as Parasite won Best Picture. Actually, let me rephrase that: a film as biting and dark and humorous as Parasite has never won Best Picture. Perhaps this is a sign that the Oscars are finally embracing one of cinema’s best (and least-respected) genres.
Last year’s Best Picture champ, Green Book, was also billed as a comedy but it was one of those light-hearted dramadies, a film that didn’t really garner many laugh-out-loud moments. Parasite, on the other hand, has some brilliantly funny moments and uses humor thoughout the entire film, it’s not just a tool employed randomly. Comedic moments in the film actually progress the story, comedy is laced into the film’s DNA. Yes, it’s not just a comedy but the twists and turns in the movie are even more shocking because the films is so funny up until then. It has elements of drama, horror and mystery but at the end of the day Bong Joon-Ho’s masterpiece has to be considered a dark, dark, dark comedy.
Take a look back at the list of Best Picture winners and try to find the comedies. It’s hard. The last movie comparable to Parasite would be 1999’s American Beauty. I know many people will hate the comparison but it’s fair, even if the quality of the two films is vastly different. The Oscars have often flirted with comedies, especially recently with the rise of Adam McKay. But they never fully embraced the genre, they’ve always turned up their noses to it. It was a huge deal when Kevin Kline nabbed a Best Supporting Actor award for A Fish Called Wanda back in 1988. And we all know that some could literally not believe that Marisa Tomei won an Oscar for her supremely humorous turn in My Cousin Vinny. Again and again there are examples of the Academy coming close to fully accepting comedies but then shying away at the last moment. Parasite proves that they can embrace movies that make us laugh. So they do have a funny bone.
Why does the Academy look down upon comedies so much? They are uncomfortable celebrating a genre that contains films such as Epic Movie, Dirty Grandpa and Paul Blart: Mall Cop. I understand that there are a lot of shitty comedies out there. But it’s the same genre that also gave us Dr. Strangelove, Shaun Of The Dead and Annie Hall. Besides, you’re telling me there aren’t bad dramas too? Bad historical romances? Bad tearjerkers? There are awful films in every single category imaginable. But the Oscars are stuck in their ways, they are so hesitant to evolve or change their views.
But maybe the win of Parasite will thaw some of the icy opinions they hold about comedies. Here’s a movie that can legitimately make you laugh and make you think and make you feel. It shows the power of a good comedy. They don’t have to all be slapstick and silly. Some can change your opinions of the world and the people in it. There is great power in comedy and Parasite proves that. Let’s hope that the Oscars continue to warm up to comedic films, they’re doing themselves and their audience a great disservice by ignoring so many special films.
Then again, how many times have we said that the Academy has seemingly turned a corner and will be different only to see them fall back into their old habits? Time will tell if they’re really ready to change and accept something they’ve shunned for so long. But we can hope. Parasite is a transformative film for so many reasons and its victory is a historical moment for the Oscars. The Oscars just opened an important door for foreign films and comedies. Let’s hope they don’t close it.
