Bong Joon-Ho is calling out his fellow filmmakers.
The Parasite director is urging others to speak out and to use their medium to respond to the racism and hate directed towards Asian and Black communities.
“I’m far away in Korea and I have to see everything in the news from an outsider’s perspective, but as someone who is a part of mankind, as a person, it’s quite fearful to watch the hate crimes against Asian-Americans and the BLM movement,” Bong shared during a virtual masterclass over the weekend at Chapman’s Dodge College of Film and Media Arts in California.
He went on, “I do think about what the film industry can do at this time. With films, creating a film takes a lot of time and a lot of money; it’s a big unit that can’t really respond quickly to issues that are currently happening in society. It’s a medium that’s difficult to use when you are trying to respond in real-time. But ironically, because of that, I think creators and filmmakers can be bolder with dealing with issues and they shouldn’t be afraid to confront them.”
Bong then emphasized and look back at the film that inspired him to tackle a social issue in Parasite - Spike Lee‘s 1989 movie, Do The Right Thing.
“That film came out in 1989; it was three years before the L.A. Riots but almost predicted the riots were going to happen,” he recalled.
Bong concluded his speech, saying that “as creators and artists, you sort of have to see through the essence and the central questions in our society through the days that you live through and send a reply to those questions through your work.”
The Korean director isn’t the first to speak out and urge others to call out the racism. See who else did here!
