preview

Snowpiercer: A Dystopian Film

Decent Essays

The critically acclaimed dystopian film Snowpiercer, was directed by Bong Joon-ho and premiered in South Korea, 2013. It is based on a 1982 French graphic novel “Le Transperceneige” by Jacques Lob, Benjamin Legrand and Jean Marc Rochette. Although a dystopia is an imagined and usually futuristic place where the majority of the population is miserable, the genre aims to point out the flaws relevant to contemporary society and extrapolate them into the future. Hence, portraying what could be if we continue on our current path and arousing self-reflection on the harsh realities of contemporary society. As Snowpiercer delves deeper into the extreme divide between the tail-enders and the first class, the audience is made aware of the shocking aspect …show more content…

In Snowpiercer, the gap between the tail-enders and the front, the development of the protagonist and the need to survive all demonstrate this perspective on dystopian films. Bong Joon-ho demonstrates that failure to close the substantial gap between the tail-enders, who reside at the rear of the train, and the first class will result in the future prevalence of present issues. Bong Joon-ho was captivated by the idea of people fighting against each other rather than being equals on this Noah’s Ark-like contraption. He demonstrates a dystopian society, characterized by the highly stratified society, through lighting where the 99% who reside at the rear of the train, are shot using low-key lighting suggesting oppression and dehumanization as they are forced to live in squalid quarters, while the quick …show more content…

It is clear that the consequences of global warming and our negligence towards it, is a concern for director Bong Joon-ho. Fredric Jameson argues (Archaeologies of the Future, 2005), though supposedly set in the future, the dystopian genre functions as a window on, and critique of the present. In Snowpiercer, Bong Joon-ho foreshadows a deliberate world war three as an eventual consequence of the unchanging way we live, in comparison to the dystopian world, depicted by the propaganda and constant surveillance by Wilford’s men, where an intentional class conflict occurs in order to decrease the human population. As contemporary society continues to deplete Earth’s natural resources, the future seems just as bleak as Snowpiercer and the solution presented is conflict. Not only does Wilford trigger a class conflict through manipulation and propaganda but he also manipulates children into working as spare parts for the train. Bong Joon-ho states that in Bangladesh, children under 7 work in large decommissioned ships to break them up for parts as adults are too big criticizing our capitalistic society. This reflection on society, forces the audience to question contemporary society and realize, due to our nature, we may stimulate a war and further exploit others in order to survive if we continue

Get Access