Table of Contents
Inflation has been making things worse as time goes on, and a lot of people are being pushed to cut corners wherever possible! No matter how hard someone tries, it always feels like the system is set up against them. Capitalism is the bane of every man’s existence and in the 21st century, it’s more prevalent than ever!
With skyscrapers and corporate office culture becoming part of the mainstream, it feels as if capitalism has only continued to rise. People get taken advantage of for things that they rely on like food, housing resources, and even the internet. With internet service providers increasing their prices every year, people struggle to have a good and reliable relationship with their ISPs. However, there are some that stand out among the rest, since they tend to go above and beyond for their customers; one of them being Spectrum.
Spectrum’s internet deals offer both, value and affordability and don’t make its customers have to choose one over the other! Its budget-friendly plans make it easily accessible for most, and since it’s available in 41+ states in the U.S., it’s the ideal service provider to sign up with! Spectrum offers tons of benefits and other perks to its customers and if you’re interested to learn more, you can reach out to its 24/7 customer support team at 844-760-4220.
Now, back to capitalism!
Why Capitalism is So Dangerous
In our modern society, class divides and tensions surrounding such stark differences are ever present! Not only are people divided from each other on a financial basis, but people on the lower spectrum are entitled to lesser privileges and even fewer growth opportunities. This obviously affects their mental health, and stunts their self-esteem, rendering them to become stuck in the system that is capitalism.
There is a lot of literature surrounding this phenomenon, and it is explored in different ways and mediums. We’d like to recommend 4 of our favorite films that explore this topic in a unique, and thought-provoking way.
1. Parasite
Of course, our top pick for this list is Parasite, Bong Joon-ho’s masterpiece of a film, which explores a family of four stuck in a semi-basement apartment, that they’re forced to call home. Since opportunities are denied to them, the poor family is left to rely on just their wit and cunning ways to survive.
It is through such deception that Ki-Woo and his family are able to obtain service jobs in an expensive, and high-end household. The family takes on the roles of tutors, maids, and drivers and the striking class divide between employer and employee becomes even more relevant as the film goes on. What is simply a bad trip to the beach for one family, ends up becoming a hazard for the poorer one as their semi-basement apartment floods up with sewage water!
Parasite really invites you to embrace the uncomfortable reality of capitalism and its consequences, as a result.
2. Menu
This 2022 film features an elitist group of people, who are expecting to enjoy an evening, consuming dishes prepared by a celebrity chef – the only one that stands out from them all is Margot, who is more of an outsider since she is attending as a plus one. It’s clear early on that Margot doesn’t seem to come from the same, wealthy and privileged background as others, as she appears more humble and down-to-earth.
The movie feels like it is actively protesting against a corrupt system, in which the poor always lose. This is why the movie’s premise of high-end dining hits close to home for most viewers, as entitled characters are shown to exist and function within a protected bubble while the rest of the world suffers.
The simple act of enjoying a meal is taken on an almost ridiculous level of extravaganza and pomp that it borders on stupidity – hence, exposing the unnecessary fluff that the rich and wealthy insist on having.
3. Snowpiercer
Snowpiercer is a post-apocalyptic film that portrays class differences and divides in an almost literal way.
In this film, the planet is no longer livable, since everything has frozen over, and the only human beings that have survived are in a train together that never stops. The train needs to keep running around the world in an endless cycle to avoid being frozen and even then, throughout the movie, the remaining people are separated into different compartments, distinguishing their class.
The labor class lives in a cramped, run-down compartment all the way at the back of the train, while the rich class enjoys elaborate things like champagne, shrimp, saunas, and parties – even in a post-apocalyptic setting! When one compartment is deprived of basic necessities to the point of starvation, and the other still experiences unhindered amounts of luxuries, the film makes a great point on capitalism and how the rich benefit from the labor of others.
In Conclusion
Capitalism, paired with classism, shows us a very bleak but often true version of the world – where the poor get taken advantage of by people of a higher status than them. Each of these films offer a new, never-seen-before perspective by immersing the viewers and presenting a single, horrifying truth – the question, now, remains which film will you watch first?