Understanding Social Commentary Films

Hey Blog! As I start to develop the story for my opening, I wanted to see how I could successfully implement social commentary into my piece. I found an interesting article I wanted to delve deeper into about the ways that social commentary is carried out in films. It focuses mainly on horror films, but has many important lessons that apply across all genres of cinema.

Analysis of "Korea Is Showing the World How to Make Political Horror Movies From Jacobin"

In this article Vann analyzes the way that the South Korean Movie Industry has successfully been able to weave social commentary and analysis, into their Films, while still achieving Critical and Commercial success. Specifically, in the horror/thriller genre, the South Korean industry has found success with hits such as Parasite, The Host, Squid Game, and Train to Busan (2016).

Zombies in Train To Busan (2016)


One of the most interesting parts that I found in the article, is when he talks about the use of Zombies in media, and how it can both be used for positive and negative social messages. In the negative, zombies have been used by some films to represent a perverted version of a class or race 'enemy', this type of 'Gothic Racism' uses zombies to portray, primarily Global South, or working people, as irrational hordes coming to destroy the sanctity of the status quo (aka, capitalism, colonialism, white supremacy, etc). When used correctly however, zombies can be a potent form of social commentary; In Train To Busan, zombies are used to criticize the failures of the South Korean state, as a corrupt and inefficient force that cannot protect the safety of its citizens; In Another social commentary horror production, Kingdom (2019), the film makes people feel empathy for the zombies, as they are used as a dramatic representation of those on the fringes of society, who have suffered through starvation and abuse.



Promotional material for Kingdom (2019), showcasing zombies attacking a protagonist.

If I choose to go with Horror for my project, this gives me some inspiration with where I could take my piece. Especially, with the example of Kingdom, It may be interesting to create a story where my “villain”, in the case of a horror story likely a zombie or some other kind of monster, is empathized with. This has many opportunities for symbolism and social commentary, as this villain could be used to represent the real-life conditions that lead regular people into becoming “monsters”. A prominent example that comes to mind, is the complete dehumanization of Homeless people, and people who steal due to necessity. While these sorts of people are often harshly criticized and punished by society, in my story I could use an empathized “villain” to try to create empathy for people like this, who may be good at heart, but have been driven to a life of criminality by their material conditions.

Vann, M. G. (2023, October 28). Korea is showing the world how to make political horror movies. Jacobin. https://jacobin.com/2023/10/korea-horror-zombie-movies-tv-anti-capitalism-anti-imperialism