The Oscar Awards are a time for actors and film directors alike to come together to share achievements in filmmaking, but sometimes there are people who can’t seem to celebrate others’ achievements.
On Sunday, February 9, the annual Oscars were held and the highly sought-after Oscar for Best Original Screenplay was awarded to South Korea filmmaker Bong Joon-ho for his film “Parasite.”
It was not the film or the multiple awards that stirred controversy among the internet, however, it was his speech for accepting the award of Best Original Screenplay. Joon-ho, stunned by the bestowment of a second award, gave his acceptance speech almost entirely in Korean. Joon-ho’s translator, Sharon Choi, translated his speech for the audience, but to some this was not enough.
After the awards, Jon Miller, the host of “The White House Brief” on BlazeTV, tweeted: “A man named Bong Joon-ho wins #Oscar for Best Original Screenplay over ‘Once Upon A Time in Hollywood’ and ‘1917.’ Acceptance speech was ‘GREAT HONOR. THANK YOU.’ Then he proceeds to give the entire speech in Korean. These people are the destruction of America.”
This tweet stirred up lots of controversy amongst the online community with people calling Miller racist and close-minded. Miller attempted to withdraw the commentary, but is still under scrutiny by the online community.
Keene State sophomore and film student Paige Karavas watched Joon-ho’s film and agrees with the academy in the bestowment of this award for Joon-ho.
“I honestly thought the camerawork of the film was beautiful; everything had meaning and the ending just pulled everything together. I’ve never seen a Bong Joon-ho movie until ‘Parasite,’ but it definitely deserved the Oscar,” said Karavas.
The film depicts a poor Korean family who works their way into the hearts and home of a wealthy Korean family in secret with hopes to improve their quality of life. Joon-ho uses satirical notes to create a sense of dark comedy throughout the film, adding to the thrill that has generally been appraised by most film critics.
Joon-ho’s speech was moving for lots of audience members whom Jonn-ho said inspired him and helped him get to where he is today, including world-renowned directors and writers Martin Scorsese and Quentin Tarantino.
David Cudia, a senior public health major, says that he thoroughly enjoyed the film and agrees that Bong Joon-ho is well-deserving of the awards he was given at the Oscars.
“I don’t think there was a word of English throughout the entire film, so it makes no sense to me why people would be upset about his speech being in Korean,” said Cudia.
Film Professor Ahn Jiwon did not respond to requests for comments on Bong-Joon Ho’s awards at press time.
It is easy to say that regardless of online hate, Joon-ho has fought for his place, now joining some of the highest-ranking film producers in the world after not only winning the award for Best Original Screenplay but also for Best Picture and Best Director, all for his work on his breakthrough film “Parasite.”
Alex Dube can be contacted at adube@kscequinox.com
