Class Dreaming
Paper by Thomas Borias.
United States, 2024; in a country supposedly founded on principles of equality and freedom, the richest 1% of households hold 30.9% of the country’s wealth, while the poorest 50% hold only 2.5%. Beyond this mathematical incoherence, it demonstrates that the United States is a country deeply rooted in a class hierarchy, where the rich occupy the top, and have access to privileges, while the poor struggle to survive with the resources left by the wealthy. Throughout history, cinema has explored this problem, and films critiquing classism are frequent. James Cameron’s Titanic (Cameron 1997), one of the highest-grossing films of all time, discusses class struggles in 1900s America. Parasite (Bong 2019), a Korean film directed by Bong Joon-Ho, which became the first non-English-language film to win the Academy Awards for best picture, focuses on class division in modern South Korea. Finally, The Hunger Games (Ross 2012), set in dystopian America, opens the debate on the future of class oppression. Thus, through the study of three films set in three different eras – Titanic (the past), Parasite (the present), and The Hunger Games (the future) – this paper examines the development of class struggles across history. By analyzing the visual representations of social hierarchy, the depiction of power dynamics, and the concept of the American Dream as a tool for perpetuating classism, this paper will demonstrate how class oppression has evolved, yet remains a persistent issue today.
Cinema is a visual art form, and the depiction of class struggles in films primarily occurs through visual and spatial divisions on screen. In James Cameron’s film, the Titanic itself is an allegory of our society’s hierarchy. Divided into three classes, with first-class passengers at the top, second-class passengers in the middle and third-class passengers at the bottom, the Titanic is a floating social ladder, where the word class is literally stated. The film’s mise-en-scène constantly supports this idea; when Rose (a wealthy first-class passenger) and Jack (a poor third-class passenger) first meet, Rose is standing on a higher pontoon than Jack, representing the social gap that separates them. This spatial division is even reflected in the lifeboats provided when the ship sinks, which are also organized by class. This cinematic use of space to represent social divisions is mastered by Bong Joon Ho in Parasite. The Kims, a very poor family, live in a semi-basement, with the camera constantly emphasizing the fact that they live below the physical street level, below middle- class level. In contrast, the spatial representation of upper class is provided by the Park’s architect-designed mansion, where everything seems to be meticulously in place. Moreover, the film constantly uses stairs as a visual narrative, as they represent a metaphor for upwards – or downwards- mobility. Finally, in the future, Gary Ross imagines an even clearer spatial separation between rich and poor in The Hunger Games. Panem, the name given to this dystopian America ravaged by wars and disasters, is divided into 12 districts subject to the dictatorship of the Capitol, located in the middle. Each district is defined by its economic function, and its inhabitants’ sole aim is to provide for the needs of the wealthy Capitol. The verticality of its architecture contrasts with the geographically flat districts. Yet even between districts, inequalities are perceptible; with District 12, where Katniss lives, being the poorest of all. Visually, the mise-en-scène emphasizes this socio-economic disparity through the use of drab, bleak costumes for the inhabitants of district 12, and extravagant costumes for the inhabitants of the Capitol. In all three films, form serves content, and these visual representations of economic disparity help the characters, and the audience, realize the power dynamics that exist within these different societies, and the oppression that the poor suffer. In Titanic, Spicer Lovejoy, a member of the first class, oppresses Jack, a member of the third class, reminding him that his place is not among the rich: “also to remind you that you hold a third-class ticket and that your presence here is no longer appropriate. … Gentlemen please see that Mr Dawson gets back to where he belongs and that he stays there”. (Cameron 1997) In these remarks, it is clear that the upper class is determined to perpetuate this classist structure in which they are privileged. But Jack, a symbol of the lower class, demonstrates an important form of class consciousness; he says: everything “lets us know where we rank in the scheme of things”, (Cameron 1997) while Tommy, a lower-class Irishman replies: “like we could forget”. (Cameron 1997) Society is based on exploiting them, their condition has long been internalized, and everything is a reminder of this fact. Anton L. Allahar, in his article “False Consciousness, Class Consciousness and Nationalism”, returns to the Marxist definition of the term, and offers insights into this internalization of the lower- class condition: “as greater exposure to capitalist exploitation sharpened the contradictions between this class and the owners of capital, … so too did their consciousness of themselves as a class that faced a set of common problems.” (Allahar 100) This class consciousness is also present in Parasite and The Hunger Games, with the Kim voluntarily mimicking the lifestyle of the wealthy Parks in order to escape the lower class, and Katniss using the Mockingjay symbol to represent a union of the oppression that the Capitol inflicts on the districts.
Exploring explicit and implicit representations of class struggle and classism within their narratives, all three films also use the myth of the American Dream to critique socio- economic inequalities. In “The American Perception of Class”, Reeve Vanneman and Lynn Weber Cannon dedicate an entire chapter to this socio-cultural construct. The American Dream is based on the ideal that “in America, wealth and position were to be organized differently—open to every person of talent and hard work. The frontier beckoned to those seeking a new chance. The fabulous wealth of the continent promised abundance for all who were willing to work.” (Vanneman and Weber 257) Nevertheless, this narrative was used by the capitalist system to maintain the economic and social status quo. Indeed, Vanneman and Weber argue that “the American Dream seemed the perfect immunization against the dangers of a militant class consciousness”. (Vanneman and Weber 257) Whether it’s Titanic, Parasite, or The Hunger Games, and although the films are set in three different time periods, they all use this myth to critique inequality, presenting it as an unattainable ideal for those born in the lower classes. In Titanic, Jack Dawson is a poor artist who wants to go to the United States for a better life, just like his Italian friend Fabrizio, who exclaims “I go to America to be a millionaire” (Cameron 1997) before boarding the ship. Unfortunately, the dreams of these two characters are crushed when the Titanic sinks into the ocean, their hopes of finding that new life disappearing alongside their bodies. The Titanic itself symbolically represents a way towards the American Dream, and the fact that the majority of survivors are from the first class – those already living the American Dream – highlights the illusory nature of this myth. In Parasite, the entire film is based on the promise and hope of upwards mobility for the Kim family. Indeed, there are many references to American culture throughout the film, explicitly recalling a willingness to tackle this theme. The Kims are convinced that even they, from the lower class, can reach a privileged life if they work hard enough, or assimilate the dominant rich culture. However, their dreams are tragically shattered in a system that leaves no room for social mobility. The film’s final sequence, a moment of imaginary fantasy in which Ki- Woo imagines himself rich – when the whole film has shown that this was impossible-, is a way of critiquing the persistence of this ideology, even among people who have lost everything because of it. On the other hand, in the future, the American Dream is used as a means of controlling the population. The idea that winning the Hunger Games is the only way for the districts to achieve the wealth and luxury of the capitol, and escape their poverty, is a manipulative way of controlling hope. Snow, president of the Capitol and leader of Panem, explains it in the film: “Why do you think we have a winner? … Hope. It is the only thing stronger than fear. A little hope is effective, a lot of hope is dangerous.” (Ross 2012) The hope of achieving the American Dream is what keeps the districts from rebelling, which ultimately perpetuates socio-economic inequalities. Yet even when Katniss wins the games, she remains a pawn at the mercy of the Capitol, and is forced to participate in the deadly games again the following year. Thus, in The Hunger Games, the American dream is a tool of oppression, serving as a false narrative used to control the poor. These films all offer a profound critique of classism; nonetheless, they are conflicted in their very essence, for as Benshoff and Griffin observe in Chapter 9 of “America on Film”: “it is important to recognize though that, while these films may potentially critique ‘the system’, big corporate media empires produce them” (Benshoff and Griffin 211), a paradox that minimizes the impact of this critique in society.
Titanic, Parasite, and The Hunger Games successively explore class struggle in the 1900s, in modern day, and 300 years into the future, offering a historical fresco that emphasizes the continuity and evolution of classism over time. Although these films critique class division and socio-economic oppression by introducing the concept of class consciousness, and critiquing the illusory nature of the American Dream, their message is weakened by their essence as capitalist art objects. Nevertheless, these films can be categorized as social problems films, raising awareness and encouraging social change around a persisting problem like that of classism.
Works cited:
Allahar, Anton L. “FALSE CONSCIOUSNESS, CLASS CONSCIOUSNESS AND NATIONALISM.” Social and Economic Studies, vol. 53, no. 1, 2004, pp. 95– 123. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/27866359.
Benshoff, Harry M., and Sean Griffin. America on Film: Representing Race, Class, Gender and Sexuality at the Movies. 3rd ed. Wiley-Blackwell, 2019.
Bong, Joon-ho, director. Parasite. CJ Entertainment, 2019. Cameron, James, director. Titanic. Paramount Pictures, 1997. Ross, Gary, director. The Hunger Games. Lionsgate, 2012.
Vanneman, Reeve, and Lynn Weber Cannon. “The American Dream.” The American Perception of Class, Temple University Press, 1987, pp. 257–82. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctv941wv0.17.
About this entry
You’re currently reading “Class Dreaming,” an entry on Student Film Reviews
- Published:
- 12.12.24 / 1pm
- Category:
- Academic Papers, Films
1 Comment
Jump to comment form | comments rss [?]