Universal Cities. A Comparison between What Have I Done to Deserve This? (1984) by Pedro Almodóvar and Parasite (2019) by Bong Joon-Ho

Abstract

From power dynamics to urban stratification, Pedro Almodóvar’s What Have I Done to Deserve This? (1984) and Bong Joon-ho’s Parasite (2019) dialogue in the same language: the universality of their cities. Even though the films are located in a specific space and time (Madrid in the 1980s and Seoul in the 2010s), their messages and criticisms are one and ecumenical: what happens in Spain and South Korea can happen anywhere else in the world. Thus, despite the different countries, languages, and times in which they were filmed, the present paper will delve into the analysis and comparison between ¿Qué he hecho yo para merecer esto! and Gisaengchung, covering topics such as US acculturation, social immobility, and urban landscapes and their impact on social classes.