Movies are meant to entertain their viewers, but they can also teach us new things. And although they do a great job of presenting information, teaching isn’t limited to documentaries. Through showing unique perspectives or presenting an unorthodox conflict or context, movies can help us learn much about the world around us.
Themes like class consciousness can be presented explicitly, like in the classic case of the 1925 Russian film Battleship Potemkinor much more implicitly as in Marvel’s 2018 film Black Panther. Movies rooted in realism can serve to be a representation of the world they are created from, and more fictitious films can be warnings of a haunting future. Whether they lead to revolution or not, these are some of the very best films that explore the topic of class consciousness.
5 Parasite
CJ Entertainment
A soon-to-be (if not already) classic, Parasite follows the story of a poverty-stricken family and their relationship to a much wealthier one through which they generate their income. Written and directed by Bong Joon-ho, the story is constantly clouded by the ever-present class consciousness looming over the two families.
The relationship between the families starts with the son, who takes over a tutoring position from his wealthier friend who is going to college. The friend encourages him to lie about his background so that he can land the position, assuring him that he is qualified and that he just needs the resume to support it. Soon after the tutoring starts, the son finds ways of getting jobs for his entire family, who pretend to be unrelated while all working for the one very wealthy family.
The film displays class-conscious themes by comparing the life of the wealthy family and the economically disadvantaged one that the film follows. The difference between the ways the two families live is astronomical– one in a sleek, modernist house whose windows look out to the perfectly maintained gated yard, and the other living beneath street level. A mysterious third family appears in the labyrinthine architecture of the film (literally and figuratively), ensuring that everybody knows this picture is about class, wealth, power relations, and concepts of separation, woven into the brilliant dialogue and cinematography.
4 Children of Men
Universal Pictures
Children of Men is set in a futuristic world in which women are no longer able to give birth. The cause of the sudden cessation in reproduction is unknown, but without the ability to continue the human lineage, unrest ensues. Some people, like main character Theo Faron, go on with their daily professional lives, but there is a sense of stagnation and hopelessness among even the working people. Those who do not fit in are subjected to life in heavily-policed, isolated ghettos, though people are divided and controlled even outside them. There is a distinct divide between the professional class, the state, and those who live outside the system.
Theo is forced to make a difficult decision after being contacted by his revolutionary ex-lover. Is he to leave his structured and relatively safe life, or join a righteous cause and help to dismantle the ever-present police state? Starring Clive Owen, Micheal Caine, and Julianne Moore, this film is not only incredibly class-conscious, but regarded as one of the best sci-fi and apocalyptic films of the decade.
3 Sorry to Bother You
Mirror Releasing / Focus Pictures
This class-conscious comedy flick with an additional emphasis on modern labor conditions takes the form of an absurdist farce starring Lakeith Stanfield. Sorry to Bother You follows a man named Cassius Green (“cash is green”) who ascends the ranks of a telemarketing firm after discovering a secret sales technique.
“A weird yet important masterpiece,” the film around Casssius and his friends shows the reality of an entry-level telemarketing position at first. Throughout the film, Cassius faces a dilemma as to whether he stands with his coworkers or with the company. As the film develops and Cassius excels in his professional environment, he learns more about how the top earners operate, and the film explores the disturbing upper echelons of corporate culture. This bizarre, exciting satire explores concepts of class consciousness as it relates to race, unions, capitalism, and narcissism, and has to be seen to be believed.
2 Boyz n the Hood
Credit to Boyz N the Hood
With an all star-cast including Cuba Gooding Jr., Laurence Fishburne, and Ice Cube, Boyz n the Hood shows the lives of three young men growing up in the Crenshaw neighborhood of Los Angeles. These are three very different men– one who has accepted the life given to him by circumstance, one who wishes to attend college and play football, and a third whose father repeatedly warns him of the reality of gang violence which consumes the culture of the neighborhood in which they live.
Powerful themes showing poverty, gang violence, white ignorance, and the American neglect toward poor and Black neighborhoods earned this film’s preservation in the National Film Registry. It is a must-watch coming of age film and its brilliantly realistic acting and direction make it’s 102 minute runtime fly by with urgency.
1 Elysium
Sony Pictures Releasing
This film takes the concept of class and spins it into a sci-fi metaphor where the wealthy and powerful live above earth on an artificial satellite-planet called Elysium. Below the ring, on the overpopulated and heavily polluted earth, the lower classes are forced to work in dangerous conditions. Earth is heavily policed, without medical supplies, and at the whim of the politicians who reside on Elysium. The story follows a man named Max Da Costa, played by Matt Damon. Undocumented immigration to Elysium can lead to immediate deportation or even death, but Max Da Costa needs to reach the artificial planet in order to access a medical device that is able to treat any disease.
Immigration, brutal policing, health care, and overpopulation are all prevalent themes in this film. The stark contrast between citizens of Elysium and citizens of earth leads to a massive class struggle that erupts into violence. The acting, writing, and visual effects make this hero’s journey both a spectacle and a passionate warning about the growing inequality on our planet.
