08VonnegutExperimentalSample on Parasite (2019)
Audience Fit Analysis
Example analysis of Parasite (2019), screenplay by Bong Joon Ho and Han Jin Won. Shown for demonstration and commentary. It reads a finished film to show the format, so anything it flags may well be deliberate; on your own draft, treat each flag as a question.
Also on: Nope (2022)
An Icarus arc, with Oedipus close behind
Rise to success, then fall from grace. Films with this shape: Goodfellas, The Wolf of Wall Street, Scarface.
Closest shapes
Each shape is drawn over this script's own fortune curve, smoothed, in grey.
Icarus rise, then fall
Strong fitThe arc climbs steeply to a delusional high (the celebration on the night of the flood), then falls into tragedy with no way back.
Oedipus fall, rise, fall
Strong fitThe story starts low, rises with the scam's success, then falls into the basement horror.
Man in a hole fall, then rise
Partial fitOnly a partial fit: the Kims start in a hole and climb out through the jobs, but this shape ends on the climb, and the story ends in collapse.
- Sc. 69
This is an Icarus arc. The family's confidence and fortunes climb as they infiltrate the mansion and reach their height at the rain-soaked celebration (scene 69). Then the story drops into chaos and death. Ki-Tek ends up imprisoned under the house, and Ki-Woo's fantasy of buying it makes the class tragedy bleaker.
The film plays with sympathy: it makes the scam exhilarating, then punishes the characters (and the viewer) for enjoying it. That is what makes it unsettling.
Fortune tops out at scene 69 and bottoms out at 131
It swings widely and sits mostly in ill fortune. The script ends at a low ebb.
How to read this
The line follows the main characters' fortune through the script. Above the middle line things are going well for them; below it, badly.
The analysis samples the script at intervals, drawn as dots, and joins the samples. The triangles above the chart are the turning points listed under it, pointing up for a rise and down for a fall.
Hover over or tap the chart to read a scene.
- Sc. 4
Rise INT. SEMI-BASEMENT - EARLY EVENING
Min-Hyuk arrives with the viewing stone and the tutoring offer, and the family's climb begins.
- Sc. 14
Rise INT. MANSION - KITCHEN - EVENING
Ki-Woo passes the interview and secures the first job inside the Park mansion.
- Sc. 60
Rise INT. MANSION - VARIOUS - EVENING
The whole family is now inside the house. The infiltration ends with the 'Belt of Trust' montage.
- Sc. 69
Rise INT. MANSION - LIVING ROOM - NIGHT
The Kims celebrate and imagine owning the mansion, just before the doorbell rings. Their fortune is at its height.
- Sc. 69
Fall INT. MANSION - LIVING ROOM - NIGHT
The doorbell rings and Mun-Kwang returns. The reversal starts here.
- Sc. 75
Fall INT. MANSION - LIVING ROOM - NIGHT
The Parks come home early, and the Kims have to hide like 'cockroaches'.
- Sc. 102
Fall INT. SEMI-BASEMENT - ENTRANCE - NIGHT
The flood destroys the Kims' semi-basement home.
- Sc. 131
Fall EXT. MANSION - GARDEN - DAY
Ki-Tek kills Dong-Ik and Ki-Jung is stabbed: the bottom of the descent.
- Sc. 158
Fall EXT. HILL - LATE EVENING
The ending reveals that the hopeful future is only a fantasy; Ki-Woo is still on the hill, unable to save his father.
Five of seven audiences fit strongly; tension releasers and hedonic viewers fit weakly
How to read this
Audiences are listed from the closest fit down, so rows in the same band are still in order. Open a row to see what appeals to that audience and what gets in the way.
Affective seekersWants to empathise with characters and reach an emotional catharsis.Strong fit
All three measures read strong for affective seekers.
- Plot complexity
- The plot has many moving parts, and it works as an emotional pressure cooker.
- Character depth
- The family bond is strong, so the tragedy hits hard.
- Change of pace
- The shift from farce to horror is hard to watch.
- Appeal
The family's scrappy loyalty is instantly endearing.
- Appeal
Ki-Jung's death and Ki-Tek's final breakdown stay with the viewer.
- Friction
The absence of a 'good guy' can leave the viewer feeling hollow and unable to attach.
- Friction
The ambiguous, dream-state fantasy ending denies the audience a clear emotional release.
Eudaimonic viewersSeeks meaning, tolerates tragedy if meaningful.Strong fit
All three measures read strong for eudaimonic viewers.
- Plot complexity
- Works as a parable about systemic inequality.
- Character depth
- Every character flaw is a product of their economic circumstances.
- Change of pace
- The descent is tragic and carries the argument.
- Appeal
The tragic ending makes the point about class immobility stick.
- Appeal
The recurring viewing stone and the 'plan' philosophy reward existential analysis.
- Friction
May feel emotionally manipulative in its despair.
- Friction
Some viewers may reject the lack of individual moral agency in favour of systemic critique.
Personal integratorsSeeks prestige and cultural capital.Strong fit
All three measures read strong for personal integrators.
- Plot complexity
- Layered plotting, built around the house as a model of class.
- Character depth
- Archetypes carrying sharp social critique, with little introspection.
- Change of pace
- The turn from caper to horror reads as a deliberate formal choice.
- Appeal
Narrative architecture metaphor (the house) signals high artistic merit.
- Friction
The explicit violence and slapstick humour can clash with 'stuffy' prestige expectations.
- Friction
The overtly political message can feel didactic rather than purely artistic.
Cognitive seekersWants complex plots and an intellectual challenge.Strong fit
- Plot complexity
- Strong
- Twists, nested plans, and tonal shifts demand sharp attention.
- Character depth
- Moderate
- Characters are defined by class and cunning more than by psychology.
- Change of pace
- Strong
- Swings between dark comedy and suspense, then tips into violence.
- Appeal
The 'Belt of Trust' scheming is a puzzle box of social engineering.
- Appeal
The theoretical reading of the house as a subconscious map (upstairs/downstairs/basement).
- Friction
The lack of a cathartic or morally clear resolution may feel intellectually unsatisfying.
- Friction
Genre-blending can feel manipulative if the viewer prioritises logical consistency over thematic metaphor.
Social integratorsCraves shared, 'watercooler' moments and broad shareability.Strong fit
All three measures read strong for social integrators.
- Plot complexity
- The 'water-cooler' twists make it highly discussable.
- Character depth
- Universally understandable class anxiety drives every action.
- Change of pace
- The shocking midpoint turn guarantees conversation.
- Appeal
The 'ram-don' recipe and the doorbell scene are the moments people quote.
- Appeal
Class warfare is a theme everyone has an opinion on.
- Friction
The bleakness might make it hard to universally recommend for light social viewing.
- Friction
Subtitles can be a barrier for some mainstream social groups.
Tension releasersSeeks escapism and resolved endings, with a low cognitive load.Weak fit
- Plot complexity
- Weak
- Requires reading subtitles and tracking complex social manoeuvring.
- Character depth
- Moderate
- Focuses on external action and suspense rather than soothing predictability.
- Change of pace
- Weak
- The violent genre shift and unresolved ending are the opposite of escapism.
- Appeal
The initial heist comedy offers a fun, vicarious power fantasy.
- Friction
The ending is tragic and unresolved. There is no happy closure.
- Friction
Subtitles and social subtext make it hard work to relax into.
Hedonic viewersCraves positive resolution and avoids ambiguity.Weak fit
- Plot complexity
- Strong
- The plot has many moving parts, and the anxiety it builds is never paid off.
- Character depth
- Strong
- The family is drawn in depth, but it leads somewhere bleak.
- Change of pace
- Weak
- The journey from comedy to horror offers no positive resolution.
- Appeal
The 'found family' dynamics in the scam phase are very warm and funny.
- Friction
Directly punishes the 'rags to riches' fantasy and destroys all hope.
- Friction
The ending is unambiguously bad for the protagonists.
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