“Parasite” Actors Can’t Worm into 92nd Oscars

New nominations ignore superstar South Korean cast

In a universe where “Green Book” beat “Roma” for Best Picture, it’s easy to ignore the Oscars if you’re looking for examples of rational decision-making.

When it comes to diversity, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ track record is even worse. So this year, the Academy pointed to its full embrace of “Parasite,” the black comedy from director Bong Joon Ho, as proof of its new, woke bona fides. 

Yet, despite its historic success as the first South Korean film to receive nominations for Best Picture, Director and Foreign Language Film, the complete shutout of the movie from any acting categories feels especially egregious.

Early in the morning of Jan. 13, actor John Cho joined the multitalented Issa Rae to announce the nominations for the 92nd Academy Awards. 

Narrowly avoiding another #OscarsSoWhite, the Academy nominated Cynthia Erivo for Best Lead Actress for her commanding performance in last year’s “Harriet.”

In making Erivo the only person of color up for acting this year, the Academy excluded show-stopping performances recognized by earlier shows such as the Golden Globes, which nominated Lupita Nyong’o for her startling work in “Us” and Eddie Murphy for his dynamite role in “My Name is Dolemite.”

The Academy also ignored Awkwafina, who has consistently won awards throughout the season—including a Golden Globe for Best Actress—for her electric performance in “The Farewell.”

Still, these impossible-to-write-off biases within the Academy only partially explain the exclusion of the cast of “Parasite” from the nominations. Outside of the occasional Best Ensemble award, other award shows similarly excluded the film in their acting categories.

So, given the widespread, Palme d’Or-winning success and near-universal acclaim of “Parasite,” why haven’t the major award shows seriously considered the acting talents of stars Song Kang Ho, Choi Woo Shik, Park So Dam or Chang Hyae Jin? Part of the answer lies in the visibility of their acting.

At its core, “Parasite” follows the poor and quick-witted Kim family as they attempt to better their disastrous situation (their basement-level dwelling is constantly threatened with urine from the drunks who stumble in the nearby street) by exploiting the obscenely rich and careless Park family through deception.

As the Kims create fraudulent identities and scheme their way into the lives of the Park family, Bong Joon Ho ratchets up the tension through a series of near-misses, in which the protagonists barely maintain their ruse. Due to the covert nature of the operation, these anxiety-inducing suspense pieces play out primarily on the faces of the actors: a flash of motherly hesitation from Change Hyae Jin or a resolutely blank stare from Park So Dam.

It’s these tightly wound, precisely timed movements that make “Parasite” the most engaging movie-going experience of the past year.

Even though this subtlety is part of the design, this quieter, engrossing acting fails to linger in the minds of awards voters in the same way as Joaquin Phoenix’s violently flashy, dancing-down-the-stairs outbursts in “Joker.”

In the 2016 article “Why Leo Winning an Oscar for ‘The Revenant’ Would Be Bad for Acting,” film critic Matt Zoller Seitz bemoaned the current state of acting awards and its emphasis on outsized, Daniel Day-Lewis-style performances. 

“For whatever reason, subtle or quiet acting tends to be devalued by awards-giving groups and many critics,” Seitz complained. Today, this trend has unfortunately affected the cast of “Parasite.”

At the ninth Academy Awards in 1937, “My Man Godfrey”—a charming comedy that, not unlike “Parasite,” features a protagonist who escaped poverty in the alarming comfort of a wealthy and clueless family’s home—received Oscar nominations in all four acting categories. 

Lead actor William Powell’s knowing smirks in that film operate in the same register as Song Kang Ho when, as a driver, he oversteps his boundaries in a way that’s both uncomfortable and endearing.

In 1937, this type of acting drew serious award consideration, but in 2020, it’s barely a footnote.

If “Parasite” is a balancing act, its actors are the expert acrobats that make sure nothing falls and crashes into the audience. It’s a shame the Academy ignored this considerable skill in their 2020 nominations.