Ecocriticism Analysis: The Gluttony of Capitalism Results in Animal Cruelty as Depicted in Bong Joon-ho’s Okja
Another essay. I wrote this analysis for my Literary Criticism final exam. Love Okja. Love Bong Joon-ho.
Introduction
Movies have always had an influence on human life for a long time. It not only shows impeccable cinematography, scoring, and plot. However, it also spreads important messages, values, knowledge, or even propaganda. Truth be told, for some people, it is easier to absorb moral values through visuals. Therefore, there are people out there who prefer movies to written text. The same goes with Okja, a movie directed by the talented Bong Joon-ho (Parasite, Snowpiercer, and many more). A simple movie, yet it touches the heart of the audience. Okja tells a heartwarming story between a fourteen-year-old orphan named Mija (portrayed by Ahn Seo-hyun) and her super pig named Okja. Mija lives in South Korea at a “mountainous stretch of rainforest” with her grandfather Hee Bong (portrayed by Byun Hee-Bong. Mija has been the caretaker and companion to Okja since she was four years old. It all began in 2007 when an environmentalist named Lucy Mirando (portrayed by Tilda Swinton) became the CEO of the Mirando Corporation. The corporation has been breeding super pigs that were initially being discovered on a Chilean farm. The twenty-six super piglets were sent into twenty-six best farms in different countries for ten years so that the farmer could take care of the pigs.
One of which is sent to South Korea, which brings it to Mija. The ten-year mark arrived in 2017; Mija and her grandfather are visited by Dr. Johnny Wilcox (portrayed by Jake Gyllenhaal), the spokesperson and zoologist of Mirando Corporation. Dr. Wilcox announces that Okja is the best super pig, and he will take Okja away to New York City. Devastated by the separation, Mija runs away to Seoul to find Okja. Mija chases down the truck that is intercepted by the Animal Liberation Front (ALF). Mija and Okja succeed in running away, but then they are saved by the ALF, which is led by Jay (portrayed by Paul Dano). Jay explains to Mija that Mirando Corporation mistreats their animals and prevents Okja from getting captured by the corporation.
Since the main point of Okja is related to nature, this paper will discuss animal cruelty done by the capitalist company as depicted in the movie. The literary theory that will be used to analyse Okja is ecocriticism. Through the glasses of ecocriticism theory, Okja depicts the relationship between humans and nature, also humans against nature.
Discussion
A quote from Cheryll Glotfelty, “Simply defined, ecocriticism is the study of the relationship between literature and the physical environment”. Ecocriticism, or known as “green studies”, has been around in the USA since the late 1980s and early 1990s in the UK. In the late 1970s, the concept of ecocriticism first arose. The basic notion of ecocriticism is how nature is portrayed in the literary text, how human beings relate to nature, or how humans interact with other living things in the environment. Along with the surge of environmental issues in the 1990s, ecocriticism has developed even more.
The first wave of ecocriticism occurred in the 1980s-1990s. The scholars were still formulating the subject of a new method in approaching the work of literature. The emphasis of the first wave of ecocriticism is nature writing as an object of study and meaningful practice. The focus lies on how nature is portrayed in literary texts. During the Romanticism period, in which poetry was on the rise, the poems mostly talked about nature. Nature was romanticised during this literary period. By writing about nature, they thought they could understand how the world actually worked.
Meanwhile, the second wave started in the 1990s until now. It discusses how the boundary between nature and non-nature, human and non-human, is just construction. The second wave believes that the earth does not belong to humans only but also non-humans and other living things. The word environment no longer means a place to be exploited by human beings, and now it is defined as a place where human beings coexist with nature and other creatures.
Analysis
The main plot of Okja is saving Okja from getting slaughtered. The CEO of Mirando Corporation, Lucy Mirando, announced that the company is now eco-friendly, natural, and Non-GMO. She is telling white lies to sell the image of a company that is “environmentally conscious”. Quite an irony for a company that promotes an eco-friendly movement is located in America. The USA is a developed country that contributes most of the carbon emissions. In 2016, the United States of America produced 5.006.302,08 Kilotons of CO2. Those who will be affected first by global warming and ice melting in the arctic are the ones who live in third world countries.
At the beginning of the movie, the audience can see the landscape of mountains and forests. All of the greenery is rarely seen in metropolitan areas. Okja and Mija live closely to nature; even Mija and her grandfather gain food directly from nature. Living far from the city indeed makes people find happiness in simplicity. A natural panorama and the sounds of water dripping, crickets, and birds reveal the peacefulness of living in a natural habitat. Moving on to the next scene, Okja shows the view of Seoul. The appearance changes 180 degrees from the former one. The streets are full of vehicles, the views of trees change into skyscrapers, people walk around fastly with the thought of “How much profit will my company gain today?”. Moreover, there must be deforestation included in building a city as sophisticated as Seoul.
Mija, a sweet child, is devastated by the fact that Okja will be taken far away from her. Her naive mind believes that Okja has a family in Chile (the lie that is told by Mirando Corporation). However, what she believes is not the way it is. Okja, the giant pig, is “sustainable” meat. Mirando is going to kill the pigs so that they can sell the meat. Ethically speaking, yes, some animals are consumed by humans.
Nevertheless, the journey the animals have gone through before getting slaughtered is unethical and against animal rights. Through this movie, Bong Joon-ho shows the truth about capitalism and the lives of factory-farmed animals. It is old news that capitalist companies will do anything to gain more profit, even if it involves selling white lies. That is what Lucy Mirando does in Okja. The reason Lucy Mirando breeds super pigs is to leave a minimal animal footprint on the environment. Mirando’s disguise tells people that the so-called super pigs are natural, safe, eco-friendly, and non-GMO. While in fact, it is the other way around. The super pigs are not only 26; there are more of them. The 26 are only the prettiest ones.
In reality, factory-farmed animals have been genetically modified to produce quicker. Sixty years ago, chicken meat did not weigh up to three kilograms. It takes up to 15 weeks for a chicken to be in a fully grown size. On the bright side, humans can eat chicken every day as they like. Notwithstanding the fact that Genetically Modified Organism (GMO) takes part in health problems and suffering for the animals. The same goes with Okja and other super pigs. They live their entire life just to get slaughtered in the end. Even before getting to their “final journey”, they have to be placed in cages that seem more like animal prisons. In addition to that, Bong Joon-ho also spotlight the customer’s demand for low-priced, high-quality meat that causes an “economic climate in which animal comfort is a lesser consideration”.
At the end of the movie, where the plot is getting tense, and Okja is being prepared to be chopped, Mija comes in at the right time and prevents Okja from getting slaughtered. Watching this movie from the beginning until the end gives an eye-opening experience to the audience. Looking at the unbreakable bond between Mija and Okja undoubtedly affects some people in a certain way. The love from Mija to Okja, vice versa, shows that human and non-human creatures can have a lifelong friendship. The decision that Mija takes during the movies is reckless, her life would come to an end during the mission. Despite the dangers she has to face, she is willing to bite the bullet. As the movie goes on, Mija eventually “learns that if money is at the root of this frightening atmosphere, it can also prevent some evils from happening.” In the end, the audience will have their own perspectives and judgment on each of the characters from the movie. The inner conflicts and decisions of the characters are not black and white; they cannot be seen simply as good or evil. All of the characters in Okja perfectly personify people’s characteristics in real life.
Conclusion
As an award-winning movie that raises issues about animal rights and consumerism, Okja does not necessarily encourage the audience to become vegan or vegetarian. As quoted from Arun Kumar (2017), “Okja doesn’t make a plea to people to embrace veganism. In fact, Mija’s favorite food happens to be chicken stew. The movie intends to once again insist on the disturbing food chain in capitalist society; to revise our inclination towards mindless consumerism.” The movie protagonist, Mija, does not live a vegan life as she still eats fish and chicken. The director, Bong Joon-ho, makes a satirical movie about capitalism and its impact on humans’ life. The company, Mirando Corporation, may be a fictitious organisation, but it is an insinuation from Joon-ho to the capitalists.
Additionally, the irony of Mirando Corporation is also shown at its finest. Labelling the company as “environmentally-conscious”, but they cage the super pigs, having capitalist companies across the world, and having colossal skyscraper buildings as the office. How can one leave a minimal carbon footprint when they are working in a luxurious building with an air conditioner turned on all day long?
Like it or not, the modern world is somehow “owned by corporates and industrial conglomerates that know no better than monetary profit, and sadly so, the future generations will have to deal with their abuse of the environment, something that Okja very pertinently and slyly puts across as a point”.
Reference:
Ahuja, Anmol. (2019, April 19). Okja, explained. The Cinemaholic. https://thecinemaholic.com/okja-ending/
Berardinelli, James. (2017, June 27). Okja (South Korea, 2017). ReelViews. https://www.reelviews.net/reelviews/okja
Joon-ho, B. (Director). (2017). Okja [Film; Netflix].
Kumar, Arun. (2017, July 5). Okja [2017]: A remarkably powerful eco-fable. High on Films. https://www.highonfilms.com/okja-2017-remarkably-powerful-eco-fable/
Neff, Michelle. (2017). 6 simple lessons we can all learn from Okja. One Green Planet. https://www.onegreenplanet.org/animalsandnature/lessons-we-can-all-learn-from-okja/
O’Connor, Kevin. (n.d). The genetically modified chicken: how we have altered ‘broiler’ chickens for profit. https://www.onegreenplanet.org/animalsandnature/the-genetically-modified-chicken-how-we-have-altered-broiler-chickens-for-profit/
Seitz, M. Z. (2017, June 28). Okja movie review & film summary. Roger Ebert. https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/okja-2017/
