Bong Joon-ho has explained the reason behind the title of his 2019 film, revealing that “Parasite” has a dual meaning in this case.
In a Q&A session on Parasite’s home entertainment release, Joon-ho addressed some of the decisions that were made behind-the-scenes of Parasite, as he admitted that the title of the Oscar-nominated film could have been a “risky” choice for them.
“[It] was considered almost a little risky and dangerous,” he said. “Particularly the marketing team was pretty hesitant because, in Korea, the word ‘parasite’ has a very realistic and negative connotation.”
Joon-ho went on to explain that the title could be perceived in a couple of different ways, as it has a metaphorical double-meaning that could refer to either of the two central families in the South Korean dark-comedy thriller.
“Because the story is about the poor family infiltrating and creeping into the rich house, it seems very obvious that Parasite refers to the poor family, and I think that’s why the marketing team was a little hesitant,” he explained. “But if you look at it the other way, you can say that rich family, they’re also parasites in terms of labor. They can’t even wash dishes, they can’t drive themselves, so they leech off the poor family’s labor. So both are parasites.”
Due to the ongoing concern over the coronavirus, organizers of the Taipei Game Show have made the decision to postpone the annual event. It was originally scheduled to take place next week, from Feb 6 – Feb 9.
The threat of the coronavirus initially prompted organizers of the show to send a safety briefing to attendees and exhibitors, detailing temperature checks at entrances and the requirement for everyone to wear a medical mask at all times during the event.
Despite this, the decision was made to postpone the event entirely, with organizers stating that they intend to host the show later this year in summer. A spokesperson for the organizing committee acknowledged the threat of the coronavirus and the danger mass gatherings pose to its spread. Understandably, the committee made the decision to not take the unnecessary risk.
“Taipei Game Show is one of the iconic annual networking events,” the spokesperson said. “With that in mind, W.H.O. has declared global emergency as Wuhan coronavirus spreads. Considering mass gatherings like Taipei Game Show increase the chance of cluster infections, the organizing committee has decided to steer away from such unthinkable risks. We sincerely ask for exhibitors’ understanding on such a major decision.”
A new date for the rescheduled event wasn’t provided, but the event will be taking place at the same venue, with more details on specifics in the coming days.
“The location remains unchanged at Taipei Nangang Exhibition Center, Hall 1,” the spokesperson continued. “The specific time and date will be announced in the upcoming days by the organizing committee.”
The Taipei Game Show isn’t the only gaming event to be affected by the growing concern over the coronavirus. Earlier this week Blizzard cancelled Overwatch events in China for the same reasons.
When it was announced that It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia co-creator Rob McElhenney was teaming with Sunny executive producers Charlie Day and Megan Ganz to create a comedy about video game developers for Apple TV+, it was easy to expect a show rife with Sunny’s humor but set in a Silicon Valley-esque development studio. Instead, Mythic Quest: Raven’s Banquet strays far from Sunny’s signature brand of raunchy humor.
The series follows the developers of the fictional massively multiplayer online roleplaying game Mythic Quest, as the new expansion pack–Raven’s Banquet–is set to release. As the story plays out, you get to know the obnoxious creative director Ian Grimm (McElhenney) and his staff as they attempt to grow their game, while navigating the gaming world and tackling a variety of different aspects of the industry, from deals made with streamers, to their game being hacked.
The result is a half-hour comedy that pokes fun at the tech and game development industries in a playful way while managing to avoid being overly mean. The characters often butt heads, usually over issues that gamers will find familiar, such as gender representation or artistry vs. commerce. For example, when the company’s monetization expert (Danny Pudi’s Brad) feels insulted, he flips a switch and turns all of the game’s premium items free, essentially taking the game hostage and losing the company an untold amount of money.
These instances, silly as they may seem, go a long way to address the show’s overall themes. Throughout the first season of Mythic Quest, the creative team strives to find new ways for their massively multiplayer online roleplaying game to reach a broader customer base to make more money. Along the way, the artistry sometimes has to become the second priority, like during fraught online exchanges with a popular streamer, a satirical 14-year-old “piece of s***” who goes by “Pootie Shoe” (Elisha Henig).
A perfect example of this is in the pilot, when the game’s lead engineer Poppy Li (Charlotte Nicdao) designs a shovel for players in the game to use to change the landscape. It’s a tiny addition to the game, but one she is proud of. Unfortunately, Grimm becomes obsessed with the tool not being “cool” enough, while the head of monetization schemes to make as much money selling the item as possible. When the fickle but hugely influential Pootie Shoe (Elisha Henig) gets his hands on a leaked build that features the shovel, the developers face some tough choices.
The struggles between the two sides of this company feel like they’d be familiar in nearly any creative commercial endeavor. No matter what exactly is being debated, chances are, at some point, someone will ask the question, “What are you willing to sacrifice for the bottom line?” Of course, that’s not the only theme explored in during the first season of the show. Mythic Quest also touches on the sorts of issues that could be seen as common workplace occurrences, from working your way up the corporate ladder to professional jealousy.
Even when tacking all of those issues and exploring the bigger question of art vs. commerce, Mythic Quest doesn’t lose sight of the fact that first and foremost it’s a workplace comedy. While the depravity of the jokes hasn’t carried over from Always Sunny, it’s still packed with laughs. And thankfully, it features a cast that knows exactly how to deliver them.
At the head of the company is McElhenney’s Ian Grimm, an oblivious and conceited figurehead who sees himself as a genius creator. While there are moments where his instincts work out, there are many others where, without his support staff holding everything together, his company would plunge into chaos.
Rounding out the cast are David Hornsby (who Sunny fans will recognize as Rickety Cricket) as executive producer David Brittlesbee, F. Murray Abraham as lead writer C.W. Longbottom, Imani Hakim and Ashley Burch as a pair of low-ranking game testers (with a potential romance brewing between them), Caitlin McGee as Sue the Human Resources manager, and Jessie Ennis, who is especially entertaining as David’s new assistant, who happens to be very intense and territorial when it comes to Ian. There’s not a weak link among this cast.
The only real fault in the series is that some of the situations are simply a bit too outlandish. While Brad making everything free to prove a point is funny, it’s hard to believe this would happen in reality. That person would be immediately fired and sued for costing the developer millions of dollars in microtransaction revenue over a tiff with a co-worker. When it comes to TV’s best workplace comedies, from The Office to Silicon Valley, an important component is including situations that could seemingly happen. That relatability is crucial to viewers’ enjoyment, and in Mythic Quest, audiences who are intimately familiar with the game industry might find some storylines too hard to believe, despite the fact that the show’s creators collaborate with real-life game studio Ubisoft to make sure they got gaming culture right.
That said, Mythic Quest: Raven’s Banquet is a success. McElhenney and the show’s creative team have come up with an interesting and entertaining look at the video game development industry. What’s more, they use that setting to explore issues that arise when art and commerce go head-to-head in interesting ways. The cast they’ve assembled is well-suited to tackle the material and even strengthen it as they flesh out their characters and the dynamics they have with each other. If you’re going into this expecting it to be like It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, you may not be pleased. Instead, it’s a very funny show that stands on its own.
Mythic Quest: Raven’s Banquet premieres on Apple TV+ on February 7.
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The Last of Us 2 is coming out May 29, barring any further delays, and it’s at the top of most people’s lists of most-anticipated games of 2020. The art behind the game is available in a collected works, the deluxe version of which is marked down substantially right now.
Save 40% on Art of The Last of Us Part 2 Deluxe Edition
The normal version of The Art of The Last of Us Part 2 is also on sale, but the discount is a modest 10% compared to the 40% savings of the deluxe edition.
If you haven’t already preordered The Last of Us Part II, and you’re interested in learning what editions are still available and what they include, make sure to check out our Last of Us 2 preorder guide.
This review contains spoilers for The Good Place series finale, titled “Whenever You’re Ready.”
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Few sitcoms — or television shows in general, really — have ever aimed quite as high as NBC’s The Good Place. Attempting to pin down a theory of morality that can fully govern and give meaning to human existence in only 52 episodes is a Herculean (or perhaps more aptly, Aristotelian) task. It’s one that The Good Place handled with as much aplomb as humanly possible, but in its final hour the focus is no longer on ethical quandaries or saving humanity. Rather, the finale is a long-due bout of catharsis, focusing solely on the ending of Jason, Tahani, Chidi, Janet, Michael, and Eleanor’s lives in the afterlife.
At its most clinical level, The Good Place’s fourth season was about building a better afterlife. Seasons 1 and 2 were focused on unraveling the mysteries of the intricate system; Season 3 was devoted to picking apart its shortcomings. Smart writing and brilliant performances from the main cast ensured that the series never faltered despite the fact that it was never going to top that absolute zinger of a Season 1 finale.
“Whenever You’re Ready” packs an emotional punch early on as Jason (who is happily coupled with Janet and enjoying not-living in a Stupid Nick’s Wing Dump) reaches a symbolic end point by playing the perfect game of Madden with his father. It’s fitting that Jason is the first to feel ready to pass on given that his worldly concerns have always been the simplest. That doesn’t mean that they’re any less important, however, and appearances from Jason’s dad, Pillboi, and Jason’s dance crew set the cathartic tone for the rest of the episode.
The finale also does its due diligence calling back to previous characters and gags like the prophetic Doug Fawcett or the magic panda, an easter egg spawned from Jason’s Season 2 escape plan to “Catch that magic panda, use her powers!” However, the episode isn’t bogged down by quippy callbacks or guest appearances from stars like Nick Offerman or Mary Steenburgen, keeping the focus squarely on giving the main cast time to pass on.
“Whenever You’re Ready” eschews the particulars in favor of heady emotional resolutions and quiet moments between friends. In a way, it doesn’t quite feel like a classic Good Place episode: there are no life- or death-threatening stakes at place, no existential questions to be answered, and no crucial wrongs to be righted. In fact, it feels almost a bit too idyllic and tonally out of step with the season as a whole, which lingered a bit too much on new characters and dilemmas rather than honing in on relationships between the central cast. That being said, the finale course corrects a bit by focusing in on Team Cockroach (or if you prefer, the Soul Squad) itself. A 90-minute goodbye is what these characters have earned.
Tahani finds peace after reconciling with her sister-cum-archnemesis-cum-best friend Kamilah and their parents. She also masters nearly every talent known to man, choosing to take on the ultimate duty as an Architect rather than leaving. Chidi learns how to be confident in his decisions, making the ultimate choice to pass on. Michael finally gets to defer control, giving up his demon nature to live, and be judged, as a human on Earth. Jason spends a not-insignificant number of Jeremy Bearimys meditating in the forest before passing, harkening back to his early days as Jianyu the monk.
Eleanor, however, is the most heart-wrenching case. Defined by her selfishness throughout the show, her ultimate resolution is arguably the most admirable. By the time the finale hits, she’s gotten everything that she ever wanted: friends who genuinely care about her, faith from those who believe in her, an unconditional soulmate, a renewed relationship with her mother, and a margarita whenever the situation calls for one. In order to feel at peace, she has to give it all up after helping those she cares about reach self-actualization.
Just as Eleanor learns how to properly move on, we have to do the same. While fans of the series, myself included, would likely watch infinite seasons of The Good Place until our own day of judgment, the finale is ultimately so strong because it abides by its own message: in order for anything to have potent meaning, it must come to an end. Last summer, showrunner Michael Schur posted a note on the show’s official Twitter account informing fans that Season 4 would be the last, something that he decided after the series was renewed for a second season. The finale ultimately feels so satisfying because The Good Place has said everything that it needed to say. Rather than prolonging the inevitable with season after season or less potent material, it leaves us with one final note: “Take it sleazy.”
Bungie is currently advertising for a new position is an “Incubation Art Director,” one who would oversee art direction on a new IP. The job description outlines a game that sounds very different from previous Bungie titles, like Destiny 2 and Halo.
“Are you on a mission to create games that bond players together into deeply invested communities?,” the description opens. So far, so Destiny, but things change in the next lines. “Would you like to work on something comedic with lighthearted and whimsical characters?” Bungie’s games haven’t, historically, been particularly funny or whimsical.
“As the Incubation Art Director, you will define the look of a new Bungie IP and work on all aspects of art to guide a prototype on the path to production,” the description continues. “Most importantly, you will work with a fun, dedicated, and passionate cross-discipline team devoted to making a new franchise at Bungie.”
A year ago, Bungie split from publisher Activision, and has more control over its own future, and what it will develop, than it has since before the release of the original Halo in 2001. This job is asking for a candidate with serious credentials, too– they must have “At least 5 years of game art production experience, including experience in an art leadership role,” as well as a “Proven track record of delivering clear and consistent visual feedback that elevates other artists’ work.”
It’s not too much of a surprise to see Bungie expanding beyond Destiny–back in June 2018, a partnership with Chinese company NetEase saw Bungie being given $100 million to develop a non-Destiny game.
Around the time of the Activision split, analysts predicted that Destiny 3 would come in 2020. Bungie has not clarified whether they will continue to expand Destiny 2 or if they’re working on a third game in the series yet.
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During the Electronic Arts earnings call today, management shared an update on the company’s stance on supporting the Nintendo Switch. So far, EA has only released 5 games on Switch, including FIFA 18, FIFA 19, FIFA 20, Unravel Two, and Fe. But looking ahead, can fans expect more releases on Switch.
EA CFO Blake Jorgensen said EA has been “very pleased” with “how well Nintendo has done with the Switch.” Nintendo just recently announced that the Switch has passed 52.48 million units sold, which is a very strong start for the system that launched in 2017.
The executive said EA is “always” discussing ideas with Nintendo for future game support. “As the platform grows, our interest in developing for it grows,” Jorgsensen said.
Jorgensen went on to say that EA has been cautious thus far with supporting the Switch because the platform’s best-selling games are made by Nintendo. That being said, with more than 52 million consoles sold, it seems the Switch has reached a critical mass for EA.
The executive teased, “You will hear some more things” in the future about EA’s plans to support the Switch.
For more on EA’s earnings report today, check out the stories below.
With its latest patch for Destiny 2, Update 2.7.1, Bungie accidentally created more problems than it solved. The patch added a bug to the game that caused players to lose some of their upgrade materials and currencies–a big problem, especially because the issue cost players their Bright Dust, a currency they can earn in-game to buy premium items from Destiny 2’s microtransaction store, Eververse.
In response, Bungie took down its Destiny 2 servers for most of the day on Tuesday after the patch was released, and rolled back the game to before Update 2.7.1 was implemented. The developer detailed the rollback on its This Week At Bungie blog, where it explained that this is the first time it has ever had to roll the game back to an earlier state.
“Earlier this week, when we deployed 2.7.1, we discovered an issue causing players to lose various currencies. Our team immediately took action and brought the game down for maintenance while we worked to discover the source of the issue. We did this to minimize any further impact to players. We ended up doing the first-ever character rollback in Destiny’s history to ensure that no one lost any of their hard-earned materials. We’re sorry for any inconvenience caused by the unexpected maintenance and appreciated everyone’s patience while we worked to get the game back online.”
“Fix the timeline” is, of course, a joke about Destiny 2’s current content season, the Season of Dawn, which is all about using time travel to undo events and save the legendary Guardian Saint-14 from death. The rollback undid the bug and restored everyone’s materials and currencies, and Destiny 2 is functioning normally now. But the rollback means we’ll have to wait for a later patch that fixes some of the issues in 2.7.1, including some exploits for the Wormgod’s Caress and Winter’s Guile Exotics, which Bungie has disabled in the meantime.
The weekly update on Tuesday, February 4 will introduce the Season of Dawn’s next piece of content, the Empyrean Foundation. Data-mining suggests it’ll be the first stage in returning the Trials of Osiris to Destiny for the first time since 2018 (back when a similar version was known as the Trials of the Nine). In the meantime, use our Bastion guide to get Destiny 2’s latest Exotic, and check out our Corridors of Time guide to find out what you missed with the game’s recent puzzle–which required a big swathe of the community to solved and might have changed how Destiny 2 tells its story.
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Respawn’s Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order is already a hit, but EA now says the single-player Star Wars adventure is on track to hit 10 million unit sales.
During EA’s Q3 2020 financial call with investors, EA revealed that “Sales of Star Wars: Jedi Fallen Order significantly beat our expectations.” CFO Blake Jorgensen says that EA originally predicted Jedi: Fallen Order to sell between 6-8 million units for the fiscal year, but Star Wars already “hit the high end of that in the third quarter.”
EA now says that it anticipates Jedi: Fallen Order to sell “around 10 million units in the fiscal year, a very strong result for a single-player action game.”
Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order is a single-player game developed by Respawn Entertainment. The game follows Jedi-in-hiding Cal Kestis as he battles the Empire while rediscovering his Jedi training following their extermination from Order 66.
Elsewhere in the call, EA shared a few details about next-gen consoles like the PS5 and Xbox Series X. According to EA, the next-gen consoles will be ‘substantially greater’ than current-gen hardware which will lead to innovations in both games and genres.
