‘Parasite’ Releases Backgrounds for Your Next Zoom Call

If there’s one good thing to come out of 2020, it’s that day South Korean film Parasite took home four awards, including Best Picture, during the Oscars. A huge part of the film’s appeal lies in its set design. The house where most of the story takes place was built especially for the movie and is a character on its own. Now, you too can pretend to live there. Kind of.

On Tuesday, June 2, Parasite’s Japanese Twitter account posted official backgrounds people can use for video calls.

“To everyone who is working hard from home…We present to you five virtual background images you can use in video conferences or online drinking sessions with your friends,” the tweet reads. “From feeling like a millionaire to living like a family in an underground apartment…please enjoy your time at home.”

The five photos available for download are familiar scenes from the movie, which tells the story of the Kim family, who lives in a rusty underground apartment in Seoul, and how they con their way into working for the rich Park family. The film sheds light on a serious topic — the class divide in South Korea — but has also become a source of fun pop culture references and memes. With the Zoom backgrounds, you can now pretend to:

Sit on the Park family’s lawn.

Be an art therapist like Jessica.

Lounge and eat ram-don in the spacious living room.

Make your way down the secret basement.

Or live like the Kims.

Parasite and its director Bong Joon Ho made history after winning 174 international awards since it premiered in 2019. Apart from being the first foreign language film to win Best Picture in the Academy Awards, it was also the first South Korean film to win the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival in 2019. Many see these accomplishments as a win for Asian representation in media.

With people staying home, production companies have been releasing photos from beloved movies and video games that people can use as Zoom backgrounds.

The famous Japanese animation studio Studio Ghibli has released a series of images from their iconic films — such as My Neighbor Totoro and Spirited Away — for people to use in video calls.

Disney has also released a series of photos from their classics including Star Wars, Finding Nemo, Toy Story, and Ratatouille.

Other than movies, Super Mario Odyssey, a popular Nintendo Switch game, and Final Fantasy VII have also released Zoom backgrounds so users can live in the world of their favorite games.

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