Parasite made history this month by becoming the first foreign-language movie to win the coveted award.
South Korean film director Bong Joon Ho poses with his engraved awards (Photo by VALERIE MACON / AFP)
President of United States Donald Trump slammed the recently concluded Academy Awards on Thursday for awarding the best picture to South Korean movie Parasite.
Addressing a rally in Colorado Springs, Colorado, the Republican said, “By the way, how bad were the Academy Awards this year — did you see? ‘And the winner is a movie from South Korea’ — what the hell was that all about?” Trump said to a crowd in Colorado Springs, Colorado. “We got enough problems with South Korea with trade. On top of it, they give them the best movie of the year? Was it good? I don’t know.” The crowd responded with loud boos.
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Trump went on to say, “Let’s get Gone With the Wind, can we get, like, Gone With the Wind back, please?” in a reference to the 1940 Best Picture winner, which is set on a slave plantation during the Civil War and tells the story of the daughter of a Georgia plantation owner during and after the Civil War, has long been criticized for its depiction of relationships between black slaves and their white masters.
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Trump goes off on the Oscars for giving Best Picture to Parasite because it’s a South Korean movie pic.twitter.com/GUGKdExTbw
— Claudia Koerner (@ClaudiaKoerner) February 21, 2020
Parasite made history this month by becoming the first foreign-language movie to win the coveted award. Directed by Bong Joon-ho, the movie also swept the Oscars for Best Director, Best Original Screenplay, and Best International Feature Film.
The film’s distributor NEON reacted to Trump’s comments as they tweeted, “Understandable, he can’t read.”
Understandable, he can’t read.#Parasite #BestPicture #Bong2020 https://t.co/lNqGJkUrDP
— NEON (@neonrated) February 21, 2020
Director Bong Joon-ho who also won the Golden Globe for Best Foreign Language Film, in his acceptance speech had said, “Once you overcome the one-inch tall barrier of subtitles, you will be introduced to so many more amazing films”.
The South Korean director and the movie’s star cast have become a national pride in their home country, with South Korean President Moon Jae-in meeting the Parasite team and congratulating them for their feat.
Parasite depicts stories of two families from different class backgrounds and how their lives clash and result in dark revelations.
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