Reining over the top 10 movies on Netflix in Pakistan, the Ramin Bahrani directorial The White Tiger is currently at number 1 and has been there since its release. The movie follows the rag to riches story of a young man named Balram, who comes from a small village in Bihar and dreams of elevating his social status. What makes The White Tiger different from The Slumdog Millionaire, another film based on an Indian boy with the same backdrop of impoverished India, is that it focuses on the intricate details that make the class divide in the country so apparent. Unlike Parasite, an Oscar winning film that focused on class divide, The White Tiger also deals with issues such as the discrimination of Muslims, the caste system in India and the corrupted bureaucracy.
If you like this trope and films that tackle social issues, here is a list of 10 films that you can watch.
Parasite
https://youtu.be/5xH0HfJHsaY
The most obvious pick is the Bong Joonho directorial Parasite. This 2019 movie is a dark comedy that portrays the lives of two families, the rich Parks and the poor Kims. The Kims slowly infiltrate the lives of the rich family and while morally you are bound to judge the way they go about doing their jobs, you also realise how deep social injustice runs in our society.
The Platform
https://youtu.be/RlfooqeZcdY
While we’re talking about class divide, the film with the most on the nose commentary on classes and capitalism is the Spanish movie, The Platform. The platform is set in a dystopian world where inmates in a vertical prison are given food on a platform that stays on their floor for only a few seconds. The ones on the upper floors obviously get the most food while the ones below starve to death.
Roma
https://youtu.be/OIClGSY5_tY
Just like in The White Tiger, the protagonist of Roma is shown working for a rich family. Cleo is the house help for a family of six, a couple and their four children. However, unlike Balram’s case, Cleo is happy with her job and the family she works for treats her as if she’s part of the family. But still, the differences between their class and Cleo’s are apparent.
Knives Out
https://youtu.be/xi-1NchUqMA
This whodunit thriller follows the mystery of the murder of a wealthy man. Conflicts emerge when the family of the man learns that the sole inheritor of his vast wealth is his young immigrant nurse and not themselves.
Serious Men
https://youtu.be/naXf8R1aOik
The only Indian film on this list, Serious men, the Nawaz Uddin starrer features the actor in the role of a Dalit man who takes advantage of the special rights given to minorities and tries to pass his son off as a prodigy in several subjects.
Us
https://youtu.be/hNCmb-4oXJA
Horror is a genre that is a favorite for filmmakers to make a film with social commentary on. Not only the social evils terrify you but the premise of the film also gets you thinking. Us follows the story of a family that gets attacked by their own doppelgangers.
Sorry To Bother You
https://youtu.be/XthLQZWIshQ
Boots Riley’s Sorry to bother you is that one film that captures how capitalism affects all of us, be it a middle class man doing a blue collar job or a homeless man, perfectly. It’s commentary on the class divide is modest and subtle at first but after the hour mark the film makes bold statements on how capitalism uses our body and labor.
The Florida Project
https://youtu.be/rweWF2wA2eY
This mother daughter duo film shows how people living in poverty and who are near the brink of homelessness survive. What makes this film so harrowing and beautiful is that the duo lives in a motel behind Disneyland and big mansions. This rich backdrop makes the poverty all more apparent and ugly.
Shoplifters
https://youtu.be/9382rwoMiRc
This Japanese film isn’t exactly a social commentary. It’s really subtle on how it portrays difference and morals. The movie follows the story of a family that shoplifts to survive.
The Pursuit of Happiness
https://youtu.be/DMOBlEcRuw8
This Will Smith starrer maybe a tad bit too sentimental but the way it shows how hard it is to get a white collar job and live the American dream is perfect.
If you like this trope and films that tackle social issues, here is a list of 10 films that you can watch.
Parasite
https://youtu.be/5xH0HfJHsaY
The most obvious pick is the Bong Joonho directorial Parasite. This 2019 movie is a dark comedy that portrays the lives of two families, the rich Parks and the poor Kims. The Kims slowly infiltrate the lives of the rich family and while morally you are bound to judge the way they go about doing their jobs, you also realise how deep social injustice runs in our society.
The Platform
https://youtu.be/RlfooqeZcdY
While we’re talking about class divide, the film with the most on the nose commentary on classes and capitalism is the Spanish movie, The Platform. The platform is set in a dystopian world where inmates in a vertical prison are given food on a platform that stays on their floor for only a few seconds. The ones on the upper floors obviously get the most food while the ones below starve to death.
Roma
https://youtu.be/OIClGSY5_tY
Just like in The White Tiger, the protagonist of Roma is shown working for a rich family. Cleo is the house help for a family of six, a couple and their four children. However, unlike Balram’s case, Cleo is happy with her job and the family she works for treats her as if she’s part of the family. But still, the differences between their class and Cleo’s are apparent.
Knives Out
https://youtu.be/xi-1NchUqMA
This whodunit thriller follows the mystery of the murder of a wealthy man. Conflicts emerge when the family of the man learns that the sole inheritor of his vast wealth is his young immigrant nurse and not themselves.
Serious Men
https://youtu.be/naXf8R1aOik
The only Indian film on this list, Serious men, the Nawaz Uddin starrer features the actor in the role of a Dalit man who takes advantage of the special rights given to minorities and tries to pass his son off as a prodigy in several subjects.
Us
https://youtu.be/hNCmb-4oXJA
Horror is a genre that is a favorite for filmmakers to make a film with social commentary on. Not only the social evils terrify you but the premise of the film also gets you thinking. Us follows the story of a family that gets attacked by their own doppelgangers.
Sorry To Bother You
https://youtu.be/XthLQZWIshQ
Boots Riley’s Sorry to bother you is that one film that captures how capitalism affects all of us, be it a middle class man doing a blue collar job or a homeless man, perfectly. It’s commentary on the class divide is modest and subtle at first but after the hour mark the film makes bold statements on how capitalism uses our body and labor.
The Florida Project
https://youtu.be/rweWF2wA2eY
This mother daughter duo film shows how people living in poverty and who are near the brink of homelessness survive. What makes this film so harrowing and beautiful is that the duo lives in a motel behind Disneyland and big mansions. This rich backdrop makes the poverty all more apparent and ugly.
Shoplifters
https://youtu.be/9382rwoMiRc
This Japanese film isn’t exactly a social commentary. It’s really subtle on how it portrays difference and morals. The movie follows the story of a family that shoplifts to survive.
The Pursuit of Happiness
https://youtu.be/DMOBlEcRuw8
This Will Smith starrer maybe a tad bit too sentimental but the way it shows how hard it is to get a white collar job and live the American dream is perfect.