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Mashable 2019 Replays: From 'Gully Boy' To 'Knives Out', 8 Movies That Prove 2019 Was All About Tackling Classism


A lot of movies in 2019 shone a harsh light on the topic of class warfare and it's time to thank those filmmakers for doing so.

By Pramit Chatterjee

As a guy hailing from a middle class family (and that too the type of middle class that lives in a small town like Siliguri. I don’t even know which category we will be put into in a metro city) I have always had a level of disdain whenever a movie has put their characters in the upper crust of the society to tell their story. It robbed away all sense of relatability, yes. But in addition to that, it made me feel that the writers just took the easy way out by giving their characters so much to fall back on. There were little to no stakes and hence I felt that that movie isn’t made for me. Thankfully, in 2019, a lot of my complaints decreased because of the shift in perspective as filmmakers were telling stories that urged the upper class to check their privileges and motivated everyone else to rise above the constraints put on them.

So, here’s a list of all those films that expanded the horizons of the medium of entertainment and managed to ruffle the fabric of the society we live in:

1. Knives Out (dir. Rian Johnson)

Before getting into this Rian Johnson classic, I was hearing murmurs about the movie’s razor-sharp take on the problem of class divide in America. And I couldn’t figure out for the life of me that how can a murder-mystery set in a house be about classism. But all my doubts went straight out of the window when Johnson pitched a Latinx housekeeper, Marta Cabrera, against a Caucasian, upper class family of the Thrombeys. Don’t worry, the movie is a very interesting thriller. However, its commentary on how the people who pretend to take care of you because you are weak and fragile will turn on you the moment you match up to their status, financially or otherwise, is simply mind-blowing! In addition to that there’s the final frame that’s basically a “f*ck you” to the upper class.

SEE ALSO: Knives Out Review - Rian Johnson's Delicious Murder Mystery Is Worth Multiple Re-watches

2. Parasite (dir. Bong Joon Ho)

The last two movies that Bong had made, Okja and Snowpiercer, before Parasite were about class divide. So, I was kind of confused about how he’s going to top that without the use of some science-fiction element. Well, guess I was wrong again because the man crafted one of the best thriller-dramas by pitting a lower-class family against that of an IT company CEO’s. In doing so, the movie not only shows how gullible and insensitive people who were born with silver spoons up their arses can be, sometimes unintentionally because they were brought up that way, but also how determined those who had to struggle all their life can be. What I also love about Parasite is that it goes a level deeper, both literally and figuratively, how people belonging to the lower class can discriminate against those even less privileged than them.

3. Aadhaar (dir. Suman Ghosh)

The actual Aadhaar scheme introduced by the Government was meant to unify India in terms of identity. It would allow every Indian to get access to every single benefit in the country that they deserved. Unfortunately, the scheme was misused in multiple ways and Aadhaar, the movie did a brilliant job of highlighting every facet of it. It showed how two kinds of India lives within our country, one in the cities and another in the villages, and how the policy makers are oblivious of that fact. It showed how the pros and cons of education and the lack of it. And finally, it showed how the rich can turn on the poor, both positively and negatively, in order to save their image. I will admit that Aadhaar is inherently funny as it attempts to be a satire. However, there’s some haunting imagery and some gut-wrenching acting by Viineet Kumar that will stay with you.

SEE ALSO: Aadhaar Review - Suman Ghosh's Take On Class Divide Is Hilarious And Important

4. Joker (dir. Todd Phillips)

Every time someone takes on the role of the clown prince of crime, you can bet your arse that there’s going to be a sh*t ton of opinions and controversies floating around. Since the character’s latest iteration was being portrayed by the Joaquin Phoenix, I had no doubt that he was going to nail the role. What I was surprised about though was how the filmmakers managed to turn the rise of Batman’s biggest enemy into a story about the oppressed rising against his oppressors. It showed Thomas Wayne as a Donald Trump-esque, elitist prick who clearly is two-faced as hell. It depicted Fleck/Joker as a victim of the society’s atrocities. And while I personally don’t agree with the final imagery where Joker’s depicted as a people’s hero after killing a person, but I think it sends a message: you don’t f*ck with the poor.

SEE ALSO: Joker Review - Joaquin Phoenix Holds Together A Beautiful Yet Problematic Film

5. Ready or Not (dir. Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett)

Unless you haven’t watched the movie, I am sure you will be as surprised as I am after seeing this in this list instead of a ‘best horror-comedies of the year 2019’ list. To be honest, even I was surprised how much more this movie really is than it meets the eye. It pretended to be a smaller and funnier version of the hunger games, except everyone is after one person. However, as the story unfolded itself, I realised that it is layered and a pretty visceral commentary on the dark insides of the upper cast and the lows they will stoop to in order to protect their fragile structure from someone who isn’t even looking to take over their wealth. One can argue that the finale is too absurdist but tell me something, if your in-laws and even the person who you thought was the love of your life were classist pigs, you wouldn’t their brains to explode gloriously? Come on!

SEE ALSO: Ready Or Not Review - Samara Weaving Attacks Classism & Marriage Till It's Covered In Blood

6. Article 15 (dir. Anubhav Sinha)

Article 15 is more about caste divide than class divide. But in rural India, heck even in urban India, caste divide is a huge factor for the class divide in India. And by hitting at the heart of it, Sinha exposes the underlying misogyny, identity politics and crime that’s eating away India every single second. It packs a lot of punch with the help of some powerful performances from its cast i.e. Ayushmann Khurrana, Sayani Gupta, and Manoj Pahwa. Although I didn’t have the courage to rewatch the movie recently, I can confirm that two scenes are burned into my brain. One is the altercation between Ayan and the rest of the officers who are trying to explain the various caste divisions, unable to understand that Ayan is pointing out the ludicrousness of it all. The second one is Ayan walking with a copy of Article 15 while ‘Vande Mataram’ while the voice-over reads out the details (I genuinely think it’s the most patriotic cinematic moment in India in 2019).

SEE ALSO: Article 15 Review - Ayushmann Khurrana’s Crime-Thriller Takes On Casteism In India

7. Us (dir. Jordan Peele)

What can I say about Peele’s second movie that hasn’t been said already? That the movie takes the horror genre and bends it in ways it hasn’t been bent before in order to expose that we are the real monsters? Or that Peele uses beautiful symbolism to show how addictive materialism can be and if someone gets a taste of it, they might not want to leave it for the sake of someone else’s well being, even if they’ve risen from the same state as that ‘someone’? Or how it is a cautionary tale for the upper class living in their glass houses to not push the underprivileged and the working class close to hell because when they will rise, it’s likely that they’ll not be handle the heat? All that’s been said? Well, everyone can use a bit of reminding.


8. Gully Boy (dir. Zoya Akhtar)

Time for some atonement. The first time that I watched Gully Boy, I didn’t like it. That could because of whatever privileges I enjoy or the clear cultural divide between West Bengal and Mumbai. It’s not that I didn’t understand or relate the class struggle, the restrictions that come with bearing the burden of providing for your family and doing your studies and following your dreams or watching people going into posh bars while all you can do is wander around in an attempt to get a peek inside. It’s just that I couldn’t gel with the body language and lingo of the protagonists. However, 6 months of seeing the cultural impact of Gully Boy in Mumbai completely changed my perspective and allowed me to see this masterpiece in the same light, but brighter. My favourite scene from it is always going to be Murad measuring Sky’s kitchen. It’s way too humbling to ignore or forget.

SEE ALSO: Gully Boy Review - Zoya Akhtar’s ode to gully rap is a goddamn mic drop of a film

Movies are more than just entertainment. If you want entertainment, you can mix up a couple of scenic locations, add some genetically beautiful people dance in them, paste a paper-thin plot onto it and call it a movie. But that’s not movies should be. Given its importance in our country and all over the world, movies need to be more than that. It needs to connect with the people and shine a harsh light on what’s happening around them and not deviate them from the reality they exist in for a change. And I think these 8 movies have not only succeeded in that particular endeavour, but also paved the way for future storytellers to attack the plague of class divide that’s eating us up until it’s banished.

Cover artwork by Dhawal Bhanushali/Mashable India