Rebecca Xun: "Dear Vina Jie-Min Prasad: Snowpiercer and the Sleeping Allegory"

Dear Vina Jie-Min Prasad: Snowpiercer and the Sleeping Allegory

By Rebecca Xun

            There are more eclectic auteur directors than Bong Joong Ho, and his work isn’t something you’d immediately point to as fairy tale-like nor ballet-like. Yet, while I was watching Snowpiercer and its hypnotic rhythmed trek through the train, I couldn’t help find myself comparing it precisely to those two mediums. And it’s precisely because of this connection that makes the ending of Snowpiercer (as much as the end of a Swan Lake performance or a rendition of Cinderella) so immensely satisfying.

Jack Zipes in The Oxford Companion to Fairytales notes that “the traditional association of classical ballet with the fairy tale is based [...] on a fundamental affinity between the two art forms.” To start with, the plots are supremely simple; in the case of Snowpiercer, earth has plunged into an ice age caused by global warming where the only human inhabitants live in one massive train the elites live extravagant lives in the front cars, while the “scum” inhabit the tail in squalid and brutal conditions. Captain America (or should I say, Curtis Everett) leads a revolt to lead his fellow tail passengers to the front of the train where they can seize control of the engine, and thus of the train. All this to say -- keep moving right, beat up anyone who gets in the way. Zipes continues that both fairy tales and ballet are “constructed as highly formalized narratives which make extensive use of repetition and tell their stories primarily through the physical actions of their characters.” Because the film is South Korean-Czech produced, and the other main characters feature South Korean security expert Minsu and his clairvoyant daughter, Yona, there is less emphasis on dialogue. The little dialogue that there is only serves to further accentuate the movie’s already stark visuals -- whether that be the disco thunder of the middle class trains showcasing the lack of class consciousness amongst the petty bourgeois or the vicious fight scenes between the guards and the rebel army representing the bloody class warfare necessary to dismantle the system.

One of the last components that Zipes mention is the element of fantasy. By its very nature, he contends, ballet contains an element of fantasy since “dancers seem to float in mid-air as easily as butterflies; opera singers, despite Wagner’s attempt to get his fleet of Valkyries off the ground, cannot” and the mythological stories and characters that unfolds in both mediums obviously contains fantastical elements. In the end, Minsu kills the train conductor while Yona lights a bomb fuse -- but Curtis and Minsu are forced to sacrifice themselves to protect Yona and Timmy from the explosion. The blast triggers an avalanche that derails the train, and Yona and Timmy emerge from the wreck, apparently the only survivor. The last image we see is a polar bear in the distance, proof that life exists outside the train.

Such an image is transfixed like how a ballerina transforms into a supernatural being, elevated en pointe. Zipes describes the fairy bride legend as a dramatization of “a central dilemma of romanticism -- the search for the unattainable ideal, and its often tragic outcome.” With the blinding white of the exterior in contrast to the muted earth tones or highly saturated neon of the interior of the train, the polar bear (itself being a mythical creature) was deeply moving. The entire allegory of capitalism that was breathed life by the various characters and settings came together in a still image at the end. Indeed, in Undine (1811), Taglioni gave his sprite the ability to return James’s life, and this humanization not only “increased the complexity and dramatic interest of the romantic ballet, but sometimes made possible a happy ending.” Such a human artistic element brought this happier ending to the fantastical political theory I think.

I particularly enjoyed this ending because it was tragic, yes, it was honest that real destruction and suffering are necessary to bring down capitalism (if I failed to mention this, Snowpiercer is a delightful allegory about capitalism), and it asks if it’s a price that the current generations in power (or who would be after revolution) are willing to pay for the “train babies” that will inherit the earth. And it said yes. And it said that there is proof of life outside the prison of the system. If a story can make me feel that dread-like ichor in the veins, yet light-headed and fantastical all at the same time, it’s done its work.