THE PLATFORM, Cruel or Humane?

There are three types of people. The ones above, the ones below, the ones that fall.Those opening lines are precisely what describes this Spanish film. How the status of society can greatly affect the whole because in the real world, society is divided into classes that we can see directly. Like the dark comedy Parasite , The Platform also tests people's guts by touching directly on how heavy the impact of a class difference in society is in a very unique and new concept.

In the first scene we see several cooks who are busy preparing food. The violin is gracefully played while the cooks quickly and swiftly prepare a variety of foods under the direct supervision of their head cook. We can see the fish that looks luxurious, the soup that looks tantalizing, and the cakes that are beautifully arranged can be seen. Who are these luxury foods prepared for? It seems that the residents of a hole are named “Vertical Self-Management Center” or commonly abbreviated as VSMC.

VSMC is shaped like a very tall tower, with each level having a large hole where it is used to transport food from level 0 - the top level - to the lowest level. So at level 0, the food will be prepared to be brought down to the lower level where the occupants of level 1 can eat freely the food that has been prepared and leave for the level below it. Such systems often result in conflict, in which the top occupants can eat all the food that has been provided, leaving almost nothing for each of the foods across each level.

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And enter our main character, who amazingly has the name Goreng (Iván Massagué). He awakens at level 48, with a classmate who also has a very unique name, Trimagasi (Zorion Eguileor). Trimagasi explained that each month, they will occupy a different level. They also should not store food if the board has passed their level because their cells will either increase in temperature or decrease, which will eventually cause them to burn or freeze to death.

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Even the concept of the building itself is full of criticism of how a society works. How, even though they are both residents in the same building, the difference in level alone can cause conflicts that have very long consequences. How just one person can break the chain of relationships of a society, such as in the scene where Baharat (Emilio Buale Coka) - another prisoner - wants to climb to the top of the level. He threw the rope upwards which was accepted by the residents above, but when he was climbing he was not helped and was instead released, which made Baharat fall back down again. The scene, which lasts only a few minutes, means that in society, if there is only one person who does not cooperate, the society collapses.

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Not only is the shape of the building smart and unique, but also how clever this film is to use food as the main enemy of the residents. During his interview with Filmmaker , director Galder Gaztelu-Urrutia said, “The food here is treated as a character, which is the antagonist of the prison architecture. At the highest level, food is an extravagant, almost erotic, luxurious passion. It is perfect to be tarnished, destroyed, until in the end it becomes something despicable at the lowest level. "

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How not, humans really need food. Regardless of class, caste or status, humans need food to live. On The Platform , food is seen not only as an object to eat, but also as an occupant's status. If they are at the top, then they can eat as luxuriously as possible without the slightest stain. If it is below, they are lucky if there are still bones or food left, even if it has not been tarnished by the other residents. If the food was completely depleted by the time the board touched their level, then they would act - as Trimagasi said - "eat or be eaten."

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The Platform is indeed a film that is sometimes quite difficult to watch, because it contains a lot of scenes that are quite vile and brutal, and that is what Galder Gaztelu-Urrutia wants to aim at. "If the hole (VSMC) is a picture for our society, it cannot hide its violence. It has to show how we tear each other apart. as a society are only selfish and always ready to destroy others for safety, no matter what. is there another way that makes more sense.

Films like this are indeed a very interesting topic of discussion, suitable for discussion with other audiences. The aim of this film is indeed to open the minds of each viewer, and of course each viewer can perceive different meanings. What did the filmmaker really want to say? What do they really want to criticize? The fragility of a society? Class differences that are still very strong in society?

Everything is sadistically poured out in this film through something we are not even grateful for every day, namely through food. This film also asks us important questions. Is what the residents doing there really cruel treatment? Or are they just doing it because they have a human nature, which is to survive?

The film The Platform has been running since the end of March and can be watched immediately on the Netflix streaming service . At least try to watch and reflect on what you caught.