MovieChat Forums > Gisaengchung (2019) Discussion > Significance of the stone?

Significance of the stone?

posted 5 years ago by jejebinks (67)
2 replies | jump to latest

Was the stone that was given to the family at the beginning worth a lot of $$? I think I remember the guy saying it was supposed to bring wealth to those who possessed it, so had they sold the stone, I’m thinking maybe they would have been richer from it and they wouldn’t have to be in such a messy situation...or maybe it was supposed to be a good luck charm, so had they kept it, money would have come to them? How did you understand the symbolism behind the stone? Since it’s also used as a weapon in the end, is it kind of like not knowing what you already have or taking it for granted?

[–] Geff (453) 5 years ago

I think it's meant to be a secret hint that the value of some objects, including all kinds of money, is based on "faith". In particular, if the objects don't have utility to humans in and of themselves.

Why is gold valuable? Gold is not valuable because of their utility to humans. Gold is not a necessary ingredient in production. Some electronics have an extremely small amount of gold (a few cents worth), but this utility does not justify its value. The value is justified because people have faith in the value.

People who hoard gold tend to repeat age old mythologies in regards to the reasoning for gold's value. But, even cursory analysis reveals that these are just dogmas. Some gold hoarders say: Gold is valuable because gold jewelry is valuable. But, why is gold jewelry valuable? It's because gold is valuable. It's recursive logic.

This ofcourse is a contrast to objects like refrigerators and vehicles which have utility to humans in and of themselves.

[–] screencaffe (10) 5 years ago

I think the significance of it is to show everything is a scam. The stone was supposed to bring wealth which the family got when they were hired by the Parks. I mean it would have been true for Ki-woo and Ki-Jung if it weren't for their greed and pushing their luck. When they went back to their flooded house, we've seen that the stone floats hinting that it might not be that real. That's why their possible luck for getting their wealth was a sham as well.