Parasite and the Joys of a Clean Home (No Spoilers)

I watched Parasite (2019) recently and besides finding it possibly the most traumatizing movie I have ever seen, I was also struck by how the rich family is unable to cook, clean, or drive for themselves, and so they hire others to do these tasks for them. The people they hire have little choice but to participate in the alienation of their labor for the benefit of the rich family, even to the point of being coerced to do tasks that they weren't hired for.

There's a lot more going on in the story of course, but I was struck by the beautiful, spacious, and immaculate house the rich family possesses. It left me with such a longing--not for that house specifically, but for a home that I could call my own. This is not a new feeling, really. There's a lot of things I like about living in apartments, but there's also the constant reminder that it's not really yours, that you aren't at liberty to do whatever you like with the space, and that you have to regularly pay a steep price just to be allowed to stay there.

But there was one aspect of the rich family's home that I admired that had nothing to do with home ownership or any property of the building itself: how clean it was. And it occurred to me that this was because they had a housekeeper who performed all the cleaning tasks for them. Neither husband nor wife ever cleaned their own home, and the children were never asked to perform any chores. The cleanliness of their home was thus due entirely to the housekeeper's labor.

However, it also occurred to me that not only am I capable of cleaning my own space, but that doing so is the only way for my space to be clean without the alienation of someone else's labor. And that though the task itself is not one I am particularly skilled at or enjoy, that I always greatly appreciate the results.

Which is how I came to do a thorough cleaning of my bathroom today. I am greatly enjoying the extra cleanliness of the space. I hope to do more cleaning as leftist praxis soon.

Toor Dal Recipe

Toor Dal Recipe

I made this with some naan recently, and greatly enjoyed it.

I used a jalapeño for the green pepper, which may not have been what was intended, but the flavor turned out fine.  I also used ground cumin instead of cumin seeds since I don't have the seeds and I left out the bay leaf and fenugreek.  I also left out the salt.  Other than that, I used the same ingredients.

NOTE: For a gluten-free version, make sure that the asfoetida is gluten-free (some contain an anti-caking agent with gluten).  You can also leave the asfoetida out.  It's not essential, but it does add a nice flavor.