The Administration Theory That Could Change The Platform Forever
Upon hearing the premise of Netflix's "The Platform," it's easy to understand the allegory it's meant to function as. Basically, the movie follows prisoners, specifically Goreng (Iván Massagué), held in a vertical facility joined together by a platform in the middle of each room. Each day, the platform descends to give the people in each room food, but the people at the top of the building get their pick of portions while the people in the lower levels only receive leftovers. Sadly, the people at the top take more food than they need, typically leaving nothing for those below.
It's easy to see how the film functions as a commentary on capitalism. The people at the top (the wealthy elite) take more than they could possibly need, leaving the people at the bottom (the remaining 99%) to fight for scraps. However, there's still the matter of the Administration, i.e., the people pulling the strings in the facility.
One Redditor has come up with a theory on who the Administration could represent, and it might just change the way you view this movie upon rewatches.
A Redditor posits the Administration could be a stand-in for God
In "The Platform," there's a mysterious force pulling the strings of the haves and the have-nots. According to Redditor u/tinkertoon, there's really only one possibility for what the Administration could represent: "The Administration is a metaphor for God, and every day God sends his bounty down from the heavens, and theoretically it's supposed to be enough to feed everyone if everyone just eats their share as Imoguiri (the lady with the dog) says, but people are greedy and don't think of others, which is why by the time the platform reaches the lower levels, there's nothing left for the people there."
They go on to state how one character, namely Imoguiri (Antonia San Juan), initially has faith in the Administration, believing it to be a just force. However, as time goes on, her faith diminishes to the point where she only sees how unfair the system designed in the prison is. While looking at the Administration as outside of the system it's created is one way to look at things, some people have other ideas.
Redditor u/UtilitarianPrimate offers a different take that makes the Administration hit a lot closer to home: "The tower is capitalism (a mix of a prison, college and the workforce).The administration = the bourgeoisie/ ruling elites. (closest we see to them is head chef)." With this version, the people at the top of the prison could be seen as roughly the upper-middle class, who enjoy relative luxury without thinking of how even their actions affect those less fortunate. As is the case with most allegories, there are many ways to read this film, and it ensures it will continue to be discussed for quite some time to come.