While I'm in the homestretch of completing my PULP FICTION screenplay & film dissertation (Part 3 coming soon!), I happened upon this little gem during the movie. Scene: Lance and Vincent are tending to an overdosed Mia in Lance's "living" room. Two board games are clearly visible during the adrenaline-fueled chaos--- Operation and The Game of Life. This implies a very clever wink and a nod to the task at hand: Performing an operation to save Mia's life.
Feel free to share other examples of symbolism you may have stumbled upon during your action-packed screenwriting / movie-viewing lives.
Brock has left the building.
1 person likes this
I hear what you're saying M, totally possible! That's what I love about applied theory and lit studies. Unless the people are alive and can tell us about it, we will always wonder. It's also the beauty of a collaborative process like filmmaking. Anyone can contribute. Though I personally feel the specific Tarantino example is more of visual sarcasm or dark coincidental humor than it is symbolism.
4 people like this
I never noticed the board games! Thanks for pointing them out, Bill Brock!
I try to add symbols in my scripts whenever I can. Sometimes I figure them out during outlining, and sometimes I don't figure them out until I write or rewrite a script.
Jordan Peele's movies are packed with symbolism. Example: In "Get Out," when the White guests arrive, they're wearing black and riding in black vehicles to symbolize their desire to be Black people/their desire to be in Black bodies.
2 people like this
You know, Holly Grail could just be a cup after all...I don't get brainstormed into symbolism when I write...I figure it's mostly actors/directors job...here's an example...when I wrote "Elevation 404" I was inspired by a "Twilight Zone: The Movie" intro, with Aykroyd and that other guy driving in a van...I never mentioned this to the director, yet the opening shot of the movie is swarm of stars, pan down to the open road - an exact Twilight Zone move intro...spooky, huh?
1 person likes this
Maurice Vaughan Agreed, M. I usually happen upon symbols as I write. No pre-planning involved. Having only seen the movie once before, it was odd that I happened to catch the board games only during the second viewing. Will definitely have to revisit GET OUT as well. That thing was a wild ride! I do recall having some suspension of disbelief issues near the end, though. Very difficult to believe our antagonist would have the strength to even STAND after getting impaled by antlers! Also had a major problem with a character fully mobile following a shotgun blast to the gut. Those are the types of films I call, "90- Percenters." 90% of the film is GREAT, only to be destroyed by the remaining 10%.
1 person likes this
Dan MaxXx . Ah, Hitchcock and his blonde damsels in distress. Talk about a "Living Hell" on a movie set. He definitely went out of his way to absolutely DESTROY Tippi Hedren's once- promising career. In a recent interview with '60s child actor Billy Mumy, he recalls Hitchcock as a total jerk on set. Didn't treat children well and had ZERO patience for them.
I have to revisit GET OUT too, Bill Brock. I don't remember the antlers or shotgun blast. But who knows? Chris could've been running on adrenaline.
2 people like this
Kiril Maksimoski I caught the ELEVATION 404 trailer on YouTube and loved it! Is the entire short available to watch? And, yes! I do recall that creepy opening to TWILIGHT ZONE!!
1 person likes this
Thanks Bill, but unfortunately I'm not sure where u can find the full version...it's a 2015 film, so its show around time probably faded...