Throughout the film, Runaway Train there are many symbols and allusions that are present if the viewer looks close enough. The main characters, Manny and Buck even have symbolism when it comes to their names. Manny quite obviously, represents a macho man and seems to enjoy doing things on his own without interference from a third party. Rankin, the Alaskan Jail's warden symbolizes the idea of categorizing and ranking people. Buck, a welter weight boxer at the jail symbolized someone who does things without thinking and going "buck wild".
What I found very interesting was the scene on the train when Manny was beating Buck very ferociously almost to the point of death. All the while, they are on a train which is hurtling at great speed to their demise. I found this dark behavior very disturbing but after thinking about it, even this scenario has symbolism in it. The train can symbolize life, a vehicle that is transporting us in one direction. And very quickly. Everyone knows that they're headed in this direction yet they choose to focus on other things in their lives, things that when we look in retrospect, seemed to have no purpose and was a waste of time such as petty fights or having grudges against people. In the end, we would all end up in the same place, so what's the point for all of this nonsense?
Runaway train had many great symbols, only a few of which had been shown in this blog. I can't say I enjoyed the plot that much but the actual ideas and thoughts that the movie provokes definitely made it a worthwhile watch.
Oh dear. You didn't enjoy the plot? This is about the most exciting movie I've ever seen. Usually, people ONLY like the plot.
ReplyDeleteYour explication of the fight scene in the cab is good. I kind of did it already in class, but you get points for listening.