What is an Allegorical Movie? | Video Essay 

What are your favourite Allegorical movies?

Perfect Blue. The idea of idolizing someone and denying their flaws is pushed to its limits - her outward image splits from her and convinces the fans she is corrupted.

Jacobs Ladder (1990). It is a beautiful and terrifying examination on the acceptance of ones inevitable death and the consequences of trying to defy that death.

Just want to say that "Snow Piercer" and "The Lobster" are two of my all time favorite movies of all times. So I absolutelly loved the video!

lmao we simply cannot let The Lobster go

In Argentina Mario Sábato, the son of the writter Ernesto Sábato, made a movie about the military dictatorship while it was on progres. "El poder de las tinieblas" 1979, it´s a great allegory about what was happening and the fact that he made it during that period makes it even better.

I love The Book of Eli (2013) and how it uses its post apocalyptic setting to illustrate the maliable nature of faith and religion. It can be used to connect with others, as guidance and for finding inner strength. Equally it can be used as a tool to manipulate and control, the lengths some will go to use it as a power or weapon to further their own reach and agenda.

Why hasn't Screened reached a million subscribers yet 😭 the content is just so top notch 👌

I have to write an essay about "allegories in romanian literature". You're ideas are quite interesting and I'm not interested as much in these movies but rather, in your interpretation of them. You present your ideas so we'll in these video essays, I can learn a lot from you. (Like seriously, I learn more from you than from my school teachers)

I really liked Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, and the zombie film Fido, which isn't exactly about zombies but uses the allegorical stereotyped "50's suburbia" as a backdrop. Iron Giant is another film that uses allegory (the giant) to discuss the cold war and the anxiety about nuclear bombs (including the distrust that the government fostered against itself). As far as allegorical shows are concerned, the show Mushi-Shi is a really good seinen show (with a movie as well) that is about interactions between strange creatures that behave more like fungus/bacteria/virii mixed with spirits (mushi) and humans. It's got a lot of interesting stories, often using allegorical themes to sharply contrast the struggle of the human characters in the episode.

the seventh seal is one of my favorite movies of all time. ingmar is a genius. he's such an inspiration

4:03 the pronunciation was on point damn

'I'm thinking of ending Things.' Really curious to know what you think of that film.

The Wailing had some pretty good allegories. I interpreted the movie as the dangers of foreign religions and evils. The futility of a village/town being safe/isolated from outside influence. Our own children being our own downfall and destruction. Very haunting stuff.

Mulhulland drive, Lost Highway, Eraserhead, Blue Velvet,... basically everything that’s David Lynch.

And I got another one: The Wall/Die Wand. Not just allegorical but very beautiful!

loved this, im writing my research paper for my Italian Cinema class on the allegorical films of Fellini and Pasolini so this is very interesting to me, keep up the good work!

I love this, as the video approach the topic from writter perspective. As trying to build not to catch one. Or at least that is what I got from the video. Symbolism always there because human brain always seeking for meaning. Allegory need to be intentional, reader could get any interpretation on something sureal. So reader will hit and miss trying to nail the writter intention. Discussion will happen searching for the best fit. If im the writter, the discussion will fill me with joy as I feel my writing give the illusion of dept. Lol

The Bothersome Man is a great example. It's kind of a mix of Vivarium and Eraserhead.

Sucker Punch is my favorite in this category.

Perfect Blue by Satoshi Kon is a fav of mine!

Lord of the Flies? Not a movie, but still well done. Edit: Nevermind, it was mentioned :)

I am not sure if it is mentioned but Seven to me is allegorical. For much of the film we follow the detectives through a run down grim covered city where it never stops raining. But in the last few minutes of the film we leave the wall of rain and dirt behind for a relative paradise of a grassy hill. It can be seen as a point of ascension, a place of true salvation, for the antagonist who had worked towards this goal the whole time.

I think 'her' and 'being John Malkovich' two of my fav movies also fits in the list

I skipped the shaving bit at first because I thought it was a commercial for dollar save club at first. God bless :-) :) :)

Wanted to say I just found your channel and I thought this video was an amazing yet simple explanation of how stories use allegory! Keep it up!

Surprised to see no mention anywhere of Annihilation. It’s an incredibly strong allegory for trauma and how it either destroys you or changes you permanently.

'this is... size ten chaos' lives rent-free in my head

loved the conclusion how you linked it with the concept of absurd, great essay as always !

this video is all ive ever wanted!! thank you screened

Dark City. A story about Jungian redemption and rebirth. A man who is on one level of reality, supposed to be an evil murderer, but on another level, isn’t. And he embarks on a journey to shed that previous false identity and forge an entirely new, heroic one. Perhaps there is something to be said about Murdock’s implanted identity of evil being essentially a lie (as though his murderous identity was a lie _because_ it was evil, and thus the nature of truth and humanity being inherently good) Perhaps there is something else to be said about the symbolism of his name: Murdock = Marduk. In Babylonian mythology Marduk was a red planet that came to destroy Tiamat, a gigantic blue water planet, via collision. And the remaining fragments of Tiamat became Earth 2.0. In the film, Murdock defeats the leader of the strangers and brings the great light of providence (sunlight) upon the new (literal) flat earth the people inhabit, symbolic of creating a new world. What happened to the old world they came from? Was it destroyed like Tiamat? On a side note, I also like how this movie pioneered the trope we see in a lot of science fiction and superhero movies now of the portal in the sky/huge beam of energy shooting up into the sky in the climax of the film.

The best thing about The Lobster is a little anecdote I can tell: I once had a date with a lovely girl I knew from uni. We played some music together, had fun, even made a spontaneous recording. And then I thought to myself: "What would be a good ending for this evening?" and asked her if she wanted to watch a movie with me. She agreed (which I was very happy about), so I went through my movie library. Which is quite big. Because I love movies and tend to watch a lot of them. And without blowing my own trumpet, consider myself a bit of a movie enthusiast. And in that moment the thought occured to me, that she simply MUST love The Lobster as much as I do, because it's inarguably a very great and while absolutely disturbing, quite a romantic movie. Well... She didn't. And the evening went as you might expect when you watch The Lobster on a date. DON'T. WATCH. THE LOBSTER. ON. A. DATE. Live and learn, I guess. :D

Im trying to write a neo-noir crime epic with heavy symbolism and allegory. Do you think I found the right channel?

Parasite is a great example of allegory in cinema. I scrolled down a bit and saw that nobody had mentioned it yet, so... Parasite manages to weave who-knows-how-many allegories into multiple, well-sustained narratives. Deserves a mention. Too soon?

I love Lord of the Flies (though imo neither movie got it as good as the book), mother! (it’s super pretentious but when you realize what the allegory is it’s like woah, also I just love the uneasy nightmare feel of it), and The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. I think Hereditary may be an allegory for mental illness also? Not sure about that one myself, but I’ve heard a lot of people suggest it and thought it might be worth mentioning because just on its own as a straightforward horror movie it’s my favorite lol.

I read somewhere that the seventh seal was a story that treats to "simulate" the life of the 60's people: the atomic bomb as the black death, the political wars as the religious wars, the existential problems of that era, etc.

The Lighthouse and Midsommar are two great examples.

signs is a really great example! I love that movie and its not about the alien invasion!

"Hereditary" is probably my most favorite allegorical film. Metaphorical demonic inheritance affects our society more than people realize. Most of us carry the burden of the sins of our parents or grandparents, especially by how we've been emotionally nurtured. This is the root of most people's daily problems. That realization is horrifying, hence the true horror in Hereditary.

Am I correct in stating, that specifically in the genre's of Horror, Sci-fi and fantasy, allegory and symbolism inherently are intertwined with them. Like they ( the genre's) cannot exist without them (allegory and symbolism) unlike other genre's.

this is such a good video! subscribed!!

mine would be: pans labyrinth and every other film from Guillermo del Toro, Vivarium(ugh, was disgustingly uncomfortable and horrifying in its own way) the handmaid's tale, snowpeircer and every other film from Bong Joon Ho, the platform as well; the allegory for me for most of the films stated above being what happens when people and their selfishness take complete control of their worlds and others around them and how our lust for control causes us to lose our humanity and operate with the mindset of; "i wasn't born like those who suffer abuse for being different, so it isn't my problem.I should just be thankful for what I have." or something similar. take, for instance, take the classism of snow piercer and the handmaid's tale. whether you are born a male/ female or born to be in the back of the train or front will be the sole determinant of your quality of life, and you have no control of that anyway, but you have to make the most of whatever 'class' you are born into.

Great video, as always

Perhaps the most brilliant execution of an allegory in film is the Cohen Brother's Barton Fink.

Superb work, man. Superb. 👍

My favorite is napoleon dynamite, its an allegory movie about being too good at kung fu but hiding to protect those closest to you from the forces of evil.

Great analysis, as always!!

Great work

Very good

Snowpiercer was a great movie. Somehow, it feels like a sequel to the original Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory movie. Wait...

The Red Balloon. Man, that brings back memories! The first time I was made aware that story is more than my tiny 8 year old brain thought it was. THEN later I realised allegory could be propaganda for the left or the right. So watch accordingly.

Vivarium is a feature length episode of inside no. 9 *CHANGE MY MIND*

@9:56 ”I have nothing to tell” is actually wrongly translated, he says I am not knowing.

I love Martin Scorsese’s The Big Shave

Antiviral is I think a perfect allegory for our culture of celebrity obsession & worship, that also works really well as a body horror mystery.

Bravo!

Fish Tank by Andrea Arnold

not a movie but Attack on Titan is an allegory of modern day Japan especially in regards to its WWII past

A shame you didn't mention LoTR as a popular counter example.

I just realized that the Netflix drama Sweet home is quite allegorical

❤️

Logan's Run (1976).

I think its interest that The Lobster was mentioned and especially when talking about social norms and if you don't fit them. But I think it's especially interesting bc David asks for a bisexual option, but he's told he can only be with a woman or a man because the bisexual option had been discontinued (if I'm remembering correctly). Those would have been his only choices anyway (unless they had non-binary people at the hotel, which I find unlikely because most likely the hotel would make them go by binary gender labels) but he chooses the heterosexual option anyway.

I noticed the video mentioned a lot of movies some consider satires. Would you guys consider a follow up analysis on satires?

Third!!

Fith

Go to Passolini movies or Peter Greenway.

Two by Satyajit Ray is a beautiful allegory on capitalism, encroachment and curbing of tribals and minorities by the upper classes. Also the US and Vietnam conflict.

The Cook, The Thief, His Wife and Her Lover is a great religious and political allegory with beautiful use of colors.

Lars fon Trier's "Antichrist". Observation of not so healthy relationships between patronizing husband and wife, abandoned in grief. Chaos reigns.

I dont know but your thumbnail looks straight up like Julien Solomita

BATMAN V SUPERMAN: DAWN OF JUSTICE IS AN ALLEGORY MOVIE.

Third

Would Midsommar be considered allegory? It symbolizes getting out of a bad relationship? That movie was probably one of the most disturbing uncomfortable movies I’ve ever seen.

The Babadook

allegorical movies are quite a risk for the filmmaker. when done wrong, like in the platform or only god forgives, it gets very cringy very fast

Well, I wouldn't call Al a grotesque, hideous work of cinema, but that's the non-judgmental side of me talking.

The original Godzilla from Japan an allegory for the consequences of nuclear destruction and disaster

It's not a movie but everything in Death Stranding is an allegory.

The latest one I've seen that comes to mind would be Guatemalan horror La Llorona. They reframed the folktale and told the horrors of genocide as an exaggerated revenge story. Love every bit of it.

Just like Tony Soprano, a very allegorical guy.

Watchmen is also very much a political allegory.

Don't Torture a Duckling Society Cube The Descent Mother! BUG It Follows RAW The Evil Within POSSUM The Lighthouse The Babadook Itsy Bitsy

Second

Southland Tales

Dil Se starring Shahrukh Khan is my favorite 🤩 it goes through Arabian myth of the seven stages of love

What is an allegorical movie? Something no one can do right anymore

come on, we all know snowpiercer is about willy wonka or so youtube wants us to believe...

Salò e le 120 giornate di Sodoma by Pier Paolo Pasolini is an allegorical film.

So is "metaphor" the same thing as "allegory"? The 2000 film "Chocolat" was a total "allegory" for capitalism and the free market. I found it most disturbing. It was like neo-liberal capitalist propaganda. I'm not a communist, but I don't think corporations or the "chamber of commerce" crowd should be above the laws of community standards. The films message is that corporations should be able to do whatever they want, and they should be able to set the morals for the community, no matter how offensive or detrimental it is to the community. In other words, the films message was business should trump community concerns -- one of the most disturbing messages. And they wrapped this message up in the guise of "entertainment". A cute harmless storyline, about a vulnerable single-mother who tries to sell chocolate in a new town.

An inconvenient truth. Al gore movie.

Vivarium is bad