Metaphor?

It doesn't mean anything really. It is merely a reference to the fact that the main character Stan works in a slaughterhouse.
I suppose you could say it makes allusions to American society being the killer and African Americans being the sheep, but as it is a realism text, what you see is generally what you get. Hope that helps.

It is not a metaphor. It is just a literal description. I saw the director once and he talked about how the got the idea for the story. He sat next to a guy on a bus once and the guy worked in a slaughterhouse.



>> An armadillo could be a
better president than Bush. <<

Saw it last night. the cast was there. The actor who played stan said it was a metaphor for how people are treated. he was in the film, so i'll let him have his say. to me the movie is about people surviving. it isn't directly about racism and blames no one for the predicament of these characters. I saw stan as a strong man who was surviving by killing sheep. now the metaphor could be what we 'kill' in order to survive. he kills sheep, what do you kill? he was also a man who is feeling the pressures of being a dad and bread winner. he is not fulfilled in either job. early on he says he can't sleep so he counts sheep. proof of lack of satisfaction over his job and lot in life? i dunno. I'm not real organized here, but the racism metaphor seems very tangential to the rest of the movie.

Just saw this tonight, and I'd say that the sequencing of cuts between kids and sheep is not coincidental. The sheep and the kids are both obviously in danger almost all the time, and Stan is in a position to watch over both of them, attempting to guide them to their respective destinies. I think that this makes Stan a killer of sheep in one sense, but also a sheep, in that his environment is all but killing his soul.

I was tired and almost dozed off in the first half of this film, but something clicked for me in the second half and I was absolutely enthralled. The film is like a fine wine. Probably better now than when it was made.

A few critical notes: poor sound, and what was up with all the heads cut off? Wait. . .a kid's POV?

I know that someone already explained this, but I'll reiterate what has been said, and comment on a few other things.

Killer of Sheep is part of a growing body of independent film that eschews things like symbolism, metaphor, and linear narrative structure. Those mechanics are considered to be the artifice of the Hollywood film, which uses these tools to push the view of the director/screenwriter on to you. They are tools of rhetoric taken from literature, a clever means of suggesting something that the author could simply tell you. They are used by the author to digest reality down into what they think is the truth of it, when really, symbols, metaphors, and allegory are only internally consistent, and may actually say nothing of the external reality.

Charles Burnett, as the screenwriter, director, cinematographer, and editor of this film, has stated that he only wanted to depict life in a way that withheld judgment or immediate intellectual comprehension. Like life, this kind of naturalistic cinema presents complexity that at first appears chaotic, maybe even stupid, but becomes assimilated into your experience over time, much like life. Burnett wants you to experience truth over time, rather than intellectually understand it immediately. The scenes, or vignettes from Killer of Sheep, are deliberately structured and ordered to elude your immediate comprehension. There is no character development, and no hidden meaning. Metaphor is the film-maker imposing their subjective understanding of reality, which Burnett and other film-makers like him try to avoid.

I find myself thinking back to scenes of the movie as I go through my day to day life, and this simple act of that alternate reality forming parallels with my own seemingly chaotic life is the objective of these films. It humanizes an alternate experience, but still true experience. In this film, it humanizes the often caricatured and stereotyped African-American ghetto experience.

I hope that helps!

I just watched the film tonight and considered the title. I thought that it reflected how society viewed Stan--as a killer of sheep and nothing more. Society doesn't care about his troubles or family life; the only purpose he serves in the big picture (economy) is a man who performs a necessary task. The point of the film is to give a glimpse into the life of a person that few people care about.