MovieChat Forums > Zelig (1983) Discussion > what is the main metaphor here?

what is the main metaphor here?


Is the changing jewish man a symbol for the resilliance of the Jewish people? They channge when they need to survive.

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The Jews, historically have been surrounded by hostility---so blending in, becoming Irish, becoming Greek, becoming whatever surrounds you can make one 'safe'.

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very interesting. thanks.

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Maybe, but I think this spreads further than one minority group, I would say that anyone can be a copycat and most people are... Artists, doctors, politicians, soldiers, gangsters, hackers, philosophers, explorers to name a few, what they really want is appreciation, belonging and security in the environment they exist in, both physical and mental. It is not easy to be a true rebel and not become a part of some rebellion that turns into a revolution and subsequently into another religion. It is not easy to be alone. It is not easy because of how we were indoctrinated from our very childhood, to be this or to be that, to fill the gap, the crack in the centuries-old idea we had nothing to do with.

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also very interesting.

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The MAIN metaphor appears to be just conformism in general.



"facts are stupid things" Ronald Reagan

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yeah, and conformism would be awesome if the values we are conforming to wouldnt be so *beep* thanks for your input.

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well the movie goes to pains to give you various interpretations, any of which, or even any combination of which are all up to the viewer to pick over. i like to think it was mainly autobiographical, given his rise and fall in public opinion.

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Except that this film was made and released years before the Soon Yi Previn scandal, and Allen had been admired, lauded, and had never yet been out of favor. It isn't likely to have been referencing his own public "fall from grace." I don't think that aspect of the film is autobiographical.

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I think there are many and the one(s) we notice are those with which we resonate. I saw much of the film as a p/sis take and satire on mental and medical health professionals. From brain tumour to spine alignment to flying a plane non-stop and upside down. This waseliciously mocking.

Ever tried, ever failed?
No matter.
Try again, fail again.
Fail better.

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Wow, this question was a shining example of why the IMDB was such joke and the boards had to be closed.

There's literally a specific part of the movie that says exactly that Zelig changes because in the United States, Jews had a struggle assimilating and part of the wat they did that was acting like different groups of people. (For example, Andrew Dice Clay trying to pass for Italian-American).

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