MovieChat Forums > Radio Flyer (1992) Discussion > His death and their intent

His death and their intent

posted 8 years ago by SwanQueen
3 replies | jump to latest

I believe Bobby was real, and it was obvious to me even as a kid that his flying away was a metaphor for his death. I had assumed that the radio flyer crashed and he died from the fall, but in revisiting the movie, I think it's more likely that he was beaten to death by the King. How do you think Bobby died? Even if the King didn't kill him, he would have died anyway in the inevitable crash. Which leads me to another question:

Did the boys know deep down that Bobby would probably die in his escape, making it sort of a subconscious suicide? Were they fully aware of it, making it completely a suicidey? Or did they truly believe in their childhood innocence that Bobby would be able to fly? I'm leaning toward subconscious suicide, or intended subconcious suicide if Bobby was murdered. They believed in the fantasy, but in the back of their minds knew how it would likely end. What are your thoughts?

[–] itsallforu 8 years ago

Believe it or not and you can find this if you research it hard enough.....the screenplay writer intended for the ending to be literal.

I agree though that it makes so much more sense to be seen as metaphorical and to interpret it from there.

However, the screenplay writer has stated on more than one occasion what we saw is what we got.

[–] SwanQueen 7 years ago

I know it was meant to be literal, but I choose to interpret it differently.

[–] myndchanger 7 years ago

I believe that a very young boy tried to save his little brother from abuse. The end was left to the viewer's opinion or imagination. Maybe Bobby did fly long enough to be rescued, maybe Bobby became bones in a canyon.