Significance of Burning Car?
After his deposition in Kentucky Wigand is riding in a car at night and passes a burning car.
Any thoughts on what this means?
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MovieChat Forums > The Insider (1999) Discussion > Significance of Burning Car?
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i would say depicts how dangerous it is in america today
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"if seagal was thinner this could have been a theatrical product."
I didn't think it was that complex. When watching, I thought it was an ominous symbol, as if Wigand felt his life was going "up in flames." It's filmed so well, his expression through the window of seeing the burning car, coupled with the music.
shareIn addition I thought it's a reference to the decline of the US automobile industry, and how his testimony could lead to a decline in the great American tobacco industry... like another icon dying kinda thing. Maybe too far fetched.
Cheers!
Or maybe he was thinking how easy it would be for Big Tobacco to kill him.
shareYep to post above mine.
shareAt the beginning of the movie Lowell finds a box on his doorstep, from a Phillip Morris insider, about cigarette fire safety. Since he didn't understand the contents of the box, he hired Wigand to translate them (ultimately turning Lowell onto Wigand's case).
Wigand staring at the burning car, is him wondering if his testimony is really going to have any impact. Even if he changes people's minds about smoking, there's still a chance they could die in a car tomorrow. I think it was him feeling the futility of everything.
Good post.
Also, during any kind of threat to personal and family property and life, every major event around you seems as though THAT is the threat. The kind of natural paranoia that comes with the territory.
Ten years later......Well said.
shareAutomobile manufacturers have been covering up the inherent flammability of their product for years, while their CEOs insist, under oath, that their product is completely safe.
This image reminds Wigand that his fight against corporate America is just the beginning.
The idea that ppl talk about that burning car to this day is significant in its own right.
For me, it feels organic, as if they were filming their drive shot, & all of a sudden there was that vehicle afire & yet they kept shooting, incorporating into the film.
It works because I always feel that way whenever I watch it.
Side note- Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight takes several cues from Michael Mann, including his burning fire truck, which instantly links me to The Insider. Not sure if intentional or not, that's the case.
I always thought of it as him worrying about the tobacco company murdering his family, that they could have been in the car.
shareA) Symbolism.
B) He could always be taken care of if he happened to die in a fiery car wreck. You know, by accident. ;)