[Ads-l] "symbol" in film crit

Laurence Horn laurence.horn at YALE.EDU
Sun Oct 13 20:31:14 UTC 2019


Maybe the idea is that that they must be symbolic croutons if they’re going to be mixed with motor oil, blood, and urine, while the literal ones are more appropriate for soup or Caesar salad.  


> On Oct 13, 2019, at 4:10 PM, Jonathan Lighter <wuxxmupp2000 at GMAIL.COM> wrote:
> 
> Had enough of "allegory"?  Then move on to this, where "symbol" seems to
> mean no more than "striking visual element":
> 
> 2010  America Magazine
> https://www.americamagazine.org/issue/745/film/crosshairs  :  They’re
> definitely not afraid of metaphor. Along with the fractured lens of the
> gunner’s viewfinder (sustained halfway through), salad croutons are a key
> symbol, mixing with motor oil, blood and urine in a way that will put you
> off the crunchy comestibles for weeks.
> 
> The critic never explains what they symbolize.  I've seen this movie (as
> they say) twice, and the movie croutons are key symbols of real croutons
> only.
> 
> JL
> 
> 
> "If the truth is half as bad as I think it is, you can't handle the truth."
> 
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org

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The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org



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