Movie Metaphors

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I was thinking the other day about metaphors in films that are appropriate for my life with AS.

OK so often it may be the case that a scene setting or entire movie is symbolic of something that has happened in my life that has very little in relation to Aspergers but having recently gone through a bad experience that is also linked to my AS made me think about particular movies and scenes that are good metaphors.

THE TRUMAN SHOW:

This struck me as quite symbolic. Being born with AS is like Truman being born into the world that he grows up to accept as reality. You go through childhood without questioning many things and instead take for granted many things until to get older and much more suspicious of people and your surroundings like Truman finds signs that all is not what its cracked up to be. But the main symbolic part of the film for me is Christof. This, to me, is my very own AS in human form. He fights to keep me contained in this world that should be my everyday reality and when I fight against it or step over that threshold, like Truman at the end, Christof as my AS is there to plead to me, suggesting that I can’t do such a thing after all that he has given me throughout my whole life.

THX 1138:

This is a classic metaphorical movie. To me this shows me, like in other movies, how my AS keeps me prisoner. In reality, as an individual, its about realising that you can, with a bit of determination, break free from this “machine” that runs your life and will always form it to a daily routine. There is no physical barrier in my own life and what is clearly shown in the movie is how the guards, or my AS, is there to stop you in your tracks……. My AS will kick in and I revert to being controlled by the “machine” yet I know, like THX realises that AS isn’t physically capable of stopping you, much like the guards in the movie. They are stumped when confronted such is the case with my AS. I may think it morally wrong to be happy or to meet new people or get involved with other people yet, like THX, I realise it’s the “machine” that makes me feel that way and that society will not kill me after all if I chose to do those things.

THE PRISONER:

Not a movie but a TV series. The 1967 original is all that I’m interested in. Not really much to say here about this because it’s a mish-mash of the above anyway. This does still symbolise other aspects of my life though and I very much enjoy the series.

RUNAWAY TRAIN:

This is one of my all time favourites and recently watched again and saw much more the AS connection. Like the main convict in this I will forever seek to break free from my AS prison. The main scene in this movie for me is at the end when the warden lands on the train and ends up being handcuffed inside the doomed train. I will forever hurtle through life with my greatest enemy there waiting to imprison me but, like in the movie I refuse to “push that button and stop this train!” that the warden, or my AS, demand. “I never let you free” the warden/my AS yells. Yet like Manny if I was to actually live my life for any amount of time, be it minutes or seconds, having stopped or beaten my AS then I could say “I am free……I am free…..” and stand atop that hurtling train as the victor. The ending is irrelevant as my main ambition would have been achieved. The same as that of the movie character.

This is just three examples but I’m sure I could come up with more but I’m sure many have skipped this as it’s probably too boring anyway or its already been covered in depth before but I thought I would share my feelings.

Many thanks for your patience and understanding

Im a bit confused how being a site like this that noone is interested in this message.

The other day I was talking about 'They Live' as an AS metaphor.

Check it out. Mind out for the swear at the end of the clip, if that sort of thing bothers you.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AvFvJhCgnEc[/youtube]

I've not seen Runaway Train, but your other examples interest me. I don't know if they are about AS as such, but about people who see through the machine and break into liberation. Some people with AS do seem to do this, or perhaps are incapable of not, at least the seeing part. This movie theme is so very common. I think it's an enlightenment metaphor.

The option is always there for people to break away from secure yet imprisoning structures both outside and within, taking responsibility for oneself rather than flowing unthinkingly in the veins of the social machine, growing past one's fears of the unknown to come to liberation.

Though I think the movie was a giant pile of garbage, Adam has the best description in my book.

"It's not like anything. It just is ."

I don't consider the fact that I think differently as a prison. Autism Spectrum people are likely wired differently. A Picasso painting and an O'Keeffe painting look completely different, but they are still works of art. Running your foot into an O'Keeffe painting won't ever make it a Picasso and trying to make a Picasso look like an O'Keeffe is just gonna make the painting hideous.