Children Of Men Symbolism

Symbols have been used for thousands of years. They surround our everyday lives and much the world around us. Historically symbols have varied from cave drawings of the early modern humans to logos used by today’s mega corporate companies. Across the globe we use similar symbols, as if symbols consist of a universal language that everyone can understand. A symbol is something used for or regarded as representing something else; a material object representing something, often something immaterial, emblem, taken or sign (Dictionary). For instance, when we see the infamous checkmark logo we immediately think of Nike. Interestly, symbolism in film is not much different. In film, symbolism can expand to an even boarder range. In film symbolism is an artistic method of communicating ideas through the storyline, colors, sounds and objects used in film. No place is this more evident than the films: Children Of Men, Requiem For A Dream and Y Tu Mama Tambien. These three films use a wide range of biblical, cultural and historical symbols in order to communicate ideas with the viewer.

In the film Children Of

To help further communicate and sympathize with the audience, director Alfonso Cuaron uses aspects of societal class, narration and globalization in order to captivate the viewer. For instance, Tenoch Iturbide, whose family has a long history in the Mexican upper class, is given the historical powerful Mexican name Tenoch that derives from the time of the ancient Aztecs. Julio Zapata, on the other hand, is given the surname of a famous Mexican revolutionary who fought against the corrupt upper class in early 20th century Mexico. (Emiliano Zapata). In addition, the narration used in Y Tu Mama Tambien, although never revealed, illustrates how both Tenoch and Julio, although coming from different societal backgrounds, are equally guilty for the poor societal condition in Mexico (Y Tu Mama