Merely as an exercise in symbolic interpretation, dismembering a film in this way inevitably involves over-interpretation.
○The actor went to his ex-girlfriend's party to get his tape back. Don't communicate with anyone at the party, go to the quietest back room by yourself, and fall asleep in a daze.
●Compared to communicating with people, the male protagonist prefers to be alone and quiet; after retrieving the old tapes representing past memories, the male protagonist can relax and fall asleep. A bloody nose means a bloody nightmare is about to begin.
○When he woke up and was trapped in a zombie world, the male protagonist quickly closed the small building after calming down and searched for supplies door by door.
●The small building is closed, and the male protagonist isolates his inner world from the hustle and bustle of the outside world; searching for supplies, the male protagonist begins to gradually reorganize his heart, block the crazy and corrupt parts of his heart, and find his hobbies and entertainment.
○ Doomsday life is on the right track, using paintball guns to beat zombies for entertainment, burying old couples who have died, playing sports and playing music, shaking hands with old zombies and chatting, nightmares are gradually coming to the door. The kitten broke into the single world, seduced and fell into anger.
●It seems that everything is on the right track, rich in material and spiritual food, but in fact the emptiness and anxiety in the male protagonist's heart are expanding. The paintball gun represents the male protagonist's apparent and playful resistance to the outside world; chatting with the old zombie can not only represent the male protagonist's loneliness, but also represent the male protagonist's beginning to face the rigid and crazy part of his heart (the male protagonist said to him: you I thought you could go through this life peacefully); the nightmare began, indicating that the male protagonist did not have full confidence in the stability of the inner world, and was still full of fear of the outside world; the kitten represented a unique person or something that made the male protagonist Rekindled curiosity or hope for the outside world, but this curiosity almost collapsed the male protagonist's small world. And when he saw the kitten and the zombie rubbing their legs, the male protagonist was disillusioned and realized that the uniqueness was just an accomplice of the evil outside world, and the anger of being deceived flooded into his heart, killing the kitten in order to be quick.
○Winter is coming, and the tones are getting colder. The male protagonist thought he was infected and attempted suicide; he began to have auditory hallucinations; the zombies on the street disappeared; the male protagonist went to the old zombie to quarrel, "You are so boring, you don't know how to be happy." "One day I have to leave here." The male protagonist beat the drum madly to bring back a large number of zombies; listening to the recordings from his childhood, the male protagonist refused to go out with his parents and shouted.
●This section is actually the [death] in the hero's spiritual journey, seeking death, hallucinations, being abandoned by the world (even a crazy world that is spurned by the hero), entangled in the crazy self and the past self. But the seeds of awakening and rebirth are also contained in it. The male protagonist stands on the rooftop to watch and will attract survivors; the monologue of the male protagonist and the old zombie also expresses his desire to get out of his own small world; the large number of zombies attracted is not only a dangerous sign of destruction, but also a A chance for redemption.
○ Accidentally injured survivors, and started a lot of dialogue after rescuing them. The other party kept inspiring the male protagonist to escape from the small building and find a refuge. Sort out the supplies, have a warm conversation with the old zombie, and kill the zombie family that has been locked up. Finally, he is persuaded by the surviving girl and decides to flee. He finds that the girl was not rescued by himself, and everything is his own illusion. (As the biggest reversal point of the whole film, the editing here is difficult to do this heavy task) Burn all the old tapes and let go of the old zombies.
●The male protagonist begins [rebirth]. The rescuers who break in from the outside world are very important, but more of them are just a sign and a revelation. Self-awakening is more important; kill the crazy and corrupt part of the heart, burn the past that is unwilling to let go, and The rigid self-reconciliation that has been softened, the male protagonist is all ready and begins to walk out of his closed heart.
○The burning of the tape triggered the smoke alarm, which attracted a large number of zombies to rush into the small building. The male protagonist finally escaped to the rooftop after a thrilling experience, and used the rope to swing upstairs on the opposite side. Although he was stunned, he succeeded. The new world picture unfolded. rebirth.
●During the process, the male protagonist confronted the zombie for the first time, and even stepped on the zombie completely and climbed upstairs, symbolizing that the male protagonist finally faced the fear of the crazy outside world and stepped on it under his feet; The elevator room protected the male protagonist, and the smoke from the burning tapes also allowed the male protagonist to safely pass through the zombies to the rooftop; escape to the opposite upstairs and break his head, which is the most straightforward metaphor: on the road to success, You will be bleeding.
The whole movie is like a standard hero and myth journey,
World Changes - Heroes' Departure - Temptation and Danger - Death - Rescuers - Rebirth
Zombie Apocalypse - Small Building Life - Kitten - Winter - Survivor - Escape
We can see the rebirth of the male protagonist and the rebirth of thousands of heroes of all time and space. And ultimately we have to realize from this pattern that our rebirth also goes through such a stage. Changes, new environments, pain, and troughs are all preludes to rebirth. By recognizing the working map of the universe written for human beings, we can transcend the pain and move towards a new life safely.
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