In...what...way...?
June 21, 2011 8:49 PM Subscribe
In Ferris Bueller's Day Off, the English teacher (Del Close) says: "In..what..way.. does the author's use of the prison symbolize the protagonist's struggle, and how does this relate to our discussion of the uses of irony?" Is he actually referring to a particular book that's hidden somewhere in the film?
I don't recall reading anything in the script, and I suspect not, but I figured I'd ask you guys.
thx mefiters. : )
I don't recall reading anything in the script, and I suspect not, but I figured I'd ask you guys.
thx mefiters. : )
I always imagined it was The Count of Monte Cristo, but I have no evidence to back that claim.
posted by 2bucksplus at 9:49 PM on June 21, 2011 [2 favorites]
posted by 2bucksplus at 9:49 PM on June 21, 2011 [2 favorites]
The high school classes seemed pretty Kafkaesque, so maybe "The Trial"?
posted by Rhaomi at 10:24 PM on June 21, 2011
posted by Rhaomi at 10:24 PM on June 21, 2011
Could be related to the ferris bueler fight club theory mentioned here
Cameron is struggling in the "prison" of his life.
posted by jannw at 12:22 AM on June 22, 2011
Cameron is struggling in the "prison" of his life.
posted by jannw at 12:22 AM on June 22, 2011
I'd assumed it was a reference to Plato's Allegory of the Cave... although I'd also not really noticed the "irony" part of the line as Beuller-esque.
posted by ldthomps at 6:38 AM on June 22, 2011
posted by ldthomps at 6:38 AM on June 22, 2011
It's just a joke about school.
posted by grog at 8:44 AM on June 22, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by grog at 8:44 AM on June 22, 2011 [1 favorite]
I just rewatched the scene easily found, and the blackboard is full of Lit. Crit. mumbo-jumbo said affectionately, it's one of the better jokes for adults that could apply to anything. The only real clue is the name "Harold". One possibility would be Childe Harold's Pilgrimage, although there are only passing references to a prison.
But I think it's mainly a meta-joke. Close deliberately says "the author's" instead of, say, "Byron's". The real point of the scene is the prison-bar hatchmarks he makes on the blackboard, which are visually echoed by the wood-bar wall decor behind the students in the adjacent shot.
posted by dhartung at 10:25 AM on June 22, 2011 [1 favorite]
But I think it's mainly a meta-joke. Close deliberately says "the author's" instead of, say, "Byron's". The real point of the scene is the prison-bar hatchmarks he makes on the blackboard, which are visually echoed by the wood-bar wall decor behind the students in the adjacent shot.
posted by dhartung at 10:25 AM on June 22, 2011 [1 favorite]
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by Buffaload at 8:55 PM on June 21, 2011 [6 favorites]