From: jeffw2@cfsmo.honeywell.com (Jeff Walberg)
Newsgroups: rec.arts.movies
Subject: Re: That Barton Fink Feeling
Date: 8 Apr 92 18:07:13 GMT
Article-I.D.: src.1992Apr8.180713.19142
Reply-To: jeffw2@cfsmo.honeywell.com
Organization: Honeywell Inc.



From jeffw2@cfsmo.honeywell.com (Jeff Walberg)
Subject: Re: That Barton Fink Feeling
Date: Wed, 8 Apr 1992 14:50:44 GMT

NOTE: THIS IS BEING REPOSTED BY REQUEST WITH FEWER CHARACTERS PER LINE.  
      SORRY FOR ANY INCONVENIENCE (THE ORIGINAL LOOKS FINE ON MY
      SYSTEM).

JEFF

In article 12653@nic.unh.edu, J_DELANO1@unhh.unh.edu (Jeff   Delano) writes:

>Late last night I saw _Barton Fink_. The movie left me with
>many many questions.

>As I was going to sleep I came up with some pretty off the
>wall interpretations, such as Charlie being the Devil, the movie
>producer God and Barton himself as Jesus who tries to tell his 
>ideas to the world only to have them dismissed.

>Well!  I'm sure most of that was the result of an overactive
>imagination (I was half-asleep, after all.)
>There were some things I understood.

>1) Charlie tried to "help people out of their troubles" by
>killing them.  He offered to help Barton out - "I'll be in my room
>if you need me.")

>2). Barton professes to identify with the Common Man, but he's
>a big sham.  He talks down to the detectives, and cuts off Charlie
>whenever he tries to tell him a story.  Indeed, this is the reason
>Charlie gives for his punishing Fink.
>
>You have to admit that the fire in the hotel ("this is my
>home") lends credence to the Munt as the Devil hypothesis.	
>
>Can anyone clue me in to what this movie was about?
>Wishy


I know how you feel.  When I saw Barton Fink at the theatre I thought
it was good, but it really troubled me because I knew I was missing a
lot of the underlying meaning.  To compound the problem, my girlfriend,
my roomate, a movie junkie friend who has taken several film classes, 
and every review I read had different explanations, and none seemed 
satisfactory.  While I tend to forget most movies within 30 minutes
of viewing them, I found that I was still pondering Barton Fink weeks 
later.

Recently I attended a showing of the video cassete with my Tai Chi 
instructor and about 30 other class members.  Following the movie 
we had an hour long discussion moderated by my instructor who is very 
well traveled and familiar with all sorts of different philosophies, 
religions, etc.  He basically shows movies that are full of universal 
themes as a means of "initiation" into Tai Chi.

Anyway, in that hour we touched on almost every scene in the movie.  
The key concept is that the hotel represents Barton's mind, and all 
the characters within the hotel (there are very few, if you recall) 
are aspects of Barton's character.  Barton represents his own 
conscious mind; the aspect of his personality which is attempting to 
maintain control.  Despite being hopelessly out of touch and stuck at 
a creative impasse, Barton refuses to pay attention to Charlie who 
seemingly has the answers to Barton's troubles if he would only stop 
being so obsessed with himself and LISTEN!

Charlie, then, represents Barton's inner self - his connection to 
everyday experience.  Charlie is obviously very troubled and insecure 
himself, and it's no wonder with Barton running the show.  In one 
telling scene, Charlie's and Barton's shoes become mixed up.  Barton 
is sitting at the typewriter with his normal case of writer's block 
staring at the page.  Under the desk, we see him slip his feet into 
Charlie's roomy shoes and he begins to create!  He's now back in touch 
with himself, but as soon as his own shoes (very tight and confining) 
are returned, he slips back to his previous state.  Charlie, meanwhile 
is forced to behead the things that cause him pain (essentially burying 
his problems) since Barton won't deal with them.

The increasing heat during the movie represents the increasing pressure 
and anxiety that Barton experiences as his deadline approaches.  The 
fire scene begins to make more sense when you listen to the words 
Charlie yells repeatedly as he runs down the hall:

"I'll show you the life of the mind!"

There also seems to be a parallel drawn to the rise of Naziism, which 
fits the time period.  As Charlie blows away the detectives (Barton's 
morality, perhaps?) he yells "Heil Hitler!".  There are also quite a few 
other anti-semitic statements interspersed throughout the film.

Well, I could keep going for quite awhile, but my employer would probably 
just as soon I stick to something a little closer to my job description. 
I would love to discuss this film some more, though, because it is packed 
with symbology and hidden meaning, with a healthy dose of bizarre humor
and Hollywood satire to boot.

One final thought:  Did you notice how everything Barton experiences is 
shared by Charlie (or one of the other people in "The Earl")?  Eg. Barton 
puts his ear to the soggy wallpaper and Charlie develops as pus-dripping 
ear infection; Barton hears the couple next door making love and Charlie 
knows about it; as Charlie removes the dead body (she was another part of 
Barton - his muse as my instructor put it) he knocks her head on the 
dresser and Barton blacks out in the bathroom. 

Jeff

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*The spring wind blew my list of things to do away.  - Greg Brown *
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