The journey on the big screen: A metaphor of life and evolution of existence
Renato Butera
The author structures the article in three thematic areas. The first part shows how the filmic text is not exhausted with the consumption of content, but is in itself an effective metaphor of a universal human experience: the journey as a symbolic representation of life, made up of questions, anxieties, expectations, joys… The second part attests to this reality with a long, rich, varied and articulated roundup of the motive of the journey into cinema, both directly (films about a journey) and indirectly (films where the journey plays a significant role). The third part highlights recurring themes inspired by the metaphor of travel, such as the initiation to adulthood, the transformation of people and situations, the journey of a call or vocation, the journey without a destination, the journey as an escape. The article concludes by noting that the big screen has the possibility of fulfilling a relevant educational and pedagogical function that deserves to be understood and evaluated.
Keywords
Cinema, journey, metaphor, experience.