Randy Mootooveran

Lit Media

September 22, 2016

1.    Metonym is like a saying used to substitute words for something onger, like “THE PEN IS MIGHTIER THAN THE SWORD,” is a substitute for words are far more efficient than brute force. Texas Chainsaw is f things that can be substituted or symbolic, like how oil is a precursor for blood, with the van, the generator, and Leather face’s chainsaw all rely on it and how it flows as much as the blood.

2.    New Historicism understands culture and intellect through a piece of work or text. It is strongly tied to film as both critics and audiences watch them to decipher what kind of subtle messages or hints of symbolism filmmakers and authors use to get across a point or theme.  It’s mainly searching between what’s been shown to you in order to find out why certain elements pop up.

3.    The opening of Texas Chainsaw goes through 5 different stories, each one grizzly, dark, and unpleasant. It sets the stage for the mood the film and what kind of unpleasantness the audience should expect from here on out. The argument of what the elements mean is quite extensive. Franklin falling over due to the big truck symbolizes oil as a big part in the film and that oil will be a key player in the film.

4.    Genre usually dictates what kind of symbols is incorporated. Normally in action, sci-fi, or thrillers, corporations are depicted as a dominant force with an enormous level of control or influence, and are usually tied to whatever conflicts are in the story. In Texas Chainsaw, it doesn’t have any apparent corporate signage throughout the plot, except for the very beginning and ending. A large fourteen-wheel truck knocks Franklin over, showing his fragility as both a character in this slasher film and as the every man being pushed down by large corporations. However, the truck comes back in the end when Sally is running for her life, running over one of the cannibals while stopping to save her. It displays how some good can come out corporations as we do depend on them for our survival every day. However, it also shows that the corporations can’t always be relied on, as the driver runs and leaves Sally by herself after incapacitating Leatherface for a moment. It shows that people need to be self reliant in the face of danger, as people won’t be able to protect you forever and that survival comes from learning to become independent through your own actions.