Motifs / Symbols:
Where is it shown?
What is its purpose?
Who is it linked too?
White Van: The Asian man smuggler has one, Anthony steals it. Daniel’s work van is also white.
White represents innocence but the Asian man turns out not to be so innocent – he deceives the
audience to think he is, we feel sorry for him when he is run over but then at the end of the film
realise he is not so innocent and we realise who he truly is. But Daniel is a very innocent character
in the film so his representation of his van is true to his character.
Black SUV: Christine and Cameron have one and also Rick and Jean – shows their status and
wealth in society – they have money. Both cars are hi-jacked by Anthony and Pete – representing
their status / worth money. But this car represents bad things – the hi-jacking of the cars and also
the instances that follow e.g. Christine is abused by Ryan when they are in the car and Jean fears
people after the hi-jacking.
St Christopher Statuette: Hanson and Pete both have one – they are a good luck charm, keeping
you safe on the roads, which makes the murder of Pete ironic when Hanson kills him in the car
(not so safe after all even with this object that they both have and believe in). Shows they both
have the same fear and are similar characters but because of this fear Pete ends up killed by
Hanson.
Christmas Decorations: to show us it is Christmas time – we are shown these decorations at the
start of the film and when Rick is on the phone and talking to his assistant – they are standing by
a Xmas tree. Xmas represents a time of giving, happiness and spending time with family , new
year resolutions and change within people which is ironic because many of the characters only
take in this film and not give, there are deaths so families are grieving not spending time together
and happiness is rarely shown to us through the characters.
Doors: Repeated throughout the film, represents the barriers the characters face in their lives and
with each other. The doors also represent security – because the characters can hide behind the
doors – the fear out outside is gone once inside. The characters don’t reach out for help – they are
too scared. The doors can also represent opportunities as when one door closes another opens.
The doors are also represented by Daniel as he fixes too peoples doors and this represents their
fear – Farhad blames Daniel for his store being broke into and Jean believes that Daniel will sell
their new key to his homies.
Windows: buses have big windows where you can see everything – said at the start of the film.
Characters are always looking in and out of their windows – again represents their fear out what is
outside in society and also the opportunities that are passing them by. Also a barrier as they see
what is going on outside but it doesn’t affect the outcome, hide behind the windows because they
are scared.
Phones: Rick and Jean are two main characters who use phones the most, symbolises
communication between people in society which is not always face to face. Ryan and Shaniqua
have phone conversations and Jean rings her husband and friend on the phone.
Guns: Ryan, Anthony, Pete, Hanson, Farhad, The Gun shop owner (6 owners of guns in the film)
and then Cameron has a gun at one stage in the film (Anthony’s gun). They represent the power
they give the characters and an easy way to deal with a problem or conflict they have. Also
represents authority and control the characters have with a gun. They use / have guns to feel safe
and to control a situation – because they are falling apart themselves. Lara (Daniel’s daughter) is
afraid of guns but runs out to save her father only to be shot with a blank by Farhad. Hanson uses
his gun to kill Pete because he lost control and let his racist way of thinking get in the way of
dealing with the situation.
Stop Sings: Asian man after being at the diner, Hanson stops after killing Pete, we don’t see the
actual signs themselves but we see how they stop and crash into someone because of it – shown at
the start of the film with the crash between Graham, Ria and the Korean lady and at the ending of
the film with Shaniqua and others.
Crosses in background: Church – Ryan looks up at the cross. Cross shown when we are taking
back to yesterday after the highway scene with Graham. The hospital also has a cross. These
crosses represent jesus, new life, a second chance but most of all death – and in this case the
crosses foreshadow the events of Pete’s death – giving us signs that something bad is going to
happen.
These examples link to the symbols question.
Choose 3 symbols to use as your main points (3 main paragraphs so each symbol
will be one main point). Choose 3 symbols that link to each other somehow –
whether it is through characters, themes, central idea so that you can link them
together to answer the question clearly.
1 symbol per paragraph – explain and give 2 examples where this symbol is shown
in the film.