Story 6 Analysis: The "uncertainty" of all things

Giovani 2022-03-31 09:01:03

The first half was quite boring. After the fifth story revealed the mystery, "Ba" successfully became one of my personal top ten of the year. There are 6 episodes, 6 life philosophies, and 1 central idea running through them - " the uncertainty of all things ". When it comes to Story 6, the "uncertainty" is even more of a "ghost", which is the finishing touch.

I believe that when the "reaper" appeared, the audience's questions also followed, and once again fell into "uncertainty" . By the end of the movie, most people can still see that Story 6 takes place in the afterlife. The obvious ones will not be mentioned. Let's take a look at the less obvious ones and their connotations:

The appearance of Story 6 is : 5 unidentified strangers ride in the same carriage to a place called "Fort Morgan" (the name should be a building).

The essence is : 2 "death gods" are escorting the souls of 3 people who have just died (gamblers, hunters, and housewives who are not firm in their beliefs) and a corpse (this is a pit, in the end), go to Purgatory (Fort Morgan).

gambler, housewife, hunter

grim Reaper

In Western Christianity, after a person dies, the angel of death (the reaper or the god of death) will take the undead to different places:

Good People (God's Believers) - Go to Heaven

Bad guys (guilty people) - go to hell

The unsure group (those who have no faith or are not convinced) - go to Purgatory (ie "Fort Morgan").

Purgatory has appeared in many film and television works, the more typical ones are "Lost", "Watching the World", "Twin Peaks" and so on. In "Lost", "Purgatory" is an island; in "Watch the World", "Purgatory" is a hotel; in "Twin Peaks", it is called "The Night's Watch". In addition to referring to the previous film and television works, a detail in the film can also confirm this point of view, that is, the two signs on the main entrance of Fort Morgan: an angel and a goat (the goat represents the devil or a sinful person), the former symbolizes heaven, and the latter The person symbolizes hell. So where do the tenants (souls) end up here? Not sure yet , and need to continue to evaluate.

Sign on the door: Angel and the Lamb

Speaking of this, then it is not difficult for us to guess that the driver = the ferryman. In the end, there is only one question left, what does the corpse in the afterlife represent? to heaven? Or go to hell? Spirited away? Or the resurrection of the corpse? There is no definite answer. I think this is a small trick played by the director on the audience to extend the "uncertainty" beyond the film, making every audience an unwitting player.

ferryman

The Coen brothers said: "Add a pit at the end and let everyone guess!"

View more about The Ballad of Buster Scruggs reviews

Extended Reading
  • Carson 2022-03-29 09:01:02

    Life is full of joy, and whoever obeys the rules will have it. Punching the old master to death, the reverse operation is the west. There is no art on the food and clothing line, and culture is not as good as a castrated chicken. The intellectual property rights should be protected. When teammates are super anxious, they will be chaotic, and if they eat chicken, they will panic and die. Life and death are at the mercy of Mo Qiang, you have to leave early or late.

  • Jasen 2022-03-24 09:01:49

    The taste of playing tickets is quite obvious. It is obvious that there are several stories about the Coen brothers being lazy... However, the whole film is still very good. Qi Yan

The Ballad of Buster Scruggs quotes

  • Prospector (segment "All Gold Canyon"): It didn't hit nothin' important!

  • His Mother (segment "The Gal Who Got Rattled"): What are you doing, Israel?

    Whipped Boy (segment "The Gal Who Got Rattled"): Walking backwards. I'm gonna walk the rest of the way to Oregon backwards.

    His Mother (segment "The Gal Who Got Rattled"): Don't do that.

    Whipped Boy (segment "The Gal Who Got Rattled"): Why not?

    His Mother (segment "The Gal Who Got Rattled"): I said don't do that!

    His Father (segment "The Gal Who Got Rattled"): Don't do that!

    [gives the boy a couple swats across his backside with a switch - he complies and turns around]