Other "Slide" and descent into the underworld references?
I remember seeing "Journey to the Center of the Earth" back when I was a kid, and later on "Tron" and "Fight Club." I recently read "Journey to the Center of the Earth" and saw it has a direct reference to "slide", as does the ice cave scene in "Fight Club." In the both books there're also references to pools of water at the bottom: In "Journey" its at the center of the Earth, In "Fight Club" its inside intestines, and in the movie "Tron" its in the power cave scene. Does anyone else think there was an intentional link between these books and movies, or was it just a similar reference because of common influences?
From the introduction to "Journey to the Center of the Earth":
"Some of the most influential texts of the Western cultural tradition, from Homer's "Odyssey" and Virgil's "Aeneid" to Dante's "Divine Comedy", prominently feature the protagonist's descent into the underworld, the realm of the dead, as an important part of his social and spiritual development." To me, this also really seems fitting for Fight Club.
Referencing "Tron" may seem a bit of a stretch, but it does have a power cave instead of power animal. The characters also slide before they meet Dumont with his chilling quote, one character passes, and then meets his maker. (Matrix "Waiting for your next life, who knows?") Could Dumont be mistaken for a power animal penguin when he's first introduced with only half of him showing, wearing a strange hat, and rotating around?
My real question is, does anyone know of any other books or movies that reference "slide," slippery slope, or anything else similar that leads to the underworld? Movies and books with this theme really interest me right now.
Star Wars, Episode 4: A New Hope
"Tuffy, you're a Dalek, but only because you're only being kept alive by metal, science and hatred." - ScubaSteve1729
Yes, Dante's Inferno is a good one. I'd have to look up Episode 4 though. Too many remastered classics becoming "eleven fingered" movies are pissing me off lately. Maybe those directors would get the hint if their favorite movies were "restored and remastered" using horrible over the top unused outtakes of their favorite actors.
I've also seen literal ones like "Tomb Raider" with its huge model of our planets hidden underground and the characters slide behind dogs teams with and without their sleds, but I'm interested in more than just blunt models. I guess the "Speed Racer" movie with Racer X's transformation inside an ice cave to the underground world of crime fighting isn't too far off also.
Garbage chute?
It's practically a trope.
"Tuffy, you're a Dalek, but only because you're only being kept alive by metal, science and hatred." - ScubaSteve1729
Thanks, I guess I was stuck on caves.
I'd forgotten "The Cave" is also another one, and actually has Jack and Tyler as main characters.
I gotta see "Logan's Run"
Josie and the Pussycats is another good one.
"Tuffy, you're a Dalek, but only because you're only being kept alive by metal, science and hatred." - ScubaSteve1729
At first I thought you were pulling my leg, but I guess people say there's some pop culture satire in there.
To add to the Racer X and Speed Racer "slide" allegory, there's always Superman's icy cave and Batman's cave, but those might be more of a place of permanent refuge, and not a part of a journey to "Know thyself" like in Fight Club and Journey to the Center of the Earth. Anyway, I thought the Batman movies with Penguin and Mr. Freeze could've been better, and maybe there's also a similar link to the Matrix and underground Zion.
Josie and the Pussycats is Fight Club for tweens and, as such, *far* more subversive.
"Tuffy, you're a Dalek, but only because you're only being kept alive by metal, science and hatred." - ScubaSteve1729
Mimicking is not understanding, tuffy.
HellBoy 2
the matrix. (one; not two or three. two and three almost destroyed the one.)
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play hard, like it's work to be done.
Have you seen it?
"Tuffy, you're a Dalek, but only because you're only being kept alive by metal, science and hatred." - ScubaSteve1729
Have you seen it?
All you see is subversive, so it doesn't matter what you've seen.
That's a "no" then.
And your point is "literal decent often indicates metaphorical descent in popcultural references"? A great thesis for Jr. High English class.
"Tuffy, you're a Dalek, but only because you're only being kept alive by metal, science and hatred." - ScubaSteve1729
dont know why this topic reminded me of this scene
I just want someone to accept my craziness...haven't found the right kind of crazy though.
And your point is "literal decent often indicates metaphorical descent in popcultural references"? A great thesis for Jr. High English class.
To me, this movie has a lot in common with a walkabout and its contagious pop culture insults are too much of a distraction.
I get the feeling I must have wronged some people in a previous life or something.
Not that the Red Hot Chilli Peppers or me should be taken seriously, but I dig their Walkabout song.
Inferno.
"Tuffy, you're a Dalek, but only because you're only being kept alive by metal, science and hatred." - ScubaSteve1729