MovieChat Forums > Pretty Persuasion (2006) Discussion > Political Metaphors? *spoilers*

Political Metaphors? *spoilers*


Not sure if I am completely imagining it, but did anyone else see a correlation between the storyline of this film and the invasion of Iraq?

The main character Kimberly (G. Bush), is a ruthless sociopath who is content to devastate innocent people for the purpose of furthering her agenda. She represents white social and economic dominance.

Her drama teacher, Mr Anderson, represents Saddam Hussein -- a man who is certainly nefarious in some ways (eg: the way he threatens Randa, and his fantasies about his underage students), but is not guilty of the actual crime that Kimberly has accused him of.

Kimberly's best friend Brittany quite simply represents Britain; she is not as powerful as Kimberly, but has similar desires.

They "befriend" Randa who -- if my metaphor is correct -- represents the Iraqi people. She looks up to Kimberly, who promises her a better future, free from the influence of Mr Anderson. When their plan to depose their teacher does not go according to plan, this culminates in the suicide of Randa (a metaphor for civil war?).

Journalist Emily Klein is the American public. At first, she believes that Kimberly has honourable intentions. But by the time she discovers that Kimberly is untrustworthy, it is too late to withdraw her support.

Would like to know if other people think I'm reading too much into this, LOL.

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You actually have a good point there.

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You've made a great point there! I don't think I would have been able to pick that up so easily...maybe if it was like the French Rev or the Russian Rev or something, but not like the War on Iraq- War on Terrorism.
Great connection! I agree.

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Don't forget the anti-semitism (at the 'nations of the world'-type fair) that leads to the use of the powerful lawyer to shut the whole thing down. Evan's character comes from a pretty anti-semetic background, but she still has the temerity to get a Jewish lawyer to help her reach her goals, sorta like Lyndon Johnson after the USS Liberty was sunk by the Israelis in '67, he still used them to gain influence on college campuses across the US.
Also, they guy who casually offers to sell Randa a gun ("Hey, Arab Girl, wanna buy a gun?"). Gun violence is so American, but Arabs are the ones who suffer from media-magnified deaths and are portrayed as the biggest threat to American lives.
I'm sure there are other metaphors - the porn, the absent mother, the breakdown of the family, James Wood's creepy dad, Evan's dead soldier brother,the metaphors keep coming fast and furious. An underrated film, creepy, but entertaining and informative.

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Wow. Great insight there.

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[deleted]

Good points.

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The main character Kimberly (G. Bush), is a ruthless sociopath who is content to devastate innocent people for the purpose of furthering her agenda. She represents white social and economic dominance.


I don't agree w/you on this...esp the part comparing Kimberly to ex-Pres George Bush -- ppl see him as this ruthless non-compassionate person which is ALL wrong; yeah we went to war but Pres Bush wanted justice for 911. We got ONE of the biggest dictator ever Hussein (sp?) who was the RUTHLESS MONSTER. My son has friends from over there, and one of his friends had to watch his sister literally get beaten then shredded bc she had "freedom" written inside her notebook - they confiscated it from her and she paid the price. Getting rid of this pce of crap was a good thing. Now Osama bin Ladin is dead, thanks to the Navy Seals who caught him -- one of them, had their face covered (for protection and privacy) and thanked Pres Bush for this NOT Obama by the way; most military have NO respect for him at all. How this man became Pres is beyond me, and now w/the leaking of important intelligence coming from the WH, Pres Obama's little "mic" incident, Secret Service men screwing prostitutes - well there is so much more about this guy we don't REALLY know, and he also didn't keep his promises to the ppl that voted for him. I have a few friends who voted for him bc of all his "yes we can" crap and promises he ignored they will not vote for him again...OH btw I'm an Independent - middle of the road; I just didn't vote for Obama bc I didn't believe in his issues and policies... I like Ron Paul but feel he will drop out soon - too bad bc he is such an intelligent man - Romney should get Ron Paul on his ticket as a VP - sorry off topic - and venting so much -- but to the OP NO way in hell is Pres George Bush like Kimberly - she was selfish - Pres Bush wasn't.

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You must be joking.

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Your an idiot.

We shoulda rented a car.
We have my pony.
Your pony is an old nag.

Powwow Highway

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Would like to know if other people think I'm reading too much into this

Yes.

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