“I’ve Got the Pilot”: An Interpretation of Flight, a Film by John Gatins, Writer, and Robert Zemeckis, Director

Judith Ferster,Paul Weiser

doi:10.4236/als.2014.23013

Abstract

Robert Zemeckis’s recent film Flight, about a talented but flawed commercial airline pilot (played by Denzel Washington) is discussed on both the realistic and allegorical levels, showing the relationship between the contemporary plot and the fifteenth-century morality play, The Summoning of Everyman. Evidence for and against the different kinds of interpretation is identified and discussed. The film forces the main character to make a series of progressively more difficult and significant ethical decisions about drugs, alcohol, friends (true and false), lovers, and personal atonement that challenge him. The audience must make an interpretive decision between the possible levels of meaning.

Highlights

More powerfully and single-mindedly than many recent movies, “Flight” forces its protagonist to make a climactic moral choice
Screenwriter John Gatins’s story propels Whip Whitaker, played by Denzel Washington, into a stark decision. Along the way it raises questions on a realistic level about an airplane crash and how most of its passengers survived, but Whip, a successful commercial pilot who supplements copious amounts of alcohol with cocaine, must decide if he will take responsibility for the way he lives and works. This is his chance to be a grown-up, but events conspire to provide him with ways to avoid it
The angle of attack must be adjusted, but many planes fly as well upside down as they do right side up. Another question on the literal level might be whether mixing alcohol and cocaine would allow the protagonist to drive anything, let alone a commercial jetliner

Summary

Introduction

More powerfully and single-mindedly than many recent movies, “Flight” forces its protagonist to make a climactic moral choice. Screenwriter John Gatins’s story propels Whip Whitaker, played by Denzel Washington, into a stark decision Along the way it raises questions on a realistic level about an airplane crash and how most of its passengers survived, but Whip, a successful commercial pilot who supplements copious amounts of alcohol with cocaine, must decide if he will take responsibility for the way he lives and works. This is his chance to be a grown-up, but events conspire to provide him with ways to avoid it. We hope that our collaboration will allow us to shed some light on both the literal questions this film raises and the ethical quandaries that make it compelling for viewers and a challenging vehicle for its star

Naturalistic Interpretation

Beyond Naturalism