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The Wrestler (2008)

Film
DirectorDarren Aronofsky
Meta takes2

Figures

Form & technique
  • The film's documentary-style cinematography combined with Mickey Rourke's star persona
  • The film's subjective sound design, particularly the moments of muffled audio and tinnitus
Tropes
  • Randy "The Ram" Robinson's aging and scarred body
  • Scenes depicting Randy's mundane, everyday life (e.g., working at the deli counter, at the laundromat)
  • The non-arena locations: the trailer park, the strip club, the rundown community halls → The Counter-Space
  • The final "Ram Jam" leap from the top rope → The Cinematic Christ-Figure
  • Randy's negotiation of payment and self-mutilation in the hardcore wrestling match
  • The casting of Mickey Rourke as Randy Robinson

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