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Thursday, March 5, 2020
Fides
When Antonio's bicycle is stolen, he loses more than a bike. The brand name of the bicycle "Fides" (Faith in Latin) suggest it has symbolic value. What is the significance of that symbol? What does Antonio lose? Are there other symbols in this film?
The brand name of Antonio’s bicycle, Fides or Faith, is a symbol of the brighter future that it initially promises for Antonio and his family. After buying the bike and securing his job hanging posters, he tells his wife about the high pay and benefits that he will receive as they begin riding the bike home. At this point in the film, Antonio and his wife have faith that they will soon live a better life. However, this faith soon dissipates when a man steals Antonio’s bike and thus takes away the faith that Antonio had in his family’s future. Yet not all faith is lost because he makes it his mission to find the culprit and reclaim his bike in which the wellbeing of his family depends upon. As he pursues his lost bicycle, he wrongfully accuses people of stealing it, which also signifies that he has lost his faith in strangers and assumes that everyone has selfish, wrongful intentions. Additionally, he loses religious faith when he is forced to leave the church where he thought an old man would give him information on the man whom he suspects to have stolen the bike. He eventually loses faith in himself, and the fortuneteller reiterates his worst fear: if he does not find the bike immediately, he will never find it. At the end of the film, when he still has not found the bicycle and doubts that he ever will, he decides to steal someone else’s bike instead. He has been robbed of his faith for too long and must resort to desperate measures. Without the bike and the faith and security of his family’s future that it represents, Antonio is reduced to a thief himself.
In The Bicycle Thieves Antonio as the father figure of the household has to find a way to support and put food on the table for his family in a struggling Italian economy. While waiting for his name to be called about a possible job, he is made aware that for this specific job he needs a bicycle which he does not have at the time. Right here is the first moment that this idea of faith and his life depends on this bike that he does not even have just yet. Antonio does what he can to get a bicycle and goes as far as selling his bed sheets because of the value of the opportunity. He sells the bedsheets, receives enough money, and buys his Fides bike. This is a major symbol as the word fides translates to faith. Antonio and his family’s life rides on this bike as he begins his new job. His first day he leaves his bike unattended and it is stolen by thieves who ride away with it not to be seen again. In this scene although he loses the physical object of the bike which hinders his ability to do his job, he loses much more than just that. This bike is his key to being able to support his family and put food on the table for them. He does not lose faith in searching for his bike for so long because of this idea that this could completely ruin his life. He searches for days and days to find anything that could even hint at where his bike or the bike parts are. We see Antonio completely lose his faith when he attempts to steal someone else’s bike because of how desperate he is to support his family. He is robbed of more than just a bike. He is robbed of his faith.
The bicycle “Fides” in the film represents Antonio’s opportunity for social mobility. The bike allows him to work his job and earn food and money for his family. It’s his ticket out of the somewhat poverty-stricken life he and his family live throughout the film. “Fides” in latin means “faith” and when Antonio loses the bicycle near the start of the film, he slowly loses faith in finding the bicycle that promises him a future away from poverty. He actively accuses civilians for stealing his bike, which signifies his lost faith in strangers for being trustworthy and honest. Him getting kicked out of the church signifies his lost faith in religion as the members of the church constantly follow him and scrutinize him for his untoward behavior during mass rather than assisting him in finding the old man. Bruno truly admires his father as he constantly looks up to him throughout the film. Antonio is seen neglecting Bruno multiple times throughout the film almost letting harm befall him. Antonio’s faith in himself to be a father figure for Bruno is missing as he cannot find his bicycle which will elevate the family financially. Thus, in the end we see the desperate measures Antonio is forced to take which is stealing another person’s bicycle. He has lost all the faith he had left and resorts to committing a demeaning act, which is becoming a thief himself. At the same time, Bruno sees his father committing this act. This signifies the diminishing faith that Bruno has in his father to be “the good guy” and ultimately find the bicycle that brings forth new life.
The brand of Antonio’s bicycle is Fides. Fides means faith and is a symbol of the promising future that the bicycle promises for Antonio and his family. After buying back his bike and securing a job as a poster hanging, he tells his wife about the money and benefits he will be able to gain through the Fides. Having the Fides bike directly correlated with the faith that Antonio and his family had in their future. However, once the Fides bike was stolen from Antonio, his faith almost vanished. Antonio still believed that he could find his bike again and spent the entirety of the movie on that goal. Sadly, as the film progresses, Antonio loses more and more faith as time goes on. Antonio countlessly wrongfully accuses random people of stealing his bike, further signifying his loss of faith in humanity as a whole. The movie ultimately finishes with Antonio giving in to what has caused him all this pain, His bike being stolen, and attempts to steal a bike. Antonio goes from a man full of faith in the fact that he will be able to support his family to a thieving criminal desperate for opportunity.
When Antonio gets his big job it is immediately apparent that it is strongly reliant on his bicycle, and in this time finding jobs is seemingly rare. There was plenty of workers searching for jobs and were willing bikers although he was offered it due to his expertise. He goes on a wild goose chase trying to get his bike in the first place, so that he will actually be able to do the job he was hired for. This job was his opportunity to provide for and help his family through the struggle of the depression, which is something the ideal man would do. The interesting part is that the bike holds more weight than the actual worker himself quite simply because they are more rare. The fact that the bike is known as faith even more so pushes this idea as a theme. It goes to show how a seemingly insignificant event can change somebodies life in a very important way. His faith was taken, he could no longer be the man who could provide for his struggling family which sends Antonio down a pit of despair. The idea of this bike is the fine line between his success or not because it is one of the few things that separates him from the despaired lower class in Italy at this time.
The bike being named Fide is really important to the story in “Bicycle Thieves”. Since the beginning of the story, the bike has symbolized a way for Antonio to get this family out of poverty and into the working class, since having a bike is the only reason he got the job in the first place. After losing the bike, he worries that he will not be able to support his family anymore. As he is unable to find his bike, he loses faith that he will ever find it and that he will be able to support his family. The audience can see how desperate he is when he talks to the oracle person in the house. This is important because when his wife went in to talk to her about something he said that whatever she was doing was a scam and that she should not spend her money on it. At the end, he consults her on where his bike may be. Another symbol in this movie is Antonio’s hat. I think this represents his dignity through the movie. He keeps his dignity through everything he does, like running all around this city like a lunatic, constantly talking to the police and even accusing someone of being the thief. The only time he loses his dignity is when he is caught stealing the bike. He loses it then because it is the first time he has done something he is ashamed about in the film.
The brand name of Antonio’s bicycle, Fides or Faith, is a symbol of the brighter future that it initially promises for Antonio and his family. After buying the bike and securing his job hanging posters, he tells his wife about the high pay and benefits that he will receive as they begin riding the bike home. At this point in the film, Antonio and his wife have faith that they will soon live a better life. However, this faith soon dissipates when a man steals Antonio’s bike and thus takes away the faith that Antonio had in his family’s future. Yet not all faith is lost because he makes it his mission to find the culprit and reclaim his bike in which the wellbeing of his family depends upon. As he pursues his lost bicycle, he wrongfully accuses people of stealing it, which also signifies that he has lost his faith in strangers and assumes that everyone has selfish, wrongful intentions. Additionally, he loses religious faith when he is forced to leave the church where he thought an old man would give him information on the man whom he suspects to have stolen the bike. He eventually loses faith in himself, and the fortuneteller reiterates his worst fear: if he does not find the bike immediately, he will never find it. At the end of the film, when he still has not found the bicycle and doubts that he ever will, he decides to steal someone else’s bike instead. He has been robbed of his faith for too long and must resort to desperate measures. Without the bike and the faith and security of his family’s future that it represents, Antonio is reduced to a thief himself.
ReplyDeleteIn The Bicycle Thieves Antonio as the father figure of the household has to find a way to support and put food on the table for his family in a struggling Italian economy. While waiting for his name to be called about a possible job, he is made aware that for this specific job he needs a bicycle which he does not have at the time. Right here is the first moment that this idea of faith and his life depends on this bike that he does not even have just yet. Antonio does what he can to get a bicycle and goes as far as selling his bed sheets because of the value of the opportunity. He sells the bedsheets, receives enough money, and buys his Fides bike. This is a major symbol as the word fides translates to faith. Antonio and his family’s life rides on this bike as he begins his new job. His first day he leaves his bike unattended and it is stolen by thieves who ride away with it not to be seen again. In this scene although he loses the physical object of the bike which hinders his ability to do his job, he loses much more than just that. This bike is his key to being able to support his family and put food on the table for them. He does not lose faith in searching for his bike for so long because of this idea that this could completely ruin his life. He searches for days and days to find anything that could even hint at where his bike or the bike parts are. We see Antonio completely lose his faith when he attempts to steal someone else’s bike because of how desperate he is to support his family. He is robbed of more than just a bike. He is robbed of his faith.
ReplyDelete^John
DeleteThe bicycle “Fides” in the film represents Antonio’s opportunity for social mobility. The bike allows him to work his job and earn food and money for his family. It’s his ticket out of the somewhat poverty-stricken life he and his family live throughout the film. “Fides” in latin means “faith” and when Antonio loses the bicycle near the start of the film, he slowly loses faith in finding the bicycle that promises him a future away from poverty. He actively accuses civilians for stealing his bike, which signifies his lost faith in strangers for being trustworthy and honest. Him getting kicked out of the church signifies his lost faith in religion as the members of the church constantly follow him and scrutinize him for his untoward behavior during mass rather than assisting him in finding the old man. Bruno truly admires his father as he constantly looks up to him throughout the film. Antonio is seen neglecting Bruno multiple times throughout the film almost letting harm befall him. Antonio’s faith in himself to be a father figure for Bruno is missing as he cannot find his bicycle which will elevate the family financially. Thus, in the end we see the desperate measures Antonio is forced to take which is stealing another person’s bicycle. He has lost all the faith he had left and resorts to committing a demeaning act, which is becoming a thief himself. At the same time, Bruno sees his father committing this act. This signifies the diminishing faith that Bruno has in his father to be “the good guy” and ultimately find the bicycle that brings forth new life.
ReplyDeleteThe brand of Antonio’s bicycle is Fides. Fides means faith and is a symbol of the promising future that the bicycle promises for Antonio and his family. After buying back his bike and securing a job as a poster hanging, he tells his wife about the money and benefits he will be able to gain through the Fides. Having the Fides bike directly correlated with the faith that Antonio and his family had in their future. However, once the Fides bike was stolen from Antonio, his faith almost vanished. Antonio still believed that he could find his bike again and spent the entirety of the movie on that goal. Sadly, as the film progresses, Antonio loses more and more faith as time goes on. Antonio countlessly wrongfully accuses random people of stealing his bike, further signifying his loss of faith in humanity as a whole. The movie ultimately finishes with Antonio giving in to what has caused him all this pain, His bike being stolen, and attempts to steal a bike. Antonio goes from a man full of faith in the fact that he will be able to support his family to a thieving criminal desperate for opportunity.
ReplyDeleteWhen Antonio gets his big job it is immediately apparent that it is strongly reliant on his bicycle, and in this time finding jobs is seemingly rare. There was plenty of workers searching for jobs and were willing bikers although he was offered it due to his expertise. He goes on a wild goose chase trying to get his bike in the first place, so that he will actually be able to do the job he was hired for. This job was his opportunity to provide for and help his family through the struggle of the depression, which is something the ideal man would do. The interesting part is that the bike holds more weight than the actual worker himself quite simply because they are more rare. The fact that the bike is known as faith even more so pushes this idea as a theme. It goes to show how a seemingly insignificant event can change somebodies life in a very important way. His faith was taken, he could no longer be the man who could provide for his struggling family which sends Antonio down a pit of despair. The idea of this bike is the fine line between his success or not because it is one of the few things that separates him from the despaired lower class in Italy at this time.
ReplyDeleteThe bike being named Fide is really important to the story in “Bicycle Thieves”. Since the beginning of the story, the bike has symbolized a way for Antonio to get this family out of poverty and into the working class, since having a bike is the only reason he got the job in the first place. After losing the bike, he worries that he will not be able to support his family anymore. As he is unable to find his bike, he loses faith that he will ever find it and that he will be able to support his family. The audience can see how desperate he is when he talks to the oracle person in the house. This is important because when his wife went in to talk to her about something he said that whatever she was doing was a scam and that she should not spend her money on it. At the end, he consults her on where his bike may be. Another symbol in this movie is Antonio’s hat. I think this represents his dignity through the movie. He keeps his dignity through everything he does, like running all around this city like a lunatic, constantly talking to the police and even accusing someone of being the thief. The only time he loses his dignity is when he is caught stealing the bike. He loses it then because it is the first time he has done something he is ashamed about in the film.
ReplyDelete