The Fisher King Sparknotes

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Consistent with the corpus of Terry Gilliam's work (e.g., BRAZIL and THE ADVENTURES OF BARON MUNCHAUSEN), THE FISHER KING once again deals with grand themes against the backdrop of an alienating and dehumanizing social environment. The movie begins with Jack Lucas (Jeff Bridges), the biting, sardonic, and caustic radio "personality," berating his callers and listeners from a small studio somewhere in New York City. Speaking to one of his "fans" named Alan, Jack launches into a lengthy tirade in which he derides "yuppies," declaring that they deserve to die. With another day's job of derision completed, Jack goes home to prepare for his first television appearance, practicing his "presentation of self" by uttering the words "forgive me!" with …show more content…

In Jack Lucas, Gilliam gives us a portrait of egoism[End page 9] incarnate--a covetous, self-interested radio "personality" who is perpetually anguished despite his material success. Against this image, Gilliam juxtaposes Perry, the homeless madman--the fool--who finds satisfaction through apparently selfless and noble acts. The Egoism-Altruism dichotomy is made even more explicit as Perry relates the story of "The Fisher King" to Jack. The story concerns a king with visions of glory and fortune who spends a lifetime searching for the sacred Holy Grail, only to find himself emotionally scarred and embittered as he nears the end of his life. At this point, a fool comes along. Finding the king thirsty, the fool offers the king a drink of water. As the king drinks the water from the fool's cup, he finds himself not only emotionally healed but also in possession of that which he had chased for so long--the Holy Grail. Of course, the point of "The Fisher King" story is clear: the single minded pursuit of personal satisfaction (i.e., egoism) is doomed to failure. Only through other pursuits can true happiness be …show more content…

Accordingly, notions of free will and responsibility play critical roles in the movie's narrative. For instance, when[End page 10] Perry enters a catatonic state after facing the haunted memory of his wife's sordid death, Jack visits him in the hospital. In an extended soliloquy apparently designed to assuage his feelings of guilt, Jack says, "I don't feel responsible for you. I'm not God... I don't feel guilty. I don't feel sorry for you. It's easy being nuts. Try being me." As an example of the Determinist- Indeterminist theme found throughout the movie, this monologue raises several basic questions. Is Jack responsible for the tragedy at the heart of the movie? What is the connection between guilt and responsibility? Did the killer act of his own free will or were his actions determined by Jack (and by extension the media) and/or mental

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