Everything Is Illuminated Meaning

Although most do, a holocaust film does not necessarily have to retell the events of the actual holocaust to relay the same message. A good example of this would be everything is illuminated. Everything is illuminated “starts out as a journey to piece together one family's story under the most comedic and absurd conditions turns into a surprisingly meaningful and existential odyssey, one full of personal and political revelations.” (levy) although everything is illuminated is not your average holocaust film, it does an amazing job of avoiding trivialization. Of course, the film is not able to avoid all trivialization, as that is impossible, and even the audience can trivialize the event. But everything is illuminated is able to relay the intended message without much hiccup. One of the elements of everything is illuminated that assists in it avoidance of trivialization would be the many layers of metaphor and meaning. Not only does this give the film a complexity similar to the holocaust, but it gives a full and rich explanation of the themes and importance in the film. Again, everything is illuminated

Alex comes to the conclusion that “everything is illuminated in the light of the past.” Saying this at the end of the film, he gives the viewer a verbal representation of the theme. He also says something similar to “the past is inside all of us, coming out, much like the inside out shirt.” He is referencing Johnathan telling him his shirt was inside out. He does not understand this, and the miscommunication leads to him making this realization. The meaning behind this film, the importance of remembering events such as the holocaust, is one of the most important parts of the film. This gives the viewer an important message that will help with the collective remembrance of such events throughout