a story intended to teach a basic truth or moral about life
the film is an apologue of sorts, but the message is couched in a zany and action-filled plot
Using satirical allegory, broad farce, horror and violence, the visionary Korean master has made a string of standout genre films that double as subversive takes on sociopolitical rot, from Memories of Murder to The Host, Snowpiercer to Parasite, frequently making a virtue of tonal whiplash.
—
David Rooney,
The Hollywood Reporter,
15 Feb. 2025
Miller wrote the play as an allegory for McCarthyism, when the U.S. government persecuted people of being communists.
Jameson seeks accounts of its daily life instead of parables of repression, and finds them in long novels by Günter Grass and Uwe Tellkamp.
—
Mark Greif,
Harper's Magazine,
26 July 2024
Bathed in a pink-pop glow, its pastiche of romance and horror collide in a viciously mischievous parable of technology and control that speaks to these most anxious times.
Brad Pitt, 'Once Upon a Time in Hollywood' (2020)
In Quentin Tarantino’s alt-history fable, Pitt plays a steely stunt double equally adept at fixing TV antennas or dealing with the Manson Family, all with a grin on his weathered face.
—
Brian Truitt,
USA TODAY,
28 Feb. 2025
Its surrealistic elements blend with realistic properties and a unique video-game-like computer animation to create something remarkable: a cautious environmental fable and a testament to the power of working together to achieve a common goal.
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Share