Symbolism, Allusion and Allegory in "There Will Be Blood"

The email has been pouring in recently, all with the same request. "Roman," my readers plead, "I just saw There Will Be Blood, and I didn't get any of the symbolism that all the critics are talking about. Could you please explain it to me?'"

As almost a Film Studies major at a major Amish University, I'll do my best to clear this up.

Daniel Day-Lewis plays Daniel Plainview, a hard-working prospector who isn't afraid to get his hands dirty. After all his co-workers die in tragic accidents, he decides to move into management. Clearly it's the director's intent to make him symbolic of Exxon, if not Capitalism as a whole.

One day a stranger appears, and he tells Plainview about oil on his family's land. Young, naive, and desperate for cash, Paul Sunday has travelled halfway across the country to tempt Plainview, so we can see him as representative of Real Estate Agents. Plainview follows Sunday's directions to the family plot. Sensing oil beneath their feet, he buys up all the land and begins to drill.

When one of his employees dies, Plainview adopts the man's son, either showing that Capitalism has a soft spot for Innocence or plenty of use for the Dumb. After the boy loses his hearing in an accident, it's clear he symbolizes Trust. It's a match made in heaven: Capitalism cannot work without Trust, and without Capitalism Trust would be just a frustrated old librarian with a mole on her lip.

A homespun preacher named Eli turns up at the oil field, offering to bless the wells. In a stroke of casting genius, he's played by the same man as the Real Estate Agent. Either this is due to budgetary constraints or it's Anderson's sly way of saying Real Estate Agents always have day jobs too. Plainview spurns his offer, sending the humiliated preacher away. Clearly Capitalism cannot aid Religion unless churches take credit cards.

Throughout the movie, Plainview shows absolutely no interest in adults of the opposite sex. In one pivotal scene, he tentatively touches a little girl. The director seems to be suggesting that Capitalism is a pedophile, though maybe it's just maladjusted and shy. The girl jumps back in horror. Purity wants nothing to do with Capitalism unless the Disney Studios are involved.

A later scene reaffirms this reading. Someone takes Plainview to a brothel to celebrate, but rather than partake in the upstairs offerings, he resolutely remains downstairs. Why? Now the director's message becomes crystal clear. Either Capitalism is only interested in seducing our children or else it's really, really gay.

After Plainview becomes fabulously wealthy, a character appears claiming to be his long-lost brother. Henry asks for nothing more than honest pay for an honest day's work, obviously portraying the Working Class. Plainview tricks him into admitting he's a fraud, perhaps subtlely showing Capitalism's dependence on old "Facts of Life" reruns. Capitalism then shoots the Working Class in the head and buries him in the wilderness. The parallels here will be obvious to anyone who's ever worked in fast food.

Fast-forward several years in the future. Capitalism is now a crazy old man who lives alone on a hill, spurned by society, cobwebs growing on his fabulous possessions. Evidently it's not enough to be filthy rich: you have to live in a hot neighborhood too. Eli the preacher turns up on the doorstep, similarly crazy. He's lost his faith and is deeply in debt, and turns to Capitalism out of desperation. Capitalism refuses to help, providing an object lesson for anyone who's ever wondered why so many churches now offer Bingo. "Where's your God now?" Capitalism asks. "Nowhere! Money rules the world!" Religion has no choice but to agree. And in a move familiar to anyone who's watched TV on Sunday, Religion gets clubbed to death by Sports.

You're welcome. Next week: the hidden subtext behind the Bratz dolls.