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Mary-Katherine Sweeney
Mr. Olszyk
Religion IV
15 March 2017
Dead is Dead
The movie Coconut Hero begins in the middle of Nowheresville where 16-year-
old Mike Tyson, wants an out to his currently boring and uneventful life. To do this, Mike
tries hundreds of different ways to commit suicide; only to find out he has a very serious
brain tumor. Due to the excessive amounts of an attempt at suicide Mike is sent to
therapy. Mike decides to continue his life knowing that he has only a few months to live,
unless he gets surgery to remove the tumor. He begins to accept his death until he meets
Miranda, a girl who works at the therapy center and ends up falling in love with her.
Through Mirandas untimely death Mike finally accepts the surgery and how meaningful
life can be. Due to this relationship, Miranda symbolizes Jesus Christ because she spent
her life trying to help others and showing Mike, how precious and what a gift life.
Throughout the movie, the filmmakers seems to want you to focus on Mikes
transition out of his depression and into a happier life. The creator also centers on the
thought that some may have a meaningless life, but one can still get through the worst of
it and come out stronger than before. With time, Miranda helps Mike realize that having
certain people in your life can make it bearable and give you a reason to live. By entering
Mikes life Miranda was able to give him hope and the friendship that he needed to
understand that life is precious. Another major theme within the movie is love, and how it
Love can be difficult, confusing, and invisible, but in time it will sort itself out,
which is overall a major theme throughout the film. Throughout the growth of Miranda
and Mikes relationship, love begins to blossom between the two. Since, neither has been
in love before, they are unable to comprehend the feelings between each other and are
never really together even though Miranda and Mike feel the same towards each other.
Never having been in love, or even tried to talk to any girl for that matter, Mike doesnt
You may ask, is Coconut Hero really religious? Technically no. This movie only
has a few slight affiliations with God: a scene where Mike prays to God to end his life,
and more. Other than that, there is no direct affiliation. If you pay close attention to the
movie, however, you can interpret Miranda, one of the main characters; how she is a
good representation of Jesus Christ. Miranda enters Mikes life at the most unexpected
time, when he is enrolled into therapy, and yet it seemed to be the best time. At first Mike
rejects the idea of Miranda and the thought of friendship, since he was destined to die
with a brain tumor in a few months. After time, Mike realizes that Miranda is different
from all the other girls, and they begin a lasting friendship. Similar to the followers of
Jesus, many people rejected his teachings but eventually came back and pursued Jesuss
teachings. Although Miranda is a good representation of Jesus Christ she never rises from
the dead, as he did, for Dead is dead in the eyes of Mike Tyson.
Like Jesus, Miranda displays guidance and helps Mike realize the beauty and
goodness in the world through their meetings. Miranda is also a symbol for Jesus when
she, like Him, leaves in an abrupt way after helping the main character get through the
toughest parts of his life. With the abrupt death of Miranda, Mike is indeed devastated but
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slowly learns how to live a positive life, see the beauty in everything, and forever end his
state of depression.
The work is quite compelling, which is one of the reasons why I choose to use
this film. Almost everything about the film is fascinating, the cinematography especially.
The color scheme throughout the movie is beautiful, and the sound editing that matched
the song to the words in the beginning was something that I love seeing in films but never
get enough of. Speaking of music, it was very intriguing and really went with the indie
persona the film was taking on, most of the songs were from unknown indie bands and
helped support the films genre. One plot of the film I felt indifferent about was the
dialogue with mike and the funeral director. Once Mike realizes he is destined to die, he
begins preparations for his funeral. Although it does seem out of place in the movie, if
paid close attention you could see how Mike tries to prepare for his death, but only ends
Another aspect that was creative in the film was the editing. The transitions
flowed together, and during some of the most emotional scenes the editor decides to slow
down whats going on in the background, to focus on the characters emotion and express
how they feel like time slows down. The editor uses this technique when Miranda dies,
and Mike contemplates, whether or not to continue with surgery and has the utter
Coconut Hero has three main plots, Mikes development of his tumor and
preparation for his death, his relationship with his family, and his overall relationship
with Miranda. All plots are successful in getting across Mikes message and bettering his
life, but there could have been more development on the relationship with his family.
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Overall it was good, in my opinion how the developers decided to tie in the family
troubles with his relationship with Miranda and how each character developed throughout
the film. You can see Mikes character development throughout the story as he travels
with Miranda. In one scene she explains the difference between Heaven and hell by
seeing hell, or hello written in the clouds and tells Mike what he must do to go to heaven,
During Mike and Mirandas adventure there is a hint of foreshadowing within the
movie. When Mike asks what Miranda would think of him if he died she did reply, but
immediately asked what would he do if she died. Mike never thought about it again until
Miranda did die, and gave all his funeral preparations to Miranda instead of himself.
Even during the funeral the priest says that Miranda helped people and led them on the
correct path, which is what she did for Mike in the end. This is shown in the last scene of
the movie after Mike realizes hes fallen in love with Miranda. Mike watches the clouds
and sees the words hell painted in the sky, but after a few moments the letters read
hello. This symbolizes Mikes growth as an individual and how hes begun to believe in
life.
The realization that Mike is going to die without the surgery motivates the
character to live more, even if he doesnt realize it. By running away with Miranda, Mike
begins to change and realizes that life is precious, and begins to open up to her, and his
family. In the beginning, Mike is forced to go to therapy, and obey his mother. Like most
Catholics at a young age, we are forced to go to mass. All throughout the movie Mike
slowly begins to realize that Earth is a good place to live and this world is worth it, by
falling in love and gaining friendships along the way. Similar to some during their
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confirmation years, thats the time when people begin to realize how important God is in
their lives and it changes them for the better. Mike also abolishes the idea of suicide; he
ends up getting the surgery and not only does he live for himself, but for Miranda. We
live for God, and his people. Overall, this movie has a positive belief about religion.
The film Coconut Hero does have a variety of religious symbols throughout its
contents. Miranda, one of the main characters, can be an interpreted as Jesus Christ, and
helps lead people in the correct direction away from sin and sorrow but like Christ, she
leaves in an abrupt way once her time is done. This movie also contributes the idea of
love that is something invisible to the eye, and how family relationships can rebuild
themselves after a tragedy. Coconut Hero shows how death can bring us all back
Works Cited
Coconut Hero. Dir. Florian Cossen. Majestic Filmverleih, 20th Century Fox Home