Line #16 YMMV/SlingBlade


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2	* AlternateCharacterInterpretation:
3	** Doyle's lack of reaction to Karl [[spoiler:holding a lawn mower blade and threatening to kill him with it]] despite Doyle's obvious fear of Karl is debated. Was Doyle too drunk to react properly? Too arrogant to show fear? Did he just not think Karl would actually [[spoiler:kill him?]] Or did he actually [[spoiler:want Karl to end his miserable life?]] [[spoiler: His surprised tone of voice when he notices Karl preparing to deliver the blow would seem to make the third option most likely, but it's still arguable.]]
4	** Karl's father [[spoiler:denying that he had a son when Karl reunited with him. Was it senility making him forget he had a son? Or just denial because he didn't want anything to do with Karl (the things he was muttering before seeing Karl suggest the latter.)]]
5	** Was Vaughan only brought to tears because of what Karl said about being a father to Frankie, or because he realised what Karl was going to do?
6	* AwardSnub: Often regarded as Creator/BillyBobThornton's finest bit of acting. Hence why history considers him losing Best Actor to Creator/GeoffreyRush for the far less remembered ''Film/{{Shine}}'' to be one gigantic snub.
7	* SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic: All of Daniel Lanois's score. Also a well-placed country ballad when Karl and Melinda are on their 'date' and [[spoiler:she brings him flowers]].
8	* BigLippedAlligatorMoment:
9	** Karl's [[spoiler:baptism]].
10	** This is debatable as he has just [[spoiler:made things right with his father and forgiven himself for what happened to his brother]].
11	* DiagnosedByTheAudience: It's not clear whether Karl is mentally disabled or autistic, nor to what extent his social and intellectual deficits are innate as opposed to the result of a childhood of abuse and neglect combined with an adulthood spent in an institution for the criminally insane. The fact that Karl can read and write adequately and has mechanical skills suggests autism with some savant-like traits.
12	* SugarWiki/HeReallyCanAct:
13	** Creator/BillyBobThornton is so known for playing jerks and sleazebags that seeing him as the unstable, yet gentle Karl is quite a shock.
14	** Also, country singer Music/DwightYoakam is surprisingly damn frightening as Doyle. When promoting the film on ''Series/LateNightWithConanOBrien'', he shared an amusing anecdote about how he knew he had done a good job when after the premiere, ''his own mother'' looked him dead in the eyes and said [[spoiler:"I'm glad he killed you!"]]
15	* HilariousInHindsight: Creator/RobertDuvall has a short cameo in this film as Karl's father. A year later, Creator/BillyBobThornton returned the favor with his cameo appearance as a bigoted trouble-maker in ''Film/TheApostle'', which Duvall wrote, directed, and starred in.
16	* HollywoodHomely: Creator/BillyBobThornton was told by Billy Wilder that he was too ugly to be an actor and should write a screenplay to exploit his features.
17	* IAmNotShazam:
18	** Because of the film, "Sling Blade" is used by some as a derogatory term for the mentally challenged.
19	** Many people who are unfamiliar with the movie think that Sling Blade is the protagonist's name. Evidenced by closed captions that say:
20	--->'''[[Insert character name]]''' (Imitating Sling Blade): Mustard and biscuits, mm-hmm.
21	* MemeticMutation: "I know what's wrong with it: It ain't got no gas in it!"
22	* MoralEventHorizon:
23	** Doyle's may be when he flings poor Terrence in his wheelchair against the screen door in the act of kicking his band out.
24	** [[spoiler:Frank Childers's was carried out long before the events of the movie, as related by Karl: he expected Karl to dispose of his premature little brother as though he were trash; the follow-through to this unseen event is shown in the SugarWiki/HeartwarmingMoments above.]]
25	* NightmareFuel: The climax of the film. During the HopeSpot, Daniel Lanois, with the track [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IEvhyxqJt8g "Orange Kay,"]] paints a picture of inner turmoil merged with terrifyingly righteous wrath as Karl contemplates murdering Doyle ForTheGreaterGood. Lanois' angry instrumentation leads with distorted guitar as Karl walks around Millsberg in full knowledge of the gravity of his situation and of the danger to his new-found loved ones. The fuel becomes more potent as the wailing guitars reach their peak on the point of Karl's final decision, symbolizing the peak of his rage just before his enters Doyle's house for the final scene. Inside, the guitars lower to a bubbling froth-like texture, then [[NothingIsScarier cut out entirely when]] [[spoiler:Karl chops Doyle's head open]].
26	* OneSceneWonder: [[spoiler:Creator/RobertDuvall]] as Karl's father.
27	* TearJerker:
28	** [[spoiler:Karl relating to Frankie how his father made him dispose of his prematurely-born little brother in a trash barrel, when he was "six or eight"; even then it didn't seem right, so Karl took the tiny being and gave him a decent burial in the backyard.]]
29	** [[spoiler:Made a bit worse by the fact Frankie delivers a WhatTheHellHero to Karl for this; but being mentally challenged and a little boy, he had no idea how to care for any baby, let alone a premature one, so it was a bit misplaced; still, it does speak to Frankie's high moral fiber.]]
30	** [[spoiler:"Wasn't right of you to kill my little brother... He mighta had fun sometimes."]]
31	* ValuesResonance: Vaughan is this for the LGBT community. He's a gay man [[StraightGay without any of the stereotypes]] and while he's somewhat closeted, he's heavily implied to be in a happy relationship with the local mortician. He's presented as upstanding, friendly, and caring person. His sexuality is never presented as evil or immoral (nor is he lionized in a patronizing manner for it), he doesn't die for shock value, and he's a well-developed character, has a close friends who care for him, and he closed off any contact with his father when he realized said father was an abusive asshole. In during Karl's [[spoiler:last]] conversation with Vaughan, the former praises the latter for being a good man. Vaughan was one of the earliest positive portrayals of a gay man. And this movie was made in ''1996'', the same year the controversial Defense of Marriage Act became law!
32	* TheWoobie:
33	** Frankie. He is consistently oppressed by his mother's boyfriend, as well as constantly being turned down by his crush Karen Cross. He does get his share of hugs, but don't you feel like you need to give him one more?
34	** To say Karl had a crappy life is one heck of an understatement. He was forced to live his childhood in a shed with a dirt floor, sleeping in a hole in the ground. He was bullied constantly by all the children his own age and treated like crap by everyone, including his own parents, right up until he killed his mother and her lover.
35	** Vaughan is a somewhat closeted gay man but very nice and protective. However, he mentions having an abusive father who didn't accept his sexuality and Vaughan now hates him. He's also not respected a lot from some townsfolk due to being gay.

Context YMMV / SlingBlade