Symbols and Tropes
Flashbacks
One of Airplane!'s great running jokes is Ted's war flashbacks. Manifesting hilariously as grainy, black and white WWII-era dogfight footage, Ted often lapses into these memories when the going get...
Zooms and Close-Ups
Anyone who's ever seen any movie ever should recognize the dramatic camera zoom and close-up. Once, these techniques were creative ways to set the stage for a dramatic reveal, or to highlight emoti...
Suicidal Seatmates
One of Airplane!'s classic recurring gags is story time with Ted, in which our not-so-charismatic protagonist literally bores his seatmates to death. These hapless passengers, an elderly lady, an I...