MovieChat Forums > Fahrenheit 451 (1966) Discussion > 'Personal medallions' of the captain

'Personal medallions' of the captain

posted 10 years ago by Banaga
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Here's something I didn't understand:

A fireman gives the captain the files on the family the police arrested the day before. The captain tells him to remind him to give him one of his personal medallions. I already have one sir, he tells the captain.
The captain reacts surprised. I don’t know what to make of this dialogue. What are those ‘personal medallions’ what are their importance to the movie and why does he want to give one to the fireman? Also, how did the fireman already obtain one of them?

[–] srjow 10 years ago

I think there are a number of scenes where the captain reacts in a strange way, such as shortly after this one when he encounters Montag in his office. I think that Truffaut is trying to show how even the faculties of people in authority deteriorate in this desensitised society.

As for the medallions themselves, I think their mention is to illustrate the shallowness of the relationships (like “mowing the lawn” being the height of Montag’s weekend activities).

"Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence" Carl Sagan