Home Alone - Part 2

Home Alone was released in November 1990, almost exactly a year following the fall of the Berlin Wall and the unofficial conclusion of the Cold War. Although it would be absurd to claim there is any sort of direct link between the fall of the Berlin Wall and the theatrical release of Home Alone, the two do have an interesting symbolic symmetry.

The fall of the Berlin Wall represented the culmination of ultimate distraction. The Soviet Union was no longer able to keep a close watch over its large collection of children. All hell broke loose when some of the children were left to fend for themselves. But in the end, the innocent nature of new-found freedom prevailed (at least in the short-term).