All The Good Writers End Up In Hollywood Or Hell

If you have an eye for symbolism, allegory, subtle historical parallels, philosophy, and devious humor, “Barton Fink” is your goldmine. If not, you are likely to be more than a little confused.
Set in a stylized world of art deco and martinis, Barton Fink (John Turturro) is a New York writer complete with owl-eyed glasses, an Underwood Universal Typewriter, and a hairdo to rival Cosmo Kramer’s. During the after-party of his latest Broadway hit, Barton’s agent informs him that a big-shot Hollywood production company is willing to pay him a pretty penny to write movies. Tentative to leave the grimy reality of New York City, Barton is eventually lured into the glamorous world of 1940s Tinseltown.
Once in Hollywood, Barton sets up camp at the sickly “Hotel Earle” where he befriends Charlie (John Goodman), a beefy insurance salesman residing in the room next door. After meeting with the boisterous boss of Capitol Pictures (Michael Lerner), Barton is assigned to write a script for a wrestling picture. But back at the Earle, he finds himself with a nasty case of writer’s block.
Barton is not a people person, but has strong beliefs about the plight of the common man. He thinks of himself as an intellectual and dreams of pulling the average working man into the spotlight through his own creative brilliance. But in Hollywood, nothing is as it seems. Barton is tempted by lucrative success and finds himself facing the consequences when Hollywood turns out to be pure hell. Literally.
The heat in the hotel is so great, even the walls are sweating. Charlie appears to be the only other resident. He is a friendly enough guy, but behind his teddy-bear exterior lurks a violent inner torment. When he leaves to go to New York, Charlie gives Barton a box filled with all his worldly goods for safe keeping. Though his body is elsewhere, his soul stays in Hollywood.
Although Barton wishes to generate a social equality through the acknowledgment of the lower classes in the arts, he finds in his Hollywood brethren a longing to cling to superior authority. If you really want to read into it, many have likened this to the rise of fascism and found it to be a strong undercurrent in the movie. There is no right or wrong interpretation of this, but I feel that there is more to be said about humanity than politics in this metaphorical maneuver.
As the movie speeds into a surreal world of mayhem and murder, our wild-haired hero is dragged into oblivion with it. He is not a bad person and hasn’t really done anything wrong. He consciously made the choice to abandon mankind in pursuit of what we all long for--success. What he gets is insanity, but does he deserve it? Perhaps we can play a hand in determining our fate after all.