The films journey is based around Guy Montag going from being a Fireman to one of the book people. What is interesting about how he went from burning all books and seeing them as a form of corruption is that it merely took curiosity to spark a flame within him to begin to seek out what reading a book could actually do for him. Thus, the film is about igniting within ourselves a desire to feel, to express and to connect with one another based on the experiences of our lives and to learn from one another whether through direct interaction or through literature. Montag is the fire in the film, and the curiosity is the spark that lit the flame within him to begin his exploration.
Truffaut's film, based on Ray Bradbury's novel, explores the realities of mass media and how they wield their power in accordance with what the government, or whoever is controlling them, tells them to do. Montag is seen very much alive and free, but on television he has been captured by the Firemen who are considered heroes for stopping his "anti-social" behavior. The reality of propaganda in an advanced culture, such as ours, is very dangerous as it misleads people to unite in a way that makes them smaller rather than enlarging them for who they uniquely can be, and how they can add value to society. Instead, the government seeks to keep everyone in a box so that the power will remain with those in power and never be transferred sans a rebellion which can overthrow it.
