The Meaning of Home

The Running Man

This flow traces how Ben’s idea of home changes from apartment, to community, to a destination he can no longer return to.

increasing

Bearing strength in each event

decreasing

Co-Op City Apartment Co-Op City Apartment from "The Running Man". Home Under Pressure A Shared Room Ben and Sheila Richards live with Catherine Sarah Richards in a cramped Development apartment.

Co-Op City Apartment from "The Running Man". Home Under Pressure A Shared Room Ben and Sheila Richards live with Catherine Sarah Richards in a cramped Development apartment.

Home Under Pressure A Shared Room Ben and Sheila Richards live with Catherine Sarah Richards in a cramped Development apartment. The home offers intimacy but no protection from illness or poverty. Departure Ben leaves because remaining would mean watching his daughter deteriorate. Home becomes the place he must abandon to preserve it.

The Poor Neighborhoods The Poor Neighborhoods from "The Running Man". Familiar Streets South of The Canal Ben knows the rats, gangs, ruined lights, and abandoned vehicles of his district.

The Poor Neighborhoods from "The Running Man". Familiar Streets South of The Canal Ben knows the rats, gangs, ruined lights, and abandoned vehicles of his district.

Familiar Streets South of The Canal Ben knows the rats, gangs, ruined lights, and abandoned vehicles of his district. The environment is dangerous but legible to him. Social Belonging His knowledge of the poor neighborhoods later becomes a tactical advantage. Home is not comfort; it is shared experience and local memory.

Bradley’s Kitchen Bradley’s Kitchen from "The Running Man". Temporary Family Food and Illness Bradley Throckmorton’s household feeds Ben while Cassie cries from Lung cancer.

Bradley’s Kitchen from "The Running Man". Temporary Family Food and Illness Bradley Throckmorton’s household feeds Ben while Cassie cries from Lung cancer.

Temporary Family Food and Illness Bradley Throckmorton’s household feeds Ben while Cassie cries from Lung cancer. The crowded apartment resembles his own home in its tenderness and deprivation. Recognition Ben recognizes that his family’s vulnerability is part of a wider social household. For a short time, refuge means being understood rather than being safe.

The Blue Door The Blue Door from "The Running Man". A House That Cannot Hold Another Refuge The Blue Door offers a room and a watcher’s view of the street.

The Blue Door from "The Running Man". A House That Cannot Hold Another Refuge The Blue Door offers a room and a watcher’s view of the street.

A House That Cannot Hold Another Refuge The Blue Door offers a room and a watcher’s view of the street. Its locks and shadows suggest shelter, but its history is already broken. Betrayal Virginia Parrakis calls the police. Ben learns that a building becomes home only through trust, and trust cannot be commanded by walls.

The Final Return The Final Return from "The Running Man". Home as Target Harding Below The hijacked Lockheed TriStar approaches Harding and Co-Op City. Ben sees the streets of his former life from above.

The Final Return from "The Running Man". Home as Target Harding Below The hijacked Lockheed TriStar approaches Harding and Co-Op City. Ben sees the streets of his former life from above.

Home as Target Harding Below The hijacked Lockheed TriStar approaches Harding and Co-Op City. Ben sees the streets of his former life from above. No Return The Network Games Building occupies the place where home and power meet. Ben cannot go back to Sheila and Catherine Sarah Richards, so he makes the city witness their absence.

opening morning

during Ben’s first night outside

after the sewer escape

after the Manchester transfer

near the ending