Symbolism in Film

Definition
Put simply, a symbol is a physical representation- either an object or mark- that stands in for another object or idea. Symbolism is pervasive throughout all artistic mediums, and the new(ish) production of Cinema is no exception. Now if the idea of symbolism is exaggerated, almost everything in the mise-en-scene could be taken as a symbol, a representation of another object. 

Examples in Film
All of the films we've seen in the past few weeks hold simple objects that represent the ideas of their creators, some of the best examples comes from Stanely Kubrick's2001: A Space Odyssey. One such object that becomes a symbol was an ordinary leg bone. This simple leg bone was used to bring our ape ancestors meat and take down their enemies. But as in the scene bellow, we can see the bone become so much more, it changes from being a simple tool to become the symbol of mankind's giant leap forward to no longer humbly accept evolution's slow pace but to shape the world around them and to build ambitions that reach toward the stars. The symbolism of the bone becomes pretty apparent with the triumphrent tossing, representing that leap forward for man especially with the match cut/graphic match taken place with the satellite (bomb).