# Significance of Mordecai in The Royal Tenenbaums? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 23, 2004, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/significance-of-mordecai-in-the-royal-tenenbaums/235958 "2004-03-23T19:09:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![xvxdarkknightxvx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/34f0e0/32.png) [@xvxdarkknightxvx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xvxdarkknightxvx)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2004, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/significance-of-mordecai-in-the-royal-tenenbaums/235958/1 "2004-03-23T19:09:45Z")
I just rewatched the movie, and I was wondering what the significance of the falcon was. They mention that he may have had a traumatic experience, which turned his feathers white. What does this allude to? Any other info you can give me about this character? ---
**Author:** ![Jpeg\_Jones](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/4bbf92/32.png) [@Jpeg\_Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jpeg_Jones)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2004, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/significance-of-mordecai-in-the-royal-tenenbaums/235958/2 "2004-03-23T23:15:15Z")
Well, clearly he was just like all the members of the Tenenbaum family. Each of them also had a traumatic experience and then returned home. ---
**Author:** ![Made\_in\_Macau](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eada6e/32.png) [@Made\_in\_Macau](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Made_in_Macau)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2004, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/significance-of-mordecai-in-the-royal-tenenbaums/235958/3 "2004-03-24T00:03:09Z")
i just watched ‘bottle rocket’ again tonight and really feel that this and ‘rushmore’ are far better movies than ‘the royal t’s’ tanenbaums is really overplayed and has no heart, i was bored but kept watching hoping it would improve - it didn’t ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Fight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/90ced4/32.png) [@Cat\_Fight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Fight)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2004, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/significance-of-mordecai-in-the-royal-tenenbaums/235958/4 "2004-03-24T00:14:29Z")
Somehow, I thought **Rushmore** was funny and sweet and smart as hell, definitely in my top 5, yet I was completely unmoved by The Royal Tenenbaums and Bottle Rocket. Maybe I’ll give that last one another viewing, but I remember being thoroughly disappointed the first time I saw it. ---
**Author:** ![xvxdarkknightxvx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/34f0e0/32.png) [@xvxdarkknightxvx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xvxdarkknightxvx)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2004, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/significance-of-mordecai-in-the-royal-tenenbaums/235958/5 "2004-03-24T00:58:10Z")
Why did he add the white feathers at all? Was it solely to bring up the point about traumatic experiences? ---
**Author:** ![deltanea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e5b9ba/32.png) [@deltanea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/deltanea)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2012, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/significance-of-mordecai-in-the-royal-tenenbaums/235958/6 "2012-08-26T23:15:50Z")
> [@xvxdarkknightxvx](#): > > I just rewatched the movie, and I was wondering what the significance of the falcon was. They mention that he may have had a traumatic experience, which turned his feathers white. What does this allude to? Any other info you can give me about this character? It’s been a while since the last person wrote here, but I recently read this question and I think that I may have an answer: "The original hawk used to play Mordecai was kidnapped during shooting and held for ransom - production could not wait for him to be returned which is the reason that the bird that appears later in the movie has “more white feathers” - it’s a different bird. " So I think that the mention to a traumatic experience was just for explain the different color of the hawk’s feathers. On the other hand, I agree with the first person who answer your question! I’m from Argentina and I never studied english, so I’m sorry if you have problems to understand me! And most of all, I hope that this post could help someone else. I found the part between " " in: [The Royal Tenenbaums (2001) - Trivia - IMDb](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0265666/trivia) ---
**Author:** ![foolsguinea](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foolsguinea/32/14751_2.png) [@foolsguinea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foolsguinea)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2012, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/significance-of-mordecai-in-the-royal-tenenbaums/235958/7 "2012-08-26T23:33:34Z")
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