SSC Film Studies

In what ways can 

War Of The Worlds 

be considered post 9/11 cinema?

There are many ways that the film War Of The Worlds can be considered post 9/11 cinema. one of which is the allegorical connections between Aliens and terrorists. In the movie Aliens want to exterminate human life and replace it with their on, terrorists want to exterminate western civilisation and replace t with their own ideologies. Both Aliens and terrorists, look, talk, and act differently; and both use transport as a weapon. In the movie, the aliens are sleeper cells, basically they have been planning the attack for years, exactly like the terrorists, planning from inside the U.S.A. they both also attack from inside the U.S.A. Even in the film Tom Cruise's children ask, "was it the terrorists," this reveals that the film is post 9/11, because before 9/11 they might have asked whether it was something else.

Before the attack begins we see people rush toward the situation, and some of Tom Cruise's friends begin to try and rationalise it, "was it a solar flair," this is what happened to the people after they saw the first plane hit on 9/11. Once the attacks begin, the people star to become irrational as did the peopl on 9/11 after the second plane hit.

Another way that it can be considered post 9/11 cinema, is the use of micro elements. The cinematography throughout the film is mainly from hand held camera, and from low angle shot looking up at the attack, which is resembles the amateur footage shot at the september eleventh attacks. These visual effects remind the audience of 9/11. We also see at the beginning of the film people being turned into grey dust, this was used on purpose as it is visually reminiscent of the grey dust clouds that swarmed New York. when Tom Cruise walks home from the alien attack, he is covered in dust and i shocked when he sees himself in the mirror covered in it; this scene was taken from the 9/11 survivor stories.