It is often said that “films reflect the times in which they are made in”. How far is this true for ‘Invasion Of The Body Snatchers’?

I believe that this statement is very true for IOTBS as the film conveys a lot of the social feelings and fears during the time it was made (1956). The first view we get of this is in the opening scene with Miles in the hospital. Miles is thought to be crazy or insane due to the fact he isn’t following the status quo in the small town of Santa Mira. This reflects the America at that time because there was a lot of paranoia and fear of others; a lot of people were feared and discriminated against because that didn’t follow the status quo. This was due to the work of Joseph McCarthy and America & the USSR having nuclear weapons. People became afraid of people who were communists and anyone who were different, as they feared they would change their way of life, the American way of life.

Also in the opening scene the film starts in a state of panic, this is a clear reflection of America at the time the film was made, as there was a huge state of panic in America. People feared ‘others’ and they also had a fear of annihilation and there was a lot of paranoia. The Government at this time were Republican and believed in a very American way of life and if anyone was against this they were a threat. This was the start of the fear of ‘others’ and also the start of McCarthyism.

We see in the opening of the film a threat is present but we cannot see the threat like we can in ‘War Of The Worlds’ as the threat at the time was people’s ideologies. For example people feared homosexuals, communists etc. They look no different from us yet have different beliefs and ideologies and were a possible threat to the ‘American way of life’. This is also emphasised when Miles says, “Everything looked the same, it wasn’t. Something evil had taken over the town”. This is a representation of how people thought during that time, yet Miles isn’t saying this about those who are different, he is saying this about those who have become expressionless (the pod people). People in 1950s America started following the status quo very closely and didn’t speak their minds; people essentially became expressionless, as they feared what might happen if they are labelled as different or ‘other’.

Also in the opening scenes we see those who do not follow the status quo and point out those who do as being “delusional” and therefore are sent to seek a doctor’s help. For example Jimmy Grimaldi mentions his Mother not being his mother. He points out the difference and then it is said he needs medical help, this represents peoples feelings towards those who didn’t conform in America at that time. For example it was considered that homosexuality was a sickness and could be cured.

We see Miles has had a lot of cancelled appointments and the people who cancelled their appointments with Miles wanted to see him over somebody they know acting strange, yet they cancelled because they suddenly said there was no problem. This is to represent more and more people going along with the status quo and not finding those who were strange because they may have been considered different or other. Once they become part of the status quo and start to understand what it means to be part of the status quo they don’t consider those who are as strange or say they have a problem. Also people cancelled their appointments represented how people had complaints and questions but didn’t raise them as they didn’t want to stick out from the crowd or be considered ‘other’ and therefore be a threat.

Even though Miles has had a lot of cancelled appointments, when they booked their appointments they said they specifically wanted Miles and no other doctor. This represents the paranoia within the people during this time. Miles is an iconic figure in society being a doctor so he is looked up to and trusted. People didn’t want to go and see another doctor as they were paranoid the other doctor wouldn’t understand and consider them ‘other’.

During the opening scenes Miles and Becky speak to a Police Officer and he seems very emotionless and expressionless when they talk. The officer had an appointment with Miles and when Miles questions him about it he says everything is fine. Becky then asks Miles “Didn’t we go to college with that guy?”. This shows that Becky has noticed his change and is basically pointing out the fact that they should know him but they feel as if they don’t. This also represents how conformity spread within America, if authority figures such as Police Officers are going along with and enforcing the status quo people are more inclined to conform. This is because people look up to and follow the orders of authority figures usually without question. This has been proved by the Milgram study which has been tested several times since its first time and the same results come out every time.

The film is set in the small town of Santa Mira, which is a fictional town that represents all the small towns around America. This location is very important as America was made up of lots small towns rather than big cities, the location was allegorical as it was conveying that this invasion of expressionless people isn’t happening in the big cities but the small towns as it is easier to get small amounts of people to conform. This was done as everyone in these small towns knew each other and there wasn’t much diversity so it was easy to convince them to conform to be able to keep the American way of life. Eventually over time all the small towns believed the same and went from being the minority to being the majority and influencing the rest of the country to conform. We see this when Miles is on the motorway and the trucks with the pods on are driving in different directions going with large cities names on the side e.g. San Francisco,  Los Angeles etc.