In What Ways Does War of The Worlds Comment Upon Post 9/11 Society Essay.

In What Ways Does War of The Worlds Comment Upon Post 9/11 Society?

by

Niamh Gallagher

Steven Spielberg's 2005 film War of the Worlds could have been seen as a comment on how the Twin Tower terrorist attacks in September 2001 have sculptured how filmmakers now make their movies. War of the Worlds uses iconography of the 9/11 Terror Attacks to create links between the events seen in the film and real-life. This is a comment made by the director, (Steven Spielberg), on how the terrorist attacks on the Twin Towers in 2001 have affected how cinema now tackles global, world changing events.

An example of Spielberg using iconography in the film is the grey dust; charred remains of those vapourised by the Martian heat ray. The grey dust coating the landscape after the destruction caused by the Martians connotes with the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks as the look is akin to when the dust became a sort of smog cloud after the towers collapsed. The iconography used in this is extremely similar to famous images of after the event and this is used by Spielberg to convey the utter calamity of the attack. This creates a sense of realism that the audience can relate to, and by this Spielberg is drawing comparisons between the real and un-real. As an audience when we see this imagery on the screen we subconsciously link to what we have seen in real life. Other instances where Spielberg uses it are when he places a board with pictures of people's loved ones who are missing. This is iconic imagery as the viewer can easily relate this to 9/11 and through this Spielberg has the goal of making War of the Worlds into a post 9/11 film.

The themes of War of the Worlds can be simply entwined with the real-world worries of post 9/11 society. An example of this is the theme of Paranoia, the character 'Ogilvy' represents this threat. This a comment on post 9/11 society as paranoia had a major impact, to the extent the US government set up a bill to basically spy on people. Ogilvy realises the Martians have been here all along, unlocking an unhinged paranoia within himself. Spielberg uses this as a metaphor for the threat of 'sleeper-agents', enemies hidden in our midst waiting for the right time who assimilate into our society This refers to how the Martians have been underneath the ground for an unknown amount of time. Paranoia here is heightened as the tension of an unknown time of an impending attack can cause chaos as people begin to panic due to fear which in turn causes widespread pandemonium through riots and free-for-alls. This is shown in the scene where civilians go berserk and attack Ray and his family for the car as when the panicky fear had set in people did irrational things such as rip apart car windows with their bare hands and threaten children with guns. This scene also links with the theme of fear of annihilation, as said previously normal people will go insane just to fight for their lives. 

The theme of the fear of others and outsiders is tackled in the film as is another comment made by Spielberg. The Martians are metaphors for Arabic ethnic terrorists, and both share many similarities; the aliens wish to exterminate the earthlings and replace them with their own as they see them inferior to them. whilst the terrorists wish to cleanse those who do not share the same ideologies as them. Both are also different in appearance and beliefs which can seem alien to the western world. Yet in the film this is extended to American civilians as Ray warns his children not to be seen or let the car be as it may be stolen. This is also ties in with paranoia and threat of annihilation and Spielberg comments on how utter fear can make someone do mad and insane things such as kill someone over a vehicle.