‘Films always reflect the time and place in which they are made.’ How far is this true for the American films you have studied for this topic?

Section C- US Cinema (Invasion of the Body Snatcher, War of the Worlds)

·         ‘Films always reflect the time and place in which they are made.’ How far is this true for the American films you have studied for this topic?

An allegory is a narrative that symbolises or generalises historical situations or ideas. Spielberg’s 2005 film War of the Worlds is seen as an allegory of the 9/11 happenstances and so was brought in post 9/11 cinema. Spielberg used iconography and so scenes were visually reminiscent of the events of 9/11 such as low-angle camera shots in action scenes that copy the footage of the Towers attack, the thick white dust clouds which was reminiscent of the ash that swarmed the streets of New York as well as all the alien attacks coming in stages just like how the Towers were attacked in stages.

The original novel was wrote and set in Victorian Britain which reflects H. G. Wells life as Britain had the most wealth and colonial power in the world with London being the centre of it all. It was thought that London would be attacked by humans and/or aliens. The fear was of the unknown as Britons believed there was a cultural threat along with annihilation.

The same fears were resurfaced with the bombing of the Twin Towers 2001, the fear of annihilation, fear of others and paranoia. This could have been seen in the film as the aliens encapsulate (the unknown, annihilation) and evoke these fears in the characters which parallel the Americans fears of the al-Qaeda. The character Ogilvy becomes more paranoid

Throughout his scenes which make him more erratic and dangerous and so the notion of not being able to trust people became more apparent. In Invasion of the Body Snatchers, protagonists Miles and Becky are forced to flee their home as they find out about the ‘Pod People’ who have integrated themselves into society as the towns people, this symbolised the fear made by McCarthyism as people in the fifties felt like they could act or speak out of term. Generally, the themes of paranoia in both films strongly represent the times and places the films were set in.

The fear of annihilation is also an important theme running deep in the two focus films. During the fifties America and Russia where in the middle of The Cold War wherein Russia posed as a threat to the American way of life. The USSR placed nuclear warheads in Cuba and so history was made as it was the closest the world has ever got to a nuclear war, Americans had a constant fear of annihilation and so paranoia arose from there as well. The 1950’s version of War of the Worlds reflects this time as the aliens were said to come from the red planet which was the favoured colour of the Russian Communist party which is seen in the film with Miles fear of being caught by the ‘Pods’. Joseph McCarthy said those who don’t fall in line are labelled as others and are a threat to social harmony, in Invasion of the Body Snatchers, the ‘Pod People’ become the dominant ideology and see the humans (Miles and Becky) and also the minority as that threat and so try to capture them.

Not only were there tensions between different cultures in the 1950’s but also with in the American society. In both Invasion of the Body Snatchers and War of the Worlds, both female characters are seen as being passive as society was still patriarchal. Becky from Invasion the Body Snatchers and Rachel of War of the Worlds are seen as slightly useless. Although Rachel is more active than Becky and this reflects how women have become more powerful within society.

Both Invasion of the Body Snatchers and War of the Worlds can be seen allegories of their times. Both represent the places and times which their plots were set in. Both films have been analysed deeply for meaning that may not be there, for example, symbolism and hidden meanings.