Films Always Reflect the times and places in which they are made - EASTER HOMEWORK

‘Films always reflect the times and places in which they are made’

How far is this true of the American films you have studied for this topic? – By Michael O’Neill

 

The two American films I am studying for this unit are the 1956 film ‘Invasion of The Body Snatchers’ and the 2005 remake of the film ‘War of The Worlds’. Both of these films highly reflect their time periods: IOTBS is set in a time when citizens had a fear of annihilation and McCarthyism. WoTW on the other hand shows citizens lives in a time when everyone was afraid of extermination (the film is based in a post 9/11 society.

World of The Worlds is set in a modern day environment, the iconography would mainly be symbolism that is instantly recognisable (this occurs from the moment the film begins as the audience are introduced to a shot of New York minus the world trade centre, this is the first signifier that the film is set post 9/11 and subconsciously tells the audience that this is a time when national security is at its highest and everyone in America is at a state of paranoia)

The main theme in war of the worlds is to show that after 9/11 the entire world (not only America) was in a constant state of fear that another terrorist attack would occur. The film generates a what if scenario suggesting that this is what could happen if aliens invaded.

Invasion of The Body Snatchers on the other hand is set in a stereotypical 1950s American town, this film is great as it really shows how society was back in the time period, this is through the usage of the characters living in a patriarchal society.  A common household under the influence of a patriarchal society would be the man as the breadwinner and no matter how hard she tried the woman would always be considered as lower. An example of this would be when the young child Jimmy is accusing his mother of “changing” Miles suggests that the boy is to stay with his grandmother (this was done without the mother present but wasn’t questioned as Miles is male and the grandmother wasn’t properly consulted as it was simply considered her “job” or “role” to look after the child.

alike war of the worlds, Invasion of The Body Snatchers also creates a 'what if' scenario because at the time everyone was stuck under the constant belief that someone or something was attempting to take over the American way of life (the belief was that communists were attempting to destroy the American way)