SSC Film Studies

Films always reflect the times and places in which they are made. How far is this true for the American films you have studied for this topic.

The two films we have studied are War of the World (2005) and Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956). Both films have their own ideologies and allegorical references, but both convey the message of patriotism and paranoia.
         Society in 1950s USA was rather similar to the post 9/11 society on its view of outsiders, but at the same time, it was very different. One way in which it was similar, is the threat from outsiders. Both in the 1950s and in post 9/11 feared the outsiders coming in and destroying the 'American way of life.' In the 50s, the threat of communism and McCarthyism infested itself in society, whilst in post 9/11 society, the threat was from the terrorists and the fear of annihilation rather than assimilation. Another way in which it was similar, was the influence the media had on the paranoia aspect of the USA In the 50s, McCarthy was mentioned on every channel, all day every day. Whether it was a speech, a trial, or a witch hunt, the public were constantly living in fear to the point were they had to whisper incase they were wrongly accused of disrespecting McCarthy. And in the post 9/11 society, the terrorist threat warning as the front for the media causing paranoia the way it popped up randomly telling the public that the warning has gone from high to severe this kept the public on edge. Also the constant showings of the 9/11 crash was constantly shown on every news channel, leaving it scarred in the peoples minds to the point where they see it everywhere.

One difference was the ideologies behind the threats in both time periods. In the 50s, the communists wanted to convert people to their was of life, to assimilate America supposedly. Whilst the terrorists wanted to cause destruction, and destroy everything, including people and their way of lives.

         In Invasion of the Body snatchers, the allegorical message of the time was subliminally towards McCarthyism. McCarthy was a US senit of the time, and he was well known for his ‘witch hunts’ on the citizens of the US at the time. His main message was basically ‘if you’re not with us, you are against us,’ referring to the threat of communism sweeping from the East. In the film, the pod people represent Mcarthyists. Silently flooding into society undetected, until the non-McCarthyists are the minority and are neglected from society. We see this represented well in the narrative when Miles is the only ‘human’ left in the town, and he is outcast, and everyone thinks he is crazy, when he was right about everything. Another way in which the McCarthism element is pumped into this film, was the lack of the resolution in the end of the film. Normally, in a film, we have the ending tied up, and we go away and sleep that night. But the abrupt ending and no resolution in the film leaves the audience questioning the film, and thus, questioning McCarthism, and leaves them with a choice, Join McCarthy, or stand up for what you believe. The film creates a connection with the ‘normality’ of society through Miles, we see constant close ups, bonding us further in every scene, and the fact he is in all but one scene shows us that the director wants us to see the pod people as the antagonists and support Miles’ ideologies on the look of McCarthyism.

      In War of the Worlds, the idea of Paranoia comes from a totally different perspective. Rather than an internal threat, the threat is external, and is from terrorism. The film was directly influenced by the events of 9/11 and the changed society we now live in because of the events that happened on September 11^th. The terrorists are given countless references in this film, one directly when Rachel shouts “Is it the Terrorists?!” This showing that the society today is brought up believing that any areal or external threat are from the terrorists. The Antagonist in the film, the aliens, represents the terrorists; this is further supported by the ideologies they both share. They both want to exterminate (rather than Assimilate like McCarthy)  the American way of life, usually by causing mass destruction, and once the American way of life is gone, bring in their own way of life. We see this in the scene when the aliens begin to harvest the humans, creating red string everywhere, this is an allegorical form of the terrorists and their religion. Also, when we see that the giant robots come from underground, it is just the aliens that come from space. It presents the ideology that not only have they been here for a long time, in our society, like sleeper agents, but the US themselves provided the tools for the destruction. This was exactly the case, because the group of terrorists, learnt to fly in America, stole the plane in America, and for some strange reason the WHOLE American Air force decided to go on a training day in Canada. The ending in the film is completely different to that in Invasion of the Body Snatchers, in this film, then ending has a revolution, it shows Ray proving himself to the ex-wife, Robbie survived and the aliens were defeated. This just showing that if the Americans stick together, against the threat of terror, there will be an end and they will be safe.

    Men and women in both films have different roles due to the time period. Women in Invasion of the Body Snatchers are completely passive, the character Becky in particular throughout the film is a problem, she is constantly in the way for Miles, and he has to carry her in the chase scene, which she caused by screaming when the dog almost got hit by the truck. She also is seen as a housewife, even as aliens invade the world, she makes eggs in the morning, right after fleeing from her house in the middle of the night. But in War of the Worlds, Rachel in particular, is often active. At times, she tells Ray what to do, and progresses the narrative, she is key in presenting the ideologies of terrorism. Another scene is when Ray’s ex-wife is walking round his house, being in charge because the house is messy and the kids still share a room, she is active in this scene, although this scene is irrelevant to the plot as the house is most probably destroyed and pointless. Although the key message of women being equal is different, it is still shown that men are active, and women are passive in movies. Also we have to take into account Laura Mulvey’s Male Gaze theory, this says that the view of women in films are from men’s point of view, and everyone in the cinema is made to see it from a mans point of view.

Both films show allegorical meaning rooted deep into the plot and are similar but different in ways. They were made to leave the audience with a question, and a message behind it, and I believe both films did it exceptionally well. Invasion of the Body Snatchers really reflected McCarthyism and how it silently almost took over society, and that at the times of the film; nobody did see an end to the terror of McCarthyism. But also in War of the Worlds, the film really captured the element of paranoia in our post 9/11 society, directly influenced by the media and the government.