War of the Worlds and the Popular Mind.

Todd McCarthy’s review in Variety is right on: “A generation later, Steven Spielberg has made the anti-‘Close Encounters’ in ‘War of the Worlds,’ a gritty, intense and supremely accomplished sci-fier about some distinctly unbenign alien invaders. Latest adaptation of H.G. Wells' endlessly malleable and resonant 1898 novel preys upon the insecurities of a modern audience that's more fearful and skittish than was the case when the director made his optimistic early-career smashes about outer space visitors.�

Science Fiction always reflects its time. When we needed to end the Cold War and to make lasting world peace, movies like E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982), which presented the alien (“enemy�) as peaceful and kid-friendly did well at the box office. The culture wanted to be at peace in the emerging global village. This was the first major film in the post Viet Nam War era to present aliens (those different than us) as civil. Steven Spielberg’s E.T. followed in the tradition of the brilliant 1951 post WW2 era The Day the Earth Stood Still. – Incidentally, both post-war films used Jesus Christ as a model for the alien (the alien's name in the later was (J)ohn (C)arpenter!).

In this era of 9/11, the culture tends to view aliens with fear and apprehension. Is it any wonder that a film about hostile aliens should resurface? Spielberg’s current version of WOTW follows in the foot steps of the first screen version of 1953, during the fear-filled McCarthy era, when there was in an all out war against the presumed “invading� communist/aliens. And now the current incarnation takes place within the fear-filled war-on-terrorism era. There are very similar circumstances at work here.

The original H.G. Wells novel was published in 1898 and it was set in England, not America. One of his motives for writing the novel was to help the UK citizens understand the horror of being invaded by a foreign power. In other words, he wanted his country to understand how other countries felt being under alien control (European colonialism). It was a statement against expansionism. More over it was a warning against the militarization and expansion policies of Germany at that time. He was, in fact, predicting war in Europe (WWI) and the tragic ending of Britain’s own empire.

Again on the verge of another World War on Halloween October 30, 1938, CBS radio broadcasted Orson Wells’ dramatization of War of the Worlds and the reaction was incredible. Many listeners took it to be real and became frantic. Thousands of families fled their homes resulting in jammed highways. Many folks phoned loved ones with farewells. There were cases of heart attacks, miscarriages, and suicidal attempts. The New Jersey National Guard was called out. The phones at CBS radio were jammed. Americans had an absolute fear of invading aliens.

Here is the question: How do you think the popular mind will resonate with Spielberg’s current 2005 version of WOTW?

1. Do you think it will be viewed as a statement against so-called American expansionism (War in Iraq --i.e. Americans as the ugly aliens).

2. Or, do you think that the current version will resonate with popular fears of terrorists?

There is a third possibility –and the one that I favor:

3. The film defies simple interpretation because the popular mind is not clear how it feels about President Bush, the military invasion of Iraq, or even what to do about ugly and destructive terrorism. Issues are not as “clear� in the popular mind as they were in 1939, or in 1953. Perhaps this is why Spielberg presents a story about what it would be like when all we have is each other.

Ahh, perhaps we can return still return to the mind set of E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial and John Carpenter! What we need is an intervention of J.C. himself to remind us of the value of all people on earth –“enemy� or not! Peace.

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