Adam Weinstein
English 101
12 October 2007
The film, The Invasion of The Body Snatchers, can be categorized in numerous ways: a political allegory, the greatest sci-fi horror movie of all time, and a social satire. The Invasion of the Body Snatchers was filmed in 1956, a time in which many communistic allegations were put on American government officials, later known as the “Red Scare”. There are many different instances throughout the movie that can link it to the McCarthy era and the Red Scare. According to Whitehead,“Body Snatchers invokes at least a double reading. It was both a mirror of a particular moment in history and a compass indicating the symptoms of a growing societal illness.” (Whitehead) In The Invasion of the Body Snatchers, the suspicion and paranoia of the pod people can be closely compared to the allegations put upon high ranking government officials during the McCarthy Era and profiling concerning certain ethnicity's after 911.
Whitehead mentions,“Body Snatchers may also be interpreted as anti-scientific, reflecting the fears of a particular decade.” (Whitehead) I think this shows how this film can relate to modern day events such as 911 and the after effects. This film reflects the fear of this particular decade and the horrific events taking place. Like the film, people were horrified by the circumstances and were scared for their lives. The most basic human instinct is one of survival and in the film the pod people had this taken from them. No matter how hard they tried, they could not control what was happening to them.They believed their new lives were much better than before and that you could achieve anything and everything with no emotion. This can be compared to suicide bombers and terrorist in a way that they were convinced into performing this particular duty in giving up their basic human rights. They believed they could achieve everything through their god by giving their lives for their religion. They were brain washed into believing they were doing the right thing in achieving martyrdom. During the 911 after-effects, people began to lose trust in particular ethnicity's and feared for their lives.
Terrorism is definitely a major theme throughout this film. Throughout the film, people are fooled by their so called friends. They believe their friends are just as they have always been, but instead they are sneaking into peoples houses and planting pod seeds. In doing this, they are effecting the lives of their old friends. The pods eventually take over their bodies and they are not at all what they used to be. In relation, terrorism is quite similar. Many times, America has been fooled by other countries. We sometimes do not realize what is going with other countries. In result, we are attacked. As in the movie, individuals we believe are normal, turn out to be just the opposite. Terrorist sneak into our country,disguised, and destroy parts of our country. In result, many things change,people involved and uninvolved are completely different for the rest of their lives. Our country is forever changed by these attacks. Therefore, terrorism is a large theme of this movie.
The Invasion of the Body Snatchers has been remade twice. To me, this significantly proves that it has ongoing social relevance. This film can relate to modern day events in some way no matter what year it is. This also proves why Whitehead referred to this movie as “A Tale for our Times.” It is certainly a tale for all times.
When reading the criticism of Whitehead and Dirks, I expected the film to be far more related towards McCarthyism. The McCarthy era was a time period from the 1940’s to the late 1950’s in which Republican senator, Joseph McCarthy, made communistic allegations towards the American government and the entertainment industry. In result, certain individuals were stereotyped into being communist. This caused many high ranking officials and celebrities to lose their jobs. People feared certain individuals, and feared their lives over certain things such as the atomic bomb. This film definitely signifies how people felt during that time period. I can see how this film horrified people, because the pods related so much to people being taking over by communist. I think the criticism might have been a bit over-blown, but is definitely accurate to what was going on then and what is going on now.
In conclusion, I believe that this film is very relevant to everyone and modern day experiences. It speaks to people today because of the similarities between the film and the recent 911 horrific incidents. I believe this film is an excellent portrayal of a great horror sci-fi film. I would encourage others to view it, even though the film is quite old and does not compare to modern day horror films. The suspicion and paranoia of the pod people can be compared to the scare people experienced themselves during the many allegations in the McCarthy Era and in today’s post 911 world.
Whitehead, John W. "Invasion of the Body Snatchers: A Tale For Our Times." 15 November 2007
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