There are few films to date that can completely capture the politics and cultural outlook of an era in American history. One of these films, however, is Don Siegel’s Invasion of the Body Snatchers. The movie was released at a pivotal time in our nation’s history. During the 1950’s, America was booming with life. This included new types of music such as Rock ‘n Roll, the mainstream introduction of the television, and a rapidly growing economy. With these wonderful inventions and new life, America, nevertheless, also had a dark side. Joseph McCarthy, who was the senator of Wisconsin at the time, helped bring about the “Red Scare” with accusations of the communists invading American culture as well as the government. Any un-American act was subject to investigation which made many citizens lose their jobs, family, and even commit suicide. This “Red Scare” greatly affected Hollywood by shredding careers and reputations of anyone believed to be affiliated with Communism. This idea of McCarthyism spread like wildfire throughout our country. Although many, including director Don Siegel, deny any relation between Invasion of the Body Snatchers and McCarthyism, the evidence and overall storyline present overwhelming support to link the two together.
The political allegory of McCarthyism in the film is discussed in John Whitehead’s essay “Invasion of the Body Snatchers: A Tale for our Times.” Whitehead breaks the film down into many different scenarios which include interpreting the movie as a symbol for AIDS, fears of the decade, or even the central government as the American majority. His most compelling interpretation as previously discussed is that of McCarthyism. He states that this movie was a double reading, both “a mirror of a particular moment in history and a compass indicating the symptoms of a growing societal illness” (Whitehead). Tim Dirks also presents us with a different variation of the McCarthyistic view. In his review, he explains, “Yet its main theme was the alien (read ‘Communist’) dehumanization and take-over of an entire community by large seed pods” (Dirks). He believed the pod people as well as the seeds were not only the view of McCarthyism but communists themselves.
While personally viewing the movie, I immediately took interest in interpreting the allegory as the spread of McCarthyism. McCarthyism nearly destroyed Hollywood by making everyone in the business believe the way an Anti-Communist should or else ruining their career. Just like the pod people in the film, Hollywood stars had to be brainwashed to show no emotion about their true feelings about politics or they were essentially destroyed. Not only were Hollywood stars swept by the ideas of McCarthyism, everyday citizens also had hearings for any Un-American act reported or affiliations with Communists. In the film, as the main character Miles escapes to the highway to try and save the world from the pods, a pod person stops the bunch exclaiming,”Wait. Let him go. They’ll never believe him.” This was the case in many of the trials held for many claimed Communist. The hysteria of McCarthyism was so woven into society, that the accused victim had no chance of getting off free even if they were completely innocent. The passing truck in this scene also had on the back, “Los Angeles-San Francisco-Portland.” I believe it was staged to put Los Angeles first because that is the location of Hollywood!
The one scene in Invasion of the Body Snatchers that sold me to the idea of McCarthyism was when Dr. Kaufman and Miles were discussing the growing problems of the community outside of a restaurant. Dr. Kaufman seemed to sum up the entire community not feeling right about their loved ones as, “A strange neurosis, evidently contagious, an epidemic mass hysteria. In two weeks, it spread all over town.” When asked what causes such as hysteria he replied, “Worry about what’s going on in the world probably.” Not only is this scene a bit awkward when first viewing, the way the doctor was completely calm about the statement struck me as odd. I believe the writers purposely put this conversation in the script to link “what’s going on in the world” (McCarthyism) to the plot of the movie. Another thing I noticed about the film was that the main enforcement of making sure everyone was a pod person was done by the police. As they are the controlling force in our communities, McCarthyism was the controlling force in our society which in turn made sure the views for Communism were changed.
Even though this movie was a perfect political allegory of the 1950’s in America, it can also be interpreted as a political allegory today. This movie appeals to our senses, which is why it has been remade three times. Each time the movie is released, it is during a time where people are conforming to the ideas and ideology of that time period. It was remade during the Vietnam War as well as the Persian Gulf War. In each of these cases, the views of the nation outweighed individual’s thoughts, conforming them to the ideas shared by the majority. In today’s society Operation Iraqi Freedom and the resultant of 9/11 both mold our mindsets into wanting to eliminate terrorism and set up a Democracy in Iraq. The Iraqi people are indifferent about this change but America is not giving them much choice by keeping our soldiers in their country. Even though they fight back just as Miles did in the film, it is hard to stop an inevitable force.
In conclusion, even though many speculate this film has nothing to do with McCarthyism, after viewing the movie and dissecting the dialogue, it is clear both these ideas are linked together. Invasion of the Body Snatchers has a way of gripping audiences of all eras with its descriptive storyline and intriguing action. This movie continues to relate to the ideology of society by its adaptivity and pure genius. These ideas coupled with an always changing society allow this movie to stun audiences of any age and in effect, make it an American classic.
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