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There was an essay/review in NYRSF a few years back analyzing why Wells’ “War of the Worlds” had the impact it did. If I remember correctly, the author noted that it was written as Great Britain’s colonial power waned. The novel played upon the fear of a colonizer: what if the same was done to us? He points out that the radio play brought forth a similar reaction on 1930’s America.
After spending more time watching media than writing, I am wondering what the current state of SF/horror says about our fears.
In “Attack the Block” and “Cowboys versus Aliens”, we have an alien invasion. In both of these recent movies, unlike War of the Worlds, the humans are merely obstacles to the aliens real goal. In WotW, remember, we were at least food. In “Cowboys vs Aliens”, the aliens abduct humans occasionally, but they don’t care that the planet is inhabited. In “Attack the Block”, if the protagonists guess is correct, the aliens are not even able to see us unless we are splattered with their fluids. In both movies, the humans successfully fight off the aliens (surprise!), but I wonder what it says that humans are now more like fire ants overwhelming an unsuspecting enemy than a true combatant in an intergalactic fight. The angst of the Tea Party is partially fueled by people who fear that their government ignores them. Their old cry was to “take our country back”. Certainly, I can see strands of those fears in both of these movies.
Speaking of which, the Starz/BBC production of Torchwood, we have the odd matchup of two historical fears: the tyranny of a state, and the reintroduction of mass executions accompanied by public silence. Part of the problem that Torchwood is having this season is the not-quite successful graft of an European fear to an American fear. On the American side, we saw Oswald Danes rise as a public figure even as he was personally hated as a child murderer. On the European side, we saw the ovens reappear in Europe--in Great Britain even--to public silence.
Musings:
The alien abductions were definitely a poor plot point in “Cowboys vs Aliens”. Yes, they were necessary to explain the presence of the weapon used by the Daniel Craig character. But why do the abductions continue to happen after the alines ascertain that the natives are no match for their technology?
The kids in “Attack the Block” are striving to take their block back. They are as nationalistic about the block as any country. Indeed, the movie displays internecine battles between two groups of kids even as they are pursued by attacking aliens.
One review that I read this morning sneered that the heros in “Attack the Block” are criminals, even as the reviewer had to admit that the same is true for the hero in “Cowboys and Aliens”.
Earlier, I thought that the Oswald Danes story line was distracting from the primary mystery in this year’s series. Then I thought that the actor was simply so good that he outshone the others (That still may be true). Now, I think that grafting that story didn’t work well. I am reminded of the story line in Doctor Who about Saxon running for office and winning. It occurs in the background of an entire series and doesn’t come to fruition until the end of the series. With time constraints, Torchwood was constantly flipping between the primary investigation of the ‘end of death’ and Oswald’s shepherded progression to media darling. Until Danes was taken off the main stage the two stories seemed to have nothing to do with each other. Now that Danes has fallen, we have lost any jab at the ability of media to remake a monster into an acceptable guest at the dinner table--as long as he remains behind a tv screen.
After spending more time watching media than writing, I am wondering what the current state of SF/horror says about our fears.
In “Attack the Block” and “Cowboys versus Aliens”, we have an alien invasion. In both of these recent movies, unlike War of the Worlds, the humans are merely obstacles to the aliens real goal. In WotW, remember, we were at least food. In “Cowboys vs Aliens”, the aliens abduct humans occasionally, but they don’t care that the planet is inhabited. In “Attack the Block”, if the protagonists guess is correct, the aliens are not even able to see us unless we are splattered with their fluids. In both movies, the humans successfully fight off the aliens (surprise!), but I wonder what it says that humans are now more like fire ants overwhelming an unsuspecting enemy than a true combatant in an intergalactic fight. The angst of the Tea Party is partially fueled by people who fear that their government ignores them. Their old cry was to “take our country back”. Certainly, I can see strands of those fears in both of these movies.
Speaking of which, the Starz/BBC production of Torchwood, we have the odd matchup of two historical fears: the tyranny of a state, and the reintroduction of mass executions accompanied by public silence. Part of the problem that Torchwood is having this season is the not-quite successful graft of an European fear to an American fear. On the American side, we saw Oswald Danes rise as a public figure even as he was personally hated as a child murderer. On the European side, we saw the ovens reappear in Europe--in Great Britain even--to public silence.
Musings:
The alien abductions were definitely a poor plot point in “Cowboys vs Aliens”. Yes, they were necessary to explain the presence of the weapon used by the Daniel Craig character. But why do the abductions continue to happen after the alines ascertain that the natives are no match for their technology?
The kids in “Attack the Block” are striving to take their block back. They are as nationalistic about the block as any country. Indeed, the movie displays internecine battles between two groups of kids even as they are pursued by attacking aliens.
One review that I read this morning sneered that the heros in “Attack the Block” are criminals, even as the reviewer had to admit that the same is true for the hero in “Cowboys and Aliens”.
Earlier, I thought that the Oswald Danes story line was distracting from the primary mystery in this year’s series. Then I thought that the actor was simply so good that he outshone the others (That still may be true). Now, I think that grafting that story didn’t work well. I am reminded of the story line in Doctor Who about Saxon running for office and winning. It occurs in the background of an entire series and doesn’t come to fruition until the end of the series. With time constraints, Torchwood was constantly flipping between the primary investigation of the ‘end of death’ and Oswald’s shepherded progression to media darling. Until Danes was taken off the main stage the two stories seemed to have nothing to do with each other. Now that Danes has fallen, we have lost any jab at the ability of media to remake a monster into an acceptable guest at the dinner table--as long as he remains behind a tv screen.
