Tim Burton's film
Mars Attacks is a very far-fetched idea of what a possible alien invasion would be like. The movie itself is based off of the original trading cards from the 60's. The cards portraied a ridiculous scenario of Martians attacking the earth. These cards included things such as ray guns, frost guns, buildings crashing, and flame throwers. Many of these were used in the film itself. This film is very satirical because it is poking fun at other major films as well as Americans themselves and the society we live in. Fore example, when the US ambassador meets with the Martian ambassador for the first time, the Americans are so easily fooled into thinking the Martians actually come in peace. Foolishly, enormous crowds gathered to watch the aliens land, because they were so intrigued by them. They soon come to find out that the situation wasn't going to go exactly as they planned. This shows how gullible people can be, especially when somebody of power tells them something they want to hear. This film satirizes other movies such as
Independence Day, when the US military fights off the aliens in this epic battle scene. Americans want to believe that is how an alien invasion would occur, not taking into account how much more advanced they could be. Another way this film satires American culture is how out of touch people are with what is actually going on in the world around them. For example, when the dog's head and body are switched with the two people's bodies. Even though the alines switched up their bodies, they are still only focused on themselves and their own self interests. Another scene in which Tim Burton makes fun of the government and society is when the president is discussing what action to take against the Martians. The first person the president asks is the press secretary. This shows that he is mostly concerned with his own self-interests and making himself appear more appealing. The president asks the different people in the same order as how interested he is in their opinion. The next person he asks is the war general, who's only answer is to attack. The president ends up going with his first choice, which only accomplished making him more popular. The president in
Mars Attacks is different than the president in
Independence Day. The president in
Mars Attacks is very greedy and just wants popularity. He chooses to not make the right decision, in an effort to please the people. On the other hand, the president in
Independence Day is out to make the right decisions, even if it isn't exactly what the people wanted.
I definitely agree with your idea that this movie is reasonably far fetched. The government would probably be way less equipped to deal with an alien threat than they were in the movie. I like how you pointed out how the movie was based on trading cards because it points out how Burton mocks even conversion film by basing it off of cards from the 60's, yet threw an incredible amount of famous hollywood talent into it. Your point about the publics tendency to listen and trust people in power is also important, because it shows how Burton views people who overly trust the government as foolish. The point you made about how the people who had their heads taken by the aliens were still only concerned with themselves is just another way that Tim Burton satirizes common science fiction movies, and how they usually incorporate themes of the characters minor problems. Your point about how the President, played by Jack Nicholson, first consults his press secretary as for what he should do about the impending alien introduction onto Earth because he is most concerned with his image is well thought out. It really points out how Burton satirizes the government, as it is concerned with self image over the safety of its country. Noah Feltes
ReplyDeleteAre there aliens in Moon´s occult face
ReplyDelete