Prevost- Mars Attack

Choose two scenes that illustrate how Burton humorously satirizes government, the military, capitalism and patriotism in Mars Attacks. What is the film saying about sacred institutions? You might also discuss how the film parodies the science fiction genre taken so seriously by films such as Blade Runner, Alien, and Independence Day. If you have seen Independence Day, think of the respect paid to the President in that film, versus the treatment of Jack Nicholson's role in Mars Attacks. The quirky science fiction motion picture is very cartoon like and comical. Burton makes refernces towards government,Las Vegas greed, and everything else in between! Burton's movie is definitely a spoof towards the government and how the "free world" is handled. A prominent scene we see this in is when the Martians first come to earth and greet the humans. They say "we come in peace" then start blasting everyone to death and repeatedly saying "we come in peace" this is a refernce to our poorly misleading greetings in the past where we invaded multiple countries and took over. We, the United States, are seen as the indigenous population, we have set rules based on historical background. Natives view us and we put up a front just as the Martians and when we are close enough we become invasive Through out the film it is the television-as-eyewitness, allowing the action to be simultaneously perceived and commented upon by the various characters in different locations across the United States, which constitutes the complexity of interpretations of the Martians’ invasion of Earth. The connection that the audience is expected to make between the alien invasion theme and the reversed conquest scenario is established through a series of visual and verbal clues in the different scenes. For instance, when the Martian ambassador erupts onto the American airwaves for the first time, the TV screen in Las Vegas is in Caesar’s Palace casino in which the decoration theme is ancient Egypt; the ambassador appears on the screen imbedded in a fresco where the profile of a god would be, pointing to the idea that Mars is an ancient high civilization. The martians are considered the New World just as we are, and the educated population takes over and succeeds for a while, but in the end they are defeated. I feel as if Burton is making a comparison and trying ti foreshadow the outcome of the United States' spontaneous decision making.

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