In the movie Invasion of the Body Snatchers the theme of xenophobia is very prominent. The people of the small town become afraid of and angry at each other very quickly. The fear is of the pods that came from the sky and recreate people. The fear is very obvious is the two main characters as they run and try to destroy the pods and the people who have already been turned into pod people.
Invasion of the Body Snatchers can be related to Planet of the Apes because both involve regular humans being the minority and being afraid of a more powerful race that controls the humans. In one of the movies, the humans show xenophobia toward the pod people, and in the other movie the xenophobia is towards the apes. However, both movies show xenophobia of the humans toward a different race.
I agree that the Invasion of the Body Snatchers may cross into different genres. A few of these genres would by mystery, because a lot of the film is spent with the characters following clues and trying to solve a puzzle, and fantasy, because the idea of the body snatchers absorbing the souls of people while they are sleeping seems to be magic.
Sunday, March 18, 2012
Monday, March 12, 2012
Random Sample and King of the Beasts
The two stories we read today were both excellent examples of science fiction. Both are set in the future, involve a high level of scientific knowledge in one or a few of the characters, and both have aliens and the theme of xenophobia in them.
The first story, Random Sample, showed the theme of xenophobia because aliens visited Earth. They arrived and were unusual to the little children that found them. Even though the children did not show great fear toward the aliens when they arrived, they were will unsure and confused about them. Then, at the end of the story, the xenophobia is prominent when the little girl begins to be frightened by the enlarged sun and is referring to the creature watching over her at the moment as "billy goat". In the other story, The King of the Beasts, the theme of xenophobia is shown through the setting and plot of the story. The story is set on a planet we don't, maybe Earth or maybe somewhere else. What sparks the most xenophobia in the story is the fact that the biologist who talks in the story is growing a man, which shows us that the biologist is not a human, but is something else.
Overall, I enjoyed both stories, but both left me wondering. Where were they? What was going on? What year is it, how far into the future are they? What is their technology like? What are they? Even though the questions will remain unanswered, I still liked both stories because they were very imaginative and explored to different sides of xenophobia: If humans are scared of aliens, and if aliens are scared of humans.
The first story, Random Sample, showed the theme of xenophobia because aliens visited Earth. They arrived and were unusual to the little children that found them. Even though the children did not show great fear toward the aliens when they arrived, they were will unsure and confused about them. Then, at the end of the story, the xenophobia is prominent when the little girl begins to be frightened by the enlarged sun and is referring to the creature watching over her at the moment as "billy goat". In the other story, The King of the Beasts, the theme of xenophobia is shown through the setting and plot of the story. The story is set on a planet we don't, maybe Earth or maybe somewhere else. What sparks the most xenophobia in the story is the fact that the biologist who talks in the story is growing a man, which shows us that the biologist is not a human, but is something else.
Overall, I enjoyed both stories, but both left me wondering. Where were they? What was going on? What year is it, how far into the future are they? What is their technology like? What are they? Even though the questions will remain unanswered, I still liked both stories because they were very imaginative and explored to different sides of xenophobia: If humans are scared of aliens, and if aliens are scared of humans.
Friday, March 9, 2012
Planet of the Apes Blog
In the film Planet of the Apes, the theme of xenophobia is very prominent in the humans and the apes. The humans show a little fear of the apes because they are different and unusual to them, but the apes show a lot more xenophobia toward the humans. When the American explorers arrive on Earth many years later, humans have been lowered to the level of beasts. When Taylor arrives and begins to show extreme intellegence, the apes become afraid of this alien human. A few of them even admit to being scared of Taylor because he is something they aren't used to.
Planet of the Apes has a lot to say about class warfare and discrimination. Throughout the entire film, there is an obvious class system. With the orangutans at the top, protecting the faith and being the most wise and intellectual, then gorillas, who are the violent brutes, and them chimpanzees who are gentle, scientific, open thinkers. In this society all apes are not created equal, the chimpanzees are suppressed and never listened to by the orangutans, who eventually send the gorillas after them if they become too free-thinking. However, in the film all men are created equal and are all the lowest rung of the ladder.
On the Planet of the Apes, ignorance is bliss. There is so much past from the humans and previous life forms, but everything is kept from the apes. If an ape starts to discover things from the past, they are accused of herecy. So if apes just live in ignorance about the past of their planet, they will be happy. Because of this, I do not think there is any hope for the ape society. They will suppress all knowledge and research and be forced to live in one area and not be able to advance their society. Eventually, more apes will begin to conduct research and the whole society, and the scrolls they live by, will fall out from under their feet.
Planet of the Apes has a lot to say about class warfare and discrimination. Throughout the entire film, there is an obvious class system. With the orangutans at the top, protecting the faith and being the most wise and intellectual, then gorillas, who are the violent brutes, and them chimpanzees who are gentle, scientific, open thinkers. In this society all apes are not created equal, the chimpanzees are suppressed and never listened to by the orangutans, who eventually send the gorillas after them if they become too free-thinking. However, in the film all men are created equal and are all the lowest rung of the ladder.
On the Planet of the Apes, ignorance is bliss. There is so much past from the humans and previous life forms, but everything is kept from the apes. If an ape starts to discover things from the past, they are accused of herecy. So if apes just live in ignorance about the past of their planet, they will be happy. Because of this, I do not think there is any hope for the ape society. They will suppress all knowledge and research and be forced to live in one area and not be able to advance their society. Eventually, more apes will begin to conduct research and the whole society, and the scrolls they live by, will fall out from under their feet.
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