The Day The Earth Stood Still and The Thing

Both films we watched today, The Day the Earth Stood Still and The Thing had a few themes in common. Both films had consistent vibes of fear of the unknown, which one would expect from sci-fi films released during the Cold War era. Like the people of the United States feared communists, the characters in the movies immediately feared something that was unfamiliar. This is not to say, however, that the characters were exactly the same. In The Day the Earth Stood Still, the civilians had unsubstantiated fears of their extraterrestrial visitor. They started all kinds of rumors based off nothing, and the thought that the alien might be friendly was cast aside quickly. In The Thing, though the characters were afraid, they attempted to be reasonable and plan out their actions. They used effective communication, and although the scientist character made a (futile) attempt to communicate with the alien, they ended up killing it in an organized manner unlike the alien killing in The Day the Earth Stood Still. These could both be seen as commentaries on the governments and military during the time. It was detrimental to the people of Earth to act mindlessly and to immediately see something foreign as a threat.