Essay 6: Invasion of the Body Snatchers

Invasion of the Body Snatchers is a sci-fi/horror film from 1956 set in Santa Mira, California. The movie begins with a hysterical local doctor Miles Bennell screaming of a mass invasion from outer space. Soon the doctor is calmed and tells his story through flashback. He tells the police and psychiatrists who are restraining him that one day the town just wasn’t the same, as if it were taken over by something evil. Many of his patients had come to him saying that their loved ones just weren’t the same anymore, and that they were emotionless. Baffled by this thought, Dr. Bennell investigated by going to visit the loved ones of the patients and also noticed the differences in their personality, or lack thereof. With the help of his friend the scientist Jack Belicec, the two discovered that these people are being taken over by plantlike pods that produce a replication of their victim’s body while the victim is asleep. The pod people worked together to spread more pods throughout the city until everyone is replaced. Dr. Bennell, Belicec, and Becky Driscoll, Dr. Bennell’s sweetheart, worked frantically to warn the FBI outside of Santa Mira but were unable to and forced to run for their lives. Meanwhile Jack Belicec’s body had been taken over and Dr. Bennell and Becky Driscoll were left on their own, against the entire pod race. Becky was also taken over while on the run, leaving Dr. Bennell alone. Overcame with fear and trying to warn anyone he could, he ran into the highway screaming,”They’re here already! You’re Next!” This is the end of his story and we return to the insane asylum where his story is confirmed to the police and psychiatrists.


Critic John W. Whitehead reviewed Invasion of the Body Snatchers and argues that it is a political allegory of communism during the Cold War era. In 1956 when this movie was released, the idea of communism was on everyone’s mind, whether they were a follower or not. The Red Scare had swept the nation, causing everyone much fear of Soviet spies, nuclear warfare, and the possible communist takeover. Communism is a political system in which everything is owned by the government in an attempt to eliminate social classes and poverty. Although it sounds good on paper, it often ends with a dictatorship. With a dictatorship in place that means simple freedoms such as the right to own property are taken away, thus creating fear of lacking individuality and justice within all Americans. Whitehead says that the pod people very closely resemble the profile of the communist Russians:

“[They are] ice cold, outwardly peaceful but very authoritarian and
emotionless. Many Americans even considered Russians a different
species who, because of their disbelief in God, were soulless and wanted to destroy Americans or turn them into Communist clones.” (Whitehead)

Another critic Tim Dirks reviewed this movie and argued the same theme of nationwide paranoia due to the communist scare and its attempts of “numbing our individuality and emotional psyches through conformity and group-think.” (Dirks) There are several other ways to interpret this movie other than it being a political allegory, but it is hard to disagree with the above two criticisms. The terror present in Invasion of the Body Snatchers rivals that terror felt by the world during the communist reign of the Cold War.


Having read the criticisms from Whitehead and Dirks prior to watching Invasion of the Body Snatchers, I had a general overview of the plot and what to expect. Their reviews focus mainly on the parallels between the film and McCarthy’s America so that is what I tried to read deeply into while watching it. After watching the film I concluded that their reviews are very accurate with the McCarthyist theme. They describe the widespread fear of conformity and reduction of individuality, similar to the terror felt by Dr. Bennell and Becky Driscoll. In contrast however, the pod people completely take over their victims, leaving them soulless and to do the bidding of their kind. Although the communists wish the same, to convert others to do their bidding, the victims are still left with a mind of their own but within communist boundaries. Whitehead and Dirks both believe communists to be completely hollow and anti-human; they portray them to be nothing like other people. Although communists sacrifice individuality and harden their feelings, they are still people with elaborate ideas and goals that any normal human being would have, such as eliminating problems within their country and community. It is this point that battles the words of Whitehead and Dirks, but the two critics made excellent reviews and by no means did they read too far into the McCarthyist theme. Director Don Seigel says that Invasion of the Body Snatchers was not meant to be a political allegory, but it is very easily interpreted as so. (Whitehead) The similarities of resistance from conformity are so strong in both the movie and in McCarthy’s America that it is hard to believe that Seigel did not intend the movie to be about the communist reign.


This movie is not exactly relevant to today’s world because it deals with outdated themes of communism and McCarthyism from the Cold War. However it is relevant in that communism and dictatorships still run strong in some countries. It is often said that history repeats itself, leaving us to think that perhaps one day another communist scare will occur. A similar scare has already occurred after the terrororist attacks on the United States on September 11th. A nationwide fear was sent down every American’s spine, and the government took quick action declaring war on Iraq. The government also interrogated many people as suspects of being involved in terrorism, similar to the McCarthy witch-hunts. Invasion of the Body Snatchers is not only a political allegory but is actually very eerie and creepy, which is what makes a science fiction film what it is, and I recommend it if you’re into such films. The movie communicates the importance of individuality by showing the fear of having your body “snatched,” encouraging everyone to be unique in their own ways. Freedom is an excellent thing and should be used to its fullest, that’s why our government fights for it. Without it, we might as well just be pod people.



Works Cited


Dirks, Tom. “Invasion of the Body Snatchers.” 2007. 12 Oct. 2007.


Whitehead, John W. “Invasion of the Body Snatchers: A Tale For Our Times.” Gadfly Online. 2007. Gadfly Productions. 12 Oct. 2007.