The Over Analyzed Movie

Any movie, piece of artwork, or work of fiction can be taken out of context and be made to be more than it was intended to be. Sometimes these people’s interpretations seem very believable, but many times these people have a personal or political agenda. These people want to prove their point or make their opinion seem like the right one. It is clear to see that the movie “Invasion of the Body Snatchers” was made to scare people and had no intention of containing hidden meanings of communism and McCarthyism.

This movie was made during the time of McCarthyism and communism, so naturally people read their point of view into the movie and thought that was what the movie was trying to say. People saw different meanings when they watched it. Some people thought “Siegel’s film addressed the dehumanization of individuals—a sensitive subject in an age filled with tales of political brainwashing of American soldiers by the Koreans” (Whitehead). Although the aliens did take over people’s bodies and mind, you have to sit back and wonder if this is what Don Siegel was trying to say. If Don Siegel had made the alien’s come to earth and brainwash the people themselves (similar to what was being done to the soilders)then it would be more believable that he made the movie about communism. Instead, Siegel made pods come to earth and make a replica of the person’s body and take over their lives, this concept is too veiled to be a picture of communism. Some interpretations of this movie are laughable, Tim Dirks said one of the themes could be “the spread of an unknown malignancy or virulent germ” (Dirks). This is a very far out interpretation because he is trying to compare the pods (something that takes away your body and makes you a different person) with a virulent germ (something that makes you sick), they don’t even compare. All these different crazy interpretations are just another reason to make you believe that Siegel did not make this about communism and McCarthyism.

I read many reviews and different interpretations of this movie before I saw it, so I was ready to watch this movie that was going to be full of many symbols of McCarthyism and communism. As I was watching I was looking really hard for these themes and couldn’t find one thing that related back to them. All the criticisms and reviews I read were blown way out of proportion. It seemed as if someone had too much time on their hands and decided to compare this movie with what was happening in real life around them. I could have watched the movie and said that Siegel was trying to relate this to 9/11 and terrorists taking over, or the pods being democrats and trying to make us one mindless politically correct town. These ideas are just as crazy as the ones relating McCarthyism to the movie. Siegel himself “denied an anti-Communist motive” (Whitehead). This proves he made the movie to be a horror movie and that is exactly what it will remain.

If you are watching this movie, and not trying to find some type of symbolism, it’s an enjoyable movie. Trying to put this movie in a certain genre is hard to do because it doesn’t fit into just one genre. It doesn’t really fit the bill as a horror film because there are no gory scenes. There are a couple of scary parts in the movie which qualifies it a little as a horror movie. It also has some sci-fi movie qualities in it like when the humans grow out of pods that have bubbles. I would put this movie in a genre called “Scary Scientific”. This is one of those movies that if you watched it home alone at two in the morning you would be kind of scared, but if you watched it with a group of friends you would probably get a good laugh out of it. Invasion of the Body Snatchers isn’t a waste of time to watch though, it might be a little cheesy and lack any type of special effects but it is what is expected from a movie in the 1950’s. I find it fun to watch movies that were made a long time ago because you see what the audience expected from a movie compared to what we watch now. You can tell by all the remakes that the main idea of the movie (pods taking over people’s bodies) makes for an interesting movie.

Works Cited:
Whitehead, John. “A TALE FOR OUR TIMES.”
Gadflyonline.com. 01 October 2007
http://www.gadflyonline.com/11-26- 01/film-snatchers.html.

Dirks, Tim. “Invasion of theBodySnatchers (1956).”
Filmsite.org 01 October 2007
http://www.filmsite.org/inva.html.

The Extremes of Fear: An Analysis of Invasion of the Body Snatchers

Now reviewed as a B-rate horror film, the 1956 movie, Invasion of the Body Snatchers, contains a plethora of fear symbolism. The movie depicts the mass panic that swept the nation during the Cold War with subtle references to both McCarthyism and Communism. Many critics try to focus it on one or the other, but in fact it is actually demonstrating the fear caused by both groups. The protagonist, Dr. Miles, and the antagonist, the pod people, are misinterpreted as heroes and villains. In reality, the pod people and Dr. Miles represent two opposite responses to fear; Dr. Miles being overly cautious and the pod people being to relaxed. Neither achieve a happy medium that understands that some things should be feared, but should not control there life style. Both attitudes have been reflected recently in history. The overly cautious Dr. Miles represents people’s attitude during the Cold War and the pod people illustrate desensitized version of our nation six years removed from the tragic incident of nine-eleven.
Fear can not be allowed to control ones life and that is exactly how Dr. Miles reacts to the pod peoples threat. His attempt to warn humanity of the impending alien takeover gains him the inaccurate title of hero, because his over cautious approach to fear is no more heroic than the pod people. Opening in a mental hospital, the doctor is ranting and raving about the aliens and the need to be wary. His tirade is very similar to a McCarthy follower who would have gotten all worked up about the threat of communist infiltrating the nation. Dr. Miles, finally slightly calmed down, gets to explain his story and tells the gentleman that he had just returned from a trip out of town. His opening monologue screams paranoia and fear. “As soon as I had arrived, I knew something was different. Something evil had taken possession of the town,” said Dr. Miles. As in the Cold War, neighbors would become suspicious of friends and co-workers almost entirely on a whim. As the story progresses, the doctor uncovers the pod people’s plot and as they grow in numbers so too does his fear. His panic grows to the point where he stops sleeping because he realizes that he is one of the last people not taken over by the pod people. This is just another example of how fear has completely altered him and his life style. At the end of his story, he is running down the interstate screaming, like a madman, that the aliens are coming to take over. Throughout the Cold War, people feared a nuclear threat that never surfaced and it altered there entire life just like Dr. Miles. People should let fear affect some decisions in there life; however, the doctor’s approach is far to extreme and life altering.
The pod people are the alien invaders that take over human’s minds and bodies as they sleep by forming copies of their victims in pods. While they are seemingly the same person, family members realize a subtle difference. “He looks the same, he has the same memories, and acts the same, but something is different.” This minute difference is that pod people show no emotion; they have become desensitized. At the doctor‘s office, a small child realizes the difference between his real mother and the pod impersonator and screams, “Don’t let her get me.” He is still fearful, yet when the pod people get a hold of him he is completely changed. His fear has completely disappeared because he ignores it. Expressing no emotion, the pod people rationalize that emotion is the cause of all the world’s problems and without it world peace would ensue. Jack, one of the doctor’s friends, stumbles upon his pod before it has taken his spot. The only difference is that he the pod has no distinct features such as finger prints. There lack of features is symbolic to there dehumanization because they lack passion. It is also another similarity to communism. To be a uniform emotionless society, most critics believe is symbolic to communist ideals, but it just an extreme way in dealing with fear. By dismissing the problem, it does not just disappear. Currently, we are debating, on a daily basis, whether or not to stay in Iraq and, just as the pod people, we hope that by pushing it aside and returning home it will simply go away. The problem with this philosophy is that no problem is ever solved by ignoring it.
While the black and white color might be a turn off to most modern day viewers, this movie still has a very relevant message for audiences today. Not only does it apply to fear, but to any emotion. It also sends a powerful message about finding a happy medium in any goal you strive to achieve. A majority of the time, extremes are never a positive. A skinny kid that does nothing, but sit around and play video games is hurting his body by not doing anything. A body builder that takes steroids is slowly destroying his body by trying to be too fit. Both these are extremes that have to do with taking care of yourself. So, if nothing else this movie gives a valuable life lesson in the way you go about trying to accomplish something.
Fear is a necessity of life. Some fear should be pushed aside like a child fearing the monster under the bed, but even animals experience fear to aid them in survival. To be completely fearless puts people in harms way. However, to let it completely control you causes the individual not live their own life. Since, both McCarthyism and Communism are apparent it is an injustice to specify this movie to just those two ideals. This movie is meant on a much broader scale of coping with fear. Dr. Miles and the pod people extreme approaches are both understandable approaches as proven with there application in history, but that does not make them appropriate. This movie’s message more than precedes its time.

Invasion of the Body Snatchers

“Something evil had taken position of the town,” Miles. Sea pods are not what someone would consider to be scary or a political allegory but in this particular movie Invasion of the Body Snatchers, they could be either. Since the movie was made in the 1950”s a ton of political innuendos are seen throughout this film but are they meant to be that or just a horror/sci-fi movie.
After reading the critics reports on the movie I have to say I fully agree with John Whitehead. When I first saw this movie and knowing information previously before watching it, I think john Whitehead really hit this one on the head. His Criticisms of the movie is fair analysis and it was very relevant to the movie. I know back in the 1950’s the scare of world domination and control of another country was a very big scare. This movie I think conveys that terror perfectly but just using a different metaphor. In his essay John Whitehead talks about his views of the people on cold war of the 50’s.The invention of the atomic bomb transformed the American people’s way of thinking about death. As John Whitehead as stated the fear of knowing there is something out there can could just destroy the whole world with just one blow had the people in hysterics. Before death was like a normal thing. People knew they were going to die inevitably and there was nothing anyone could do, but with this new horrifying invention hanging over their heads, a sense of fear rose and sent the American people into hiding. Another Criticisms I read was one by Tim Dirks. He stated how he thinks its just a movie. And that’s it. There is no real connection to McCarthyism, its just a horror/sci-fi movie.
After watching this horrible movie and reading the criticisms, I can definitely see where John Whitehead is coming from. When I first read his criticism, I was very confused and didn’t really know what to expect from this sea pod eating horror film. But now after watching it twice I can see the political allegory the director is trying to convey. Because of the fact it was made in the 1950’s, a time of fear and terror of the communist government overtaking the world, there can only be a connection with that theme and they American people. I don’t think this movie is just a horror/ sci-fi movie at all, it shows way too much characteristics of the theme of McCarthyism, to conform to the new “American way”. The sense of fear, not being able to trust anyone and the fascist police are all important parts in the movie. I don’t think they are making too much out of the McCarthyism theme. After reading up on McCarthyism, you can see that the movie conveys those types of fears. They fear about communist influence on American Institutions and spy’s of Soviet agents. The part in the movie that really stuck out to me as being a crucial part is when Miles and Becky escape and they are in the doctor’s office and the philologist and their friend Frank finds them and tells them they have to conform. To just go along with what everyone does and be satisfied with that new way of life. They want miles and Becky to like the new “American way” and to just let it go. This is a very similar theory that the anti- communistic people thought they way the solvates were conducting their mission. This movie may not have been meant to be about the fear of communism but it definitely is a metaphor of the McCarthyism view. The sea pods are the Russian soviets who are trying to change the American way and Miles and Becky are meant to be the American people trying to fight back. John Whitehead really goes into much detail and examination of this movie. I think sometimes John goes overboard with analyising this film. With reading all his full criticisms he was able to make a connection to almost everything with the anti-communistic way of thinking. I can see some of his points but a lot it I think is overblown. There is a point when I think this movie could have been just made to be a horror/sic-fi movie with the underground theme of McCarthyism and I think that’s what John Whitehead is trying to prove.
I definitely believe this movie is a political allegory but it does not relate to us today. People should absolutely see this classic movie but as far as relating it to us today it’s a theme of the past. Invasion of the Body Snatches was an exaggerated theme of McCarthyism and in a way it makes fun of the American people in the 50’s, I think we as Americans can look at this movie and laugh at the absurd way we thought of the Communistic governments. The American people have learned that the McCarthistic view was a little ridiculous and now we just look at it as good vs evil. After the scare of 9/11 there were some people who thought that going on a man-hunt for anyone who was of Arabic dissent would clear out all of the terrorism in the United States that is somewhat the view of McCarthyism, but it didn’t last long. I think our Situation today is unique and different from the past government scares we have had. I would like to think we have learned a lesson for the 1950’s and we can just grow on that.

"Invasion of the Body Snatchers": A Terror in Two Worlds

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 by flashback. He tells the police and psychiatrists whom 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 come to him saying that their loved ones just aren’t the same anymore, that they are emotionless. Baffled by this thought, Dr. Bennell investigates by going to visit the estranged patients and also notices the differences in their personality, or lack thereof. With the help of his friend the scientist Jack Belicec, the two discover 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 work together to spread more pods throughout the city until everyone is replaced. Dr. Bennell, Belicec, and Becky Driscoll, Dr. Bennell’s sweetheart, work frantically to warn the FBI outside of Santa Mira but are unable to, and they are forced to get on the run. Meanwhile Jack Belicec’s body is taken over and Dr. Bennell and Becky Driscoll are left on their own, against the entire pod race. Becky is also taken over while on the run, leaving Dr. Bennell alone. Overcome with fear and trying to warn anyone he can, he runs 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 in 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 always 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 within all Americans. Whitehead says that the pod people very closely resemble the profile of the communist Russians in that 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 by the name 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 focused 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 were very accurate with the McCarthyist theme. They describe the widespread fear of conformity and reduction of individuality, similarly 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. 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. 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.

With this movie being a political allegory, it is not completely relevant to today’s world in that it is paralleled to the communism during 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 a very eerie and creepy sci-fi film, 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.

Defining History

Don Siegel’s, 1956 Invasion of the Body Snatchers was a classic science fiction/horror movie based on the plot that pods from outer space were taking over the small town of Santa Mira. This black and white movie scared many people due to its plot that mirrored Senator Joseph McCarthy’s fears of the spreading of communism and that the world would soon be taken over by communists and that everyone would suffer as a consequence; however, in the movie the people who were actually harmed felt no emotion, pain or love as if it was a better world. John Whitehead supports the view of McCarthyism in Invasion of the Body Snatchers, in his essay.

Whitehead states in his famous essay “A Cultural History of Horror” notes that the film, which pretended to scare viewers, actually comforted them. Audiences found the more understandable world depicted as being reassuring, even if such an understanding was only a monstrous plot or cover-up. “Joseph McCarthy and his anti-Communist banter used the same rationale” (whitehead essay). This comfort was shown in the movie by the people after being affected by the pod. Affected people felt no emotion, they could not love, cry, or be angry. They felt as if it was a perfect world. Becky, Dana Wynter, was frightened to go to sleep because she loved the doctor, Miles Bennell, yet once she was taken over; she believed everything was ok.

Tim Dirks reviews the movie stating that it was “very effective in eliciting horror with slow-building tension, even though there are no monsters (just indestructible plant-like pods), minimal special effects, no violence in the take-over of humans, and no deaths. The film had a few preliminary titles: Sleep No More, Better Off Dead, and They Came From Another World before the final choice was made” (Tim Dirks review). The movie was written so well that there was no need to add high quality special effects, people dying, and lots of violence.

Invasion of the Body Snatchers, in black and white is still interesting today. Although we have not repeated the days of Joseph McCarthy and his paranoia regarding the spread of communism, we have had our trends that could arguable mimic the plot of the movie. For example, the free loving sixties with rampant drug abuse could fit this bill or the money and cocaine addicted eighties might as well. In the late nineties, many thought that the Internet would provide a means of greater government control and intrusion into our lives.

Having read about McCarthyism and watched the movie, I agree that the movie was based on McCarthyism and its over the top fear of communism. McCarthyism is a term used to describe, “a period of intense anti Communism suspicion in the United States that lasted roughly from the late 1940s to the late 1950s”(wikipedia). Invasion of the Body Snatchers does seem to have been influenced by McCarthyism in many ways.

In Invasion of the Body Snatchers, everyone in the town but two innocent people have been taken over by pods that came from outer space. Of those taken over by the pods, they immediately felt safe and protected, they showed and felt no emotion, and everything was just simple and plain. Those who had not been taken over felt a sense of fear, they wanted to love and feel. During the height of McCarthyism, people were accused of being communist and were not accepted, as were those who had not been taken over by the pod. Those accused of communism lost everything: jobs, families, and many were taken to jail.

Invasion of the Body Snatchers is science fiction and horror but also has a sense of history due to the McCarthyism and its anti-communist references.

Invasion of the Body Snatchers is definitely a good movie and people should watch this film today. Its message is still relevant in that it shows how people deal with disastrous events. Just a few years ago we had national disaster with 9/11. There were real people being killed and real people killing; things like this do not just happen in movies. There are immoral people in this world and you never know when or where a disaster could happen again. We must always be prepared in this unpredictable world.

Invasion of the Body Snatchers shows unprepared people not knowing how to face the invasion of the pods and simply giving in, turning into a shell of a person with no fear or emotion. This movie is unquestionably science fiction, but it is good and I recommend it to everyone. I struggle watching black and white movies and I thought it was surprisingly good.

Overall I think many older people would enjoy this movie because they can connect easier with the McCarthyism theory due to their age and time; whereas younger audiences may not understand the history behind Invasion of the Body Snatchers.

Workscited

Dirks, Tim. “Invasion Of The Body Snatchers (1956).” Rev. of Invasion of the Body Snatchers. Invasion of the Body Snatchers. 2007. 12 Oct. 2007 http://www.filmsite.org/‌inva.html.

“McCarthyism.” Wikipedia. 9 Oct. 2007. 12 Oct. 2007 http://en.wikipedia.org/‌wiki/‌Mccarthyism.

Whitehead, John W. “Invasion of the Body Snatchers.” Rev. of A TALE FOR OUR TIMES. Gadfly Online. 2007. 12 Oct. 2007 http://www.gadflyonline.com/‌11-26-01/‌film-snatchers.html.

Thinking to Deep

Invasion of the Body snatchers, in my mind, was one of the great classic horror films of all time. Like most producers in the American film making industry they want their movies to be a hit. Most directors are looking for the chance to make one of the greatest movies ever in a particular genre and make millions. One of the easiest ways to make a movie a hit is to incorporate controversy. In the American society most people love to argue and always have to be right. Look at today’s ongoing war, the media cannot get enough of it. Some media stations bash the fact that America has engaged themselves in a war that some people call the second Vietnam, meaning that there is a lost cause. Even though these media stations bash the war they love the attention. Think about it, whenever there is a big story in the Middle East the media has to rush so they can get the first interview so that their rankings will go up and make more money. The same is true with the film industry. If you make a controversial movie then people will talk more about it and comment about it on the news. Doing this, your movie gets more attention even if it is being criticized; making more people interested in watching the movie so they too can see what the fuss is all about. As crazy as this idea sounds look at Michael Moore and most of his movies. Many people hate Michael’s theories and some like them. Michael has made his living off of controversial movies. Every time I see a Michael Moore movie add I want to puke because I think he really does not care about all of his political views. I think he is just trying to make money. Event though I may be wrong nonetheless his movies are extremely controversial. I think his movies are not very good or interesting. Take an article I read from Merissa Marr, she said that “Controversy has become a key ingredient of marketing Mr. Moore’s work, and the backers of “SiCKO” hope that the new movie will stir up emotions and help generate the kind of buzz that made his last movie, “Fahrenheit 9/11,” both a topic of national debate and an unprecedented blockbuster in the documentary genre” (Marr). The fact is he makes movies about things he knows are going to arouse people’s emotions. It is a genius plan. He makes a lot of his money because people want to interview him and ask him why he has to be so controversial.

I feel the director of the 1956 Invasion of the Body Snatchers, Don Siegel, did the exact same thing that Michael Moore is doing right now about political views in today’s society. Siegel knows that during his time period people were terrified about Communism. The fact that there could be a nuclear war scared the American public. Also people were terrified of the thought that they could be going to be accused of being communist because of McCarthyism. I think Siegel knew that if he made a controversial movie that was symbolic to the political problems of his time period he would not only make a lot of money but also have a hit movie.

The movie “Invasion of the Body Snatchers” was perfectly made. I think Siegel wanted to make the movie in a certain way so that people would think that he was referencing to communism and McCarthyism. In the review by Tim Dirks he says that the movie is “An allegory for Communism and McCarthyism; the traits of being “one of them” is being cold, unable to express emotion or closeness” (Dirk). Anyone during this time period who knew anything about communism knew that the main way to tell if you were a communist was if you were emotionless and coldhearted. Siegel knew that if he made the aliens in his movie all the same and emotionless and coldhearted that people would think he was referencing to communism. I just think that this was Siegel’s impression of being an alien. Another example is when everyone who has already been overtaken by the aliens meets at the center of the town early in the morning to get their instructions of what they have to do for the day. This could easily be mistaken for a reference to communism, but Siegel is smart. He knew that most of society knew that if you were communist everyone was basically the same and did everything the same as everyone else. Now in my opinion Siegel was trying to show that the aliens were not smart beings. He thought that they had to be told by the king alien what they had to do every day. No one has ever met an alien so everyone has their own interpretations of how aliens are. Siegel wanted to show the world his interpretation of how he thought an alien was. Now do not get me wrong. I think Siegel knew that his interpretations of aliens were very similar to that of communism, but he did not make his movie to be related to communism.

Every director’s dream is to make a movie so big that people will still be talking about it more than fifty years later. Siegel knew how to make his dream come true and he did it. He knew that making this movie was going to be very controversial. The fact that is was controversial made everyone talk about it and in doing this he became famous and more than fifty years after the movie was made I am writing a paper on it. Siegel accomplished what every director dreams of.

Work cited
By MERISSA MARRThe Wall Street JournalMay 18, 2007; Page B1. Physicians for a National Health Program29 E Madison Suite 602, Chicago, IL 60602. http://www.pnhp.org/news/2007/may/for_michael_moore_c.php
Dirks, Tom.”Invasion of the Body Snatchers.” 2007. 12 Oct. 2007

Invasion of the Body Snatchers - Essay 3

Invasion of the Body Snatchers – Essay 3

Dr. Miles Bennell sits in a stark white mental hospital, furiously rambling off details of the supposed alien invasion that has occurred in the quiet town of Santa Mira. He pleads with the doctor, “Make them listen to me before it’s too late!” Miles’ warning was not just the doctors in the psychiatric ward, but also a warning to the public, who, gripped by fear and panic, had become numb to death in the nuclear age. The 1956 film “Invasion of the Body Snatchers” is a commentary on the reality of death and accompanying hysteria that became prevalent in America after World War II.

Many critics argue that “Invasion of the Body Snatchers" is about Senator Joe McCarthy’s fanatical “witch hunts” against supposed Communists in the 1950s. This interpretation is often attributed to the frantic townspeople who are consumed by the fear that someone, or something, has possessed their relatives. Jimmy, a young boy in Santa Mira, is convinced that his mother isn’t really his mother at all. Hysterical and crying, Jimmy pleads with Miles, “Don’t let her get me!” When Dr. Kauffman and Miles discuss the recent occurrences in Santa Mira, Dr. Kauffman refers to the dozens of paranoid patients having been consumed by “an epidemic of mass hysteria.” Parallels to McCarthyism, which resulted in a frenzied search and the subsequent blacklisting of suspected Communists, can certainly be found in the film.

Critics also believe that “Invasion of the Body Snatchers” is an analysis of Communist Russia. Tim Dirks says that the movie’s “main theme was the alien dehumanization and take-over of an entire community… And it told of the heroic struggle of one helpless but determined man.” During the Red Scare, Communists were portrayed as heartless, emotionless, and cold, much like the pod people were. Those who fought against these forces were brave and heroic, similarly to Senator McCarthy was in his battle against Communism. Later in the film, Miles and Kauffman have this brief exchange, occurring after Kauffman has been taken over by a pod person.

Kauffman: “You’ll be born into an untroubled world.”
Miles: “Where everyone’s the same?”
Kauffman: “Exactly.”

This conversation demonstrates the belief that Communism was a force that removed all differences from a population, making them exactly the same. “Invasion of the Body Snatchers” presents an anti-Communist message, but this is not the only issue that the movie is commenting on.

While the arguments that “Invasion of the Body Snatchers” is about McCarthyism and Communism are valid, I think that the movie’s meaning has a greater scope. World War II exposed the reality of death that had not been fully grasped before that time. John W. Whitehead points out that the dropping of the atomic bombs at the end of WWII showed Americans that “…death was no longer a wispy, terrifying phantom that chose its victims at random but instead became a calculated, mechanical weapon that obliterated humanity en masse.” In “Invasion of the Body Snatchers”, the people of Santa Mira are virtually being killed off – the aliens take over their positions in society without explanation as to what happens to the peoples’ bodies. The concept that some foreign enemy could swoop in and destroy the masses became a pronounced fear for scores of Americans in the 50s.

Miles is the hero of the film, but he still brutally destroys several pods. The audience accepts his stabbing of a pod and the burning of several others without protest. Since Miles is the assumed ‘good guy’, it seems pretty harmless that he is killing the ‘bad guys’. Likewise, most Americans saw nothing wrong with the dropping of the atomic bombs or the death of millions of Axis soldiers because thei end result was to defend good from bad. Death was not always some haphazard happening, but it was a carefully planned and executed event. While Americans were fearful of this happening to them, they saluted it was a triumph when their enemies took heavy casualties. “Invasion of the Body Snatchers” depicts the numbing effect that World War II had on the American conscience.

The hysteria that occurred in the post-World War II years is reflected in “Invasion of the Body Snatchers”. Nuclear war was a concern for America during this time, and Miles even mentions it as a possibility for the appearance of the strange pods. When a bubbly pod begins to open Miles’ greenhouse, he remarks that, “Maybe the results of atomic radiation” have caused the pod to form. Critics at the University of Michigan call “Invasion of the Body Snatchers” “ a film that echoes cold war paranoia”, citing the assimilation of the townspeople into the society of pod people. Western democracies were afraid of Communism because it seemed to be a death of freedom; it was a form of government in which assimilation was not a choice but a requirement. “Invasion of the Body Snatchers’” scenes of mindless pod people gathering in the town center showed how many thought the Communist Party would operate.

“Invasion of the Body Snatchers" was first released more than fifty years ago, but it is still a relevant film today. World issues and politics have changed since 1956, but many of the fears and problems are the same. Threats of terrorism are just as real and dangerous as Communism, if not much more so. Fear is still prevalent today, and hysteria does exist on some levels. The United States even has different ‘threat levels’ that are raised and lowered according to global occurrences. A raised threat level tells us to be on guard and to be fearful. Even today, “Invasion of the Body Snatchers” can be seen as an interpretation of how desensitized our nation has become to the ideas of death and the fear we still show to the unfamiliar.

Works Cited:

“Promise of Science: Alien Life.” Science Fiction Film Site. 12 October 2007.
http://www.umich.edu/umfandsf/film/promise/alien_life.html

Whitehead, John W. “Invasion of the Body Snatchers: A Tale For Our Times.” Gadfly Online. http://www.gadflyonline.com/11-26- 01/film-snatchers.html

Dirks, Tim. “Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956).” Greatest Films. 2 October 2007. http://www.filmsite.org/inva.html