4 Hollywood Sci-Fi Films From The 1950s And Their Cold War Perspectives

3. The Thing From Another World (1951)

The Thing from the Other World

If Invasion deals with containment, then The Thing engages with the possibility of an upcoming Third World War. Christian Nyby€™s film deals with the discovery of an extraterrestrial being in the North Pole by scientists and the air force. Considered harmless because of its frozen state, the crew transports it back to their base, but it unfreezes due to the carelessness of one man. This raises the question of whether it should be captured for scientific research or killed to ensure survival. This is the main difference between Invasion and The Thing. Miles continuously flees from the body snatchers until he reaches safety, but the ones affected in The Thing have nowhere to run; running away would only be suicidal. Therefore, attacking it directly or befriending it may be the only solutions. The Thing can then be considered a film that engages with the arms race and one that tantalizes with the idea of the use of weaponry. The Korean War was all ready ongoing by the release of the film due to €“ amongst other reasons €“ €œthe alliance between the Soviet Union and the new People€™s Republic of China [€] (which) [€] was one of the cornerstones of the early Cold War. [€] (It) [€] demonstrated the military capabilities of the newly formed Sino-Soviet alliance€ (Hanhimaki & Westad, 2003, p. 176). War against the €˜other€™ entered the realm of possibility. It is not a coincidence that the scientists and the military in the film have conflicting opinions about the situation. Jancovich writes: €œthe scientists€™ real problem is not their use of reason, or even their attempt to consort with the enemy, but rather their refusal to accept the authority of the military, and by extension, the state€ (Redmond, 2004, p. 328). Dr. Arthur Carrington endangers the lives of everyone in the base in order to speak to the creature and favours the pursuit of knowledge. Carrington is portrayed as irresponsible, maniacal, and borders the stereotype a mad scientist who would sacrifice anything only to benefit scientific-technical advancement. The scientists are therefore seen negatively, whereas the military crew is viewed as rational and reliable. Jancovich describes €œthe film [€] as a conservative one in which force is used to destroy anything that threatens or challenges the status quo. It is a film which cannot accept the validity of anything which departs from its limited notions of €˜normality€™€ (ibid). This idea is only reinforced when Carrington tries to speak to the creature, but it smacks him out of the way without a moment of hesitation; rationalizing with the enemy is, as a result, the wrong choice. The creature is then electrocuted to death, and the film ends overwhelmingly happy. The men rest after their accomplishment, and Scotty (Douglas Spencer), a journalist, sends a radio transmission to Alaska claiming that €˜one of the world€™s greatest battles was fought and won today by the human race. Here at the top of the world, a handful of American soldiers and civilians met the first invasion from another planet€™. The choice of words signifies pro-American propaganda; one that clearly exerts pride and approves the impulse of retaliating if the €˜other€™ eventually attacks.
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Contributor

I'm currently enrolled in the Film Studies program at the University of Copenhagen in Denmark. If you haven't guessed by now, movies and media are as a big of a passion for me as they are for you and would love to hear what you've gotta say as well!