preview

Earth Stood Still

Decent Essays
Open Document

Ever since the atomic bomb ended World War II, the U.S. military has proven their strong will of aggression to all nations around the world. Until today, their attendance in modern conflicts has raised immensely. The movie “The Day The Earth Stood Still” shows a representation of how the U.S. military overestimates their capability of representing the entire human race during an intervention with alien species. In the motion picture, viewers are introduced to Klaatu, a humanoid creature who landed in Manhattan to negotiate with humans about the decline of Earth as a consequence of human behaviour. However, the U.S. Secretary of Defense misinterpreted his intention and locked him in a secure facility. Then, Klaatu successfully escaped with the …show more content…

While waves of destruction occur on Earth, Helen has shown Klaatu that humans are different and that they are capable of changing. In the end, Klaatu stopped the devastation and left Earth in his spaceship as seeing hope in humanity. The theme of the film is a critique of the U.S. military and it is demonstrated through the use of the arrogant figure of the army. In the movie, the armed force is perceived as being more representative than the government and thus, guns talk more than words do. Also, it should be noted that the U.S. Secretary of Defense quoted: “As a rule of less advanced civilization is either exterminated or enslaved. Unfortunately, in this case, the less advanced civilization is us.” As a matter of fact, this shows how the U.S. government puts emphasis on defending the country as a rule of basic surviving principle. Moreover, it is clear in the movie that there are stronger examples of military actions rather than diplomatic ones upon negotiating with Klaatu. For instance, as the spaceship landed in Manhattan, a massive military operation with heavy weapons took place at the landed site.

Get Access