I noticed that the film "Transformers 2 Revenge of the Fallen" grossed several hundred million dollars and will be the biggest film of the Summer. As a kid, I thought the idea of "Transformers" was silly and childish even for a 9-year old. However I understood how it could work as a toy. Then the cartoon series, well I could see it as a vehicle for selling these toys. But as a major motion picture? You're kiddin me? I know Summer is traditionally the time for the mindless, fluff, candy movie experience but this stuff seems like it was made for brain-damaged children who can't appreciate the 'high concept art' of Indiana Jones or Star Wars. Compared to this, E.T. was freakin Shakespeare.
Forget that metallic heap of crap. It got me thinking a little about the Sci-Fi genre There was a time when heavy-handed censors pushed any kind of political meaning or thought down and filmmakers got their meaning across with strong subtext. Think Cold War era War of the Worlds or the nuclear age anxiety of The Day the Earth Stood Still. Well the Sci-Fi genre has continued that tradition and you can find some interesting subtext in Sci-Fi from the small budget quirky shorts to the biggest, loudest, most explosive blockbusters. Let's look at a few.
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Independence Day
The big mean aliens show up and just wanna wreak havoc. No motive, no pretext, aliens are baddies. Almost all humans are destroyed but thanks to a few tough guys lead by the handsome, wonderful, kind, loving President of the USA, we survive and beat those big mean aliens.
What we learn
To stop questioning authority cause they are the heroes. The humans were able to beat the aliens with the help of a scientific program funded by the Pentagon on one of the captured spaceships from decades ago. "You don't think it costs $200 for a hammer, do you?" says one of the top officials as the President asked how such a program was paid for. See? There is a good reason why the U.S, spends more than the rest of the world combined on it's military. It's for our own good silly. It has nothing to do with political insiders being heavily invested in companies that profit handsomely from weapons production. And the less we know about it, the better.
We also learn to stop thinking about silly little problems. For example, Jeff Goldblum says while pointing at a recycling pail full of cans, "And I thought these were gonna kill us." Yes, it's dumb to worry about polluting the planet and making it uninhabitable when the Aliens will come and destroy it anyway.
The Message
With the help of great, rugged individuals, an unaccountable government and a wildly out of control military-industrial complex, we will be safe.
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The Arrival
Charlie Sheen takes a break from expensive escorts, baseball and poker games to look for intelligent life on other planets. Everyone around him says he's wasting his time and potential and should work on a 'real' career. We know different though as the aliens have insidiously planted themselves in our society and are causing global warming cause "they like it hot."
What we learn
The aliens get away with so much because an apolitical, unengaged population make it easy for them to do so. Where are the aliens terra-forming plants? They're in unregulated third world countries where U.S businesses can do as they please. The aliens are firmly embedded in powerful multi-national corporations. One of the top aliens says, "We're just speeding up what you people are doing already." What do the aliens really dislike? "People that can think laterally" are those that the aliens try to weed out or discredit.
The Message
The bad guys are here. But they're not gonna point a gun at us. Instead our demise will be met because of our great apathy. To stand a fighting chance we have to be able to think critically and hold business accountable for the mess they're making.
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Signs
Mel Gibson, a former minister who lost faith and became distraught over the recent death of his wife discovers crop circles on the field by his house. When the bad aliens come, Gibson survives cause of the little "signs" that were there to read all along.
What we learn
Well, first we learn that some aliens aren't particularly bright. These guys master space travel and somehow get by Einstein's physical laws of traveling faster than the speed of light, but are totally stumped when encountering a locked wooden door. We also learn that these aliens are poor planners as it probably wouldn't be a good idea to go to a planet that is 75% water if water kills you!
But ultimately this movie is about faith and submission. See, it turns out the nonsense Mel Gibson's wife was uttering after being hit by that car was the key to protecting their son against the alien invaders. Also the fact that the youngest daughter was going nuts, displaying "signs" of mental illness by leaving half empty glasses of water all over the house was a good thing as well. No, let's not inquire about the conditions that lead to a fatal car accident. It was a good thing.
The Message
Accept everything. It's God's will and he knows best. If you are good, docile sheep, you will be saved.
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They Live
Roddy Piper, a down on his luck laborer who just never seemed to get that break, discovers that the fight might indeed be fixed as the glasses he finds allow him to see the world as it really is. It might not be a good example of subtext as the point is loud and clear.
What we learn
Piper is an honest, hard-working man and gets shit on for it. With the glasses on, he sees the ruling elite are in fact space aliens who plant subliminal messages in the media telling us to "consume" "obey" "conform" etc. He also discovers that many humans are complicit in enforcing this bit of a class system. One human cooperator admits it and defends his actions, "Hey we all want a taste of the good life."
The Message
Yes there is a class system. Yes the media influence you to the benefit of the elite that use the majority of the population to their own gluttonous benefit. The full title of the film is 'They Live, We Sleep.' This film was made in response to the brutal Reaganomics of the time but it was before most of the massive media consolidation of the past two decades which makes it all the more poignant.
