TDTESS

A few notes on The Day the Earth Stood Still 1951 vs. 2008 for those of you interested. First things first. Should you go see the new version? Well, its not the best movie ever, but it certainly isn't the worst. If there is nothing at the theatre you'd like to see more, then TDTESS is a fine option, but if you are debating, probably go ahead and see the other movie on your list and save this one for dvd. That said, the movie is interesting to compare to its 1951 counterpart. There is a lot about the two movies that is very different, however a lot of that is more surface and of the times than the main underlying themes. In both the death of the human species is impending because of our own actions. The reason that we are found to be a threat by the alien species is different between the two movies and is a really great example of what was on the mind of the collective conscious in 1951 and what is on our minds now. In 1951 it was nuclear war (the aliens were worried we might cause extraterrestrial destruction with our new rocket power), now its environmental degradation of the Earth (the aliens won't let us continue to destroy life on Earth so we have to go). Although I think the switch in focus is interesting and the environmental state of the Earth is an issue of concern, they could have stayed with nuclear power as a threat because it certainly still is.

A second similarity is the ineptitude of the American government in each movie. Both the 1951 and 2008 government react with force and it just makes things worse. Instead both movies hold up the world's scientists as the light of hope and reason amongst the thugs who run the government. One possible problem with this classification of people is that the scientists were the ones who actually created the nuclear and rocket power of concern in the first version...and science and tech is responsible for a lot of the emissions/pollution etc. threatening our world. So, perhaps scientists are not as pure as the world of this movie suggests.

Differences of interest - The role of women in the two movies. In the first, the main woman is a secretary to a scientist. In the 2008 our main women are a top scientist and the secretary of state or defense...I don't remember which. Obviously women are more liberated in the roles that they are allowed to have in modern society. We don't have to be secretaries or teachers or nurses. Also of interest is the makeup of the two families who figure in the storylines. In the 1950s we have a white mother with biological son. In the new version we have a white mother with a black step son. Family structure has become non-traditional (almost to an extreme in that the author has decided on both a step and interracial family) in the modern movie, reflecting the modern world. Then there is, of course, the tech. The modern robot is a lot more versatile (although I didn't really like the initial design when it appears on the screen). Instead of having a beam of light that turns things to slag, it dissolves into microbugs that devour through man and man-made objects.

In the end, I'll give them points for reinventing the classic, however, I do wish that there was more new stuff instead of vaguely recycled content available.