The Day the Earth Stood Still Adaptation
The Day... (1951): Gort's Arrival
-Klaatu landing is not seen (limitations of effects)
-Citizens show their interest by surrounding the spacecraft
-Klaatu appears very human (even in his suit) and incites
friendship
-Gort suddenly appears outside the spacecraft
-Gort is 8 feet tall
-Klaatu simply appears as a human
The Day... (2008): Gort's Arrival
-Klaatu arrives in a bright, giant space ball (intentionally
abstract from the 1951)
-Klaatu’s landing is seen
-Citizens show their fear by running upon the landing
-Klaatu appears very alien-like and incites fear
-Gort visibly exits the spacecraft
-Gort is 28 feet tall (Shows the aliens’ judgment upon
humanity)
-Klaatu puts on the form of an abducted human (makes it ‘sciency’)
PERSONAL NOTES:
General differences between the two versions:
In the 2008 version-
-Takes an ecological approach
-Global response
-The Government’s only response is to lie to it’s citizens
In the 1951 version-
-Takes an anti-war approach
-Only America responds to the alien
-The Government is only interested in pursuit of Klaatu.
-2008 version takes an ecological approach while the 1951
takes an anti-war approach.
So you could take your thesis in the direction of how American culture has changed from being interested/curious of the unknown/aliens/new things in technology or science to being fearful as we discover more about the unknown/life on other planets/technology or science. This is shown by people surrounding the spaceship in the 51' version and people fleeing from it in the 2008 version and the "scarier" look of the alien landing in the current version. Notice how dark and menacing the alien appears to be compared to the colorful lights surrounding him. You could also mention something along the lines of how countries and the U.S. are becoming more introverted and how our false sense of power and lack of understanding of how we affect other countries is still present (as seen by America only responding to the alien landing in the 51' version compared to how involved other countries are mentioned in the current version).
ReplyDeleteWhat you have is really good and I understand what you're trying to convey to us. I like what you've done with the character and how the person itself has changed. But I would recommend going further into the the background and the glowing orb behind the character. I think it can create for a stronger argument.
ReplyDeleteI like how you were pretty specific about the differences between the two movies. I also liked the personal notes that you added at the end of the adaptation. I believe that you should maybe go into deeper detail about one of the differences. Maybe talk about how Klaatu's landing seen made a impact versus when it was unseen. Good Job! :)
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