21L.434 Science Fiction
Study Questions for THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL
1) James Gunn offers the following definition of Science Fiction: "Science fiction is the branch of literature that deals with the effects of change on people in the real world as it can be projected into the past, the future, or to distant places. It often concerns itself with scientific or technological change, and it usually involves matters whose importance is greater than the individual or the community; often civilization of the human race itself is in danger." How might we apply this definition to the film? One key issue to consider: Science fiction, as defined here, centers on the impact of change on a whole society rather than on individual characters. Classical Hollywood narrative typically focuses on the goals, actions, and desires of individual protagonists. How does DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL reconcile these two impulses? How might this tension account for some of the differences between film and literary science fiction?
2) Susan Sontag has argued that 1950s science fiction films are less concerned with "what's out there" than with what's going on in our own society, specifically in examining the effectiveness of various American values and institutions. How might DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL be seen as taking a survey of life in the United States in the 1950s? What moments seem most overt in their pursuit of that goal? What institutions come across best in this survey? Which institutions seem to fail?
3) Of all the 1950s science fiction films, DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL seems most preoccupied with the role of media in contemporary society and with the problems which block effective communication between those who come from different perspectives. Where do these issues surface in the film? What conclusions does the film draw about the way the media shape public response to a national crisis? How does science fiction fit within the range of media being discussed in the film? One thing you may not know is that all of the newscasters featured here are actual, well-known newscasters of the period. How might the use of these familiar journalists shape public response to this film?
4) Some critics have read DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL as a religious allegory, starting with the fact that Klatu chooses to appear to us in human form and walk among us and adopts the name, Mr. Carpenter. What other elements in the film might support such a reading? How might this analogy shape our response to the representation of the alien in this work? Klatu fits within a
tradition of "alien messiahs" in science fiction cinema. What might be other examples, past or present? How does his story resemble the SUPERMAN mythos we discussed in class? How might the concept of the "alien messiah" be tied to the legacy of technological utopianism?
5) It has been noted that pre-1950s science fiction literature tends to cast the scientist/inventor/ explorer/spaceman as the protagonist, while the 1950s began a period when the protagonist was more likely to be an average citizen. Considering that DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL is a 1950s film based on a 1940s short story, how does it relate to the evolution of the science fiction protagonist?
6)Compare and contrast DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL with STARSHIP TROOPERS, giving especial consideration to the role of the alien and to the political values which each work expresses. How might these differences be related to the political debates shaping American society in the 1950s?
7) The ending of the film continues to be one of its most controversial elements. Do you think the film means for us to embrace or feel discomfort over the ultimatum that Klatu issues? How does the solution he proposes contradict what might have been seen as a progressive film advocating peace and international brotherhood? Would the solution he offers us be tolerable, workable, desirable?
8) DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL was one of the very first Hollywood films to include electronic instruments on its soundtrack. How does this film help to define what science fiction films "sound like"? Why would Bernard Herrman have chosen this particular "sound" for his score? What moments of the film make particularly effective use of music to set the tone for the action?