E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial (Steven Spielberg, 1982) is a story about an unusual friendship between an extraterrestrial creature and Elliot (Henry Thomas). This classical science-fiction defined Generation X (1965-1980) on the silver screen. Forty years after its release it still conquers the hearts of modern generations worldwide. Additionally, the film’s techniques and narrative are admired by critics unanimously. In particular, the use of low camera height to indicate the story being told from a child’s perspective brings out the inner child of the spectator.
The box-office hits from the late 1970s, Alien (Ridley Scott, 1979) and Star Wars (George Lucas, 1977) inspired the end of New Hollywood in the 1980s, which is well-known in the cinema as “the decade of science-fiction”. E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial was a part of this wave. Nowadays, the film is a reference of the 1980s aesthetics, which is used in varied media forms, from music videos such as Titanium (David Guetta) to Netflix series like Stranger Things (2016-). Many people may not know that Spielberg considers E.T. an autobiography of sorts, an allegory of his parent’s divorce. The Spielberg film was important for Western society regarding the representation of an extra-terrestrial creature. Beforehand, they were portrayed as monstrous and detrimental. Besides that, it created a new branch of science-fiction blending space journeys and social concerns. After the release of this Spielberg classic, the friendly outsider and the deviant creature became a recognisable trope in the storytelling cinematic world, the “us versus other” binary opposite became frequently used. Besides that, E.T. deconstructs the binary gender roles and stereotypes, being a gender-neutral creature.
Maybe a part of the success of E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial is the message that prevailed for many age groups, as it can be interpreted in varied ways. For me, it aligns with what was written by the apartheid revolutionary and ex-former president of South Africa, Nelson Mandela, in his autobiographical book Long Walk to Freedom.
“No one is born hating another person because of the colour of his skin, or his background, or his religion. People must learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite.”
In the film, this quote is indicated evidently, when its protagonist is a child and so are his sidekicks, all of them are a symbol of purity. Nowadays, I believe the film’s message is even more powerful.
Some centuries ago, especially during the Discovery Age, from the 15th Century to the 18th Century, European explorations in the New World and other unknown lands were encouraged by royalty and merchants as they wanted to improve the economy through a more reliable source of luxury goods and gold. Three centuries later, in contrast, borders and laws isolate the emergent nations, as they already achieved their welfare state and economic prosperity in a stable and vigorous democracy. However, the world is dominated by the Capitalist system, famously known for its crescent inequality, so there are countless countries still developing and under extreme poverty, even those that are still dependent colonies. That is the reason why there is a constant movement of comings and goings aiming to achieve a stable life with better conditions, even if that means leaving family, and friends behind. Countless of their destinations are developed countries are marked by xenophobia. It is important to highlight this is not a new issue, it has happened since Ancient Greek times when the “barbarians” were enslaved, as Greeks had the belief that their people and culture were superior in comparison to others. Therefore, E.T. could be viewed as an inspiring toleration tale. It applies to the darkest era of Brexit and Trump’s government, where hate and xenophobia dominate the United Kingdom and the United States, as well as the recurrent Islamophobia after 9/11, Asiaphobia during the pandemic, and countless episodes of racism with the Black community. In the background of the film release, the film might criticise the world division under the Cold War (1946-1991) among the United States, Soviet Union and their allies.
As well as this, the connection between Elliot and E.T. goes beyond the telepathy indicated in the parallel sequence of scenes when one is in school, and the other is at home. Beyond what is shown visually, this connection is indicated by their names in that E and T are the first and last letters of Elliot’s name. Their friendship moved and continues to move many spectators on a global scale. Principally, in the age of social media algorithms that segment us into specific categories creating social bubbles of sameness and developing barriers among people, the film still spreads the beautiful message of connection regardless of our differences.
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