Section C
Compare and Contrast two American
films made in different time periods
The two films we are going to study
What do I have to revise for the exam?
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You need to compare and contrast the two films in terms of the following categories:
Context – How do both films reflect America in the 1950’s and 1980’s?
Messages and Values – Themes of the films (Have they changed? Why?)
Genre – (They are both Sci Fi/Horror films) How do we know this? What has changed? Why?
Gender – How are men and women represented in the two films? Does this representation
change over time?
Narrative – How are the two films structured? Does this change over time?
Key scenes – You need to analyse key scenes of the films to reinforce your arguments in the
categories above
Place – How does the setting of each film support the themes/messages and values of the
films?
Opening/Ending scenes – Why are these important in establishing the context/gender etc of
the two films?
Conflict – How is conflict established in the two films? Do the two films differ in terms of
conflict?
Science Fiction films – Key Points
• Science Fiction films have often been used to
provide social commentary on political or cultural
issues which are seen to be important at the time
of the film’s release, as well as been used to
explore the issue of what it means to be human.
• The genre also plays on audience’s fears by
having a monster which represents (acts as a
metaphor) fears that the society have at the time
of the film’s release. This fear changes over time
Historical Background – Essay Plan
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I would start this essay with the point that both of the films studied are easily
recognizable as sci-fi/horror films because the codes and conventions of both films
are similar:
An isolated setting
A threat from a monster
The use of the non diegetic soundtrack to build suspense
However film genres do change over time and this is why it is important to study
historical background.
The audience change because their expectations of what they expect from a scifi/horror film changes from generation to generation. This is down to technological
changes (special effects) cultural changes (the abolition of The Hays Code) and
historical change (the horror of watching Vietnam on television news)
1950’s discussion (see slides) – linked to key scenes and examples from film
1980’s discussion (see slides) – linked to key scenes and examples from films
1950’s context/background: The key
factors to know
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Fear of scientists caused by the atomic bomb
Army are to be trusted (success at WWII)
Monster represents fear of Russia and Communism
This fear was seen in American society at the time by Senator McCarthy’s witchhunts.
UFO’s were believed to be true (Roswell 1947)
Americans had a fear of ‘brainwashing’ (Korean War and treatment of POWs in this
war)
Teenagers had more disposable income and with the Paramount Decree this
meant there was an opportunity to release films directly aimed at this new market.
The rise of television ownership also meant that many older people stayed away
from the cinema for a time. Teenagers very often went to Drive-Ins to see their
films.
The Hays Code restricted what could or could not be shown on the big screen. This
affected the content of sci-fi/horror films.
Scientists were feared at this time in
history - the effects of the atomic bomb
• The dropping of the
Hiroshima and Nagasaki
bombs meant that
people saw the full
might of what humans
could do to other
humans. This created
fear and because of
this, scientists were
very often cast as
villains in 1950’s films.
American soldiers were seen as heroes
and were to be trusted
• American soldiers won
WWII and this brought
about a period of
prosperity and hope for
the American people.
Soldiers were seen as
heroes and were very
often cast as such in films
of the 1950’s. It was
‘right’ that we trusted
their views on situations,
it was ‘natural.’
The monster represents the fear of Russia
and communism (external threat)
• Russia emerged as the
new threat after the
defeat of Germany and
many Americans feared
what they could do to
democracy. Communism
was also seen as a threat
because it was alien to
American’s belief of
looking after yourself and
your family.
This ‘threat’ was exaggerated by
Senator McCarthy (witch-hunt)
• This man made
insubstantial claims that
communists had
infiltrated the president’s
office and this led to a
witch-hunt of innocent
Americans who McCarthy
believed were working for
Russia. He centred his
search on the film
industry.
UFO’s were embedded into the American
consciousness (Roswell 1947)
• Many Americans
believed in aliens after
this incident in 1947.
Sightings of fairies and
angels in the USA as
people began to see
‘lights in the skies’
There was a perceived threat that people
could be ‘brainwashed’ (Korean War)
• Brainwashing meant
that Americans could be
controlled by a foreign
invading force and this
was a relevant fear at
the start of the 1950’s.
This fear was set in
motion by accounts of
POW treatment in The
Korean War.
Rise of Teenagers and disposable income/
Increase of content at the cinema
• A ‘baby boom’ at the end of
WWII created in time a new
generation of teenagers
who wanted their own form
of entertainment which was
separate from their parents.
With work plentiful and
many adults staying at
home to watch televison a
new market was created
for filmmakers and they
flocked to see science
fiction films
The Drive-In
• The Drive In was created to
capitalise on the growth of
car ownership in the 1950’s.
Teenagers were buying new
cars and they were quickly
drawn to these kind of
cinemas were they could
have a cheap date away
from the prying eyes of
their parents. The kind of
films they wanted to see
were very often sci-fi and
horror films.
The Hays Code
• The Hays Code was a set
of industry censorship
guidelines created to
protect American people
from subversive material
on the big screen. This
meant that horror films
couldn’t really show any
real ‘gore’ because of the
perceived effect that this
may have on the
audience.
1980’s Context: Things you need to
know
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Theme of distrust was evident in American society during the 1970’s and 1980’s
Suburban living – fear of neighbours, not knowing who lived next to you
President Nixon – Watergate Scandal – lying to American people
Vietnam War – scarred America, 58,000 American soldiers died, American soldiers
seen to be more the enemy rather than triumphant
Vietnam War – Body Horror – images of death and destruction played nightly on
American televisions – influenced horror and science fiction films of the time
Hays Code – scrapped in 1960’s
Fear of Aids – spread invisibly, attacked the body
Yuppies – selfishness and an attitude which privileged individuals rather than
communities, led to a ‘me’ attitude where people didn’t help other people.
Civil Rights campaign – fanned the flames of discontent between whites and blacks
Kent State shootings – American serviceman fired on American students on
American soil
The Theme of Distrust
• America in the 1970’s and early
1980’s was a place where the
people had lost trust in its
government, its army and with
each other.
• This graph (black line) shows the
level of distrust that people had
in its government at this time .
• The reasons for this distrust are
many and they influenced
science-fiction and horror films of
the 70’s and 80’s.
President Nixon – Watergate Scandal
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The Watergate Scandal linked
President Nixon to a break in
committed by members of his party
against the opposing Republican
party where cash was stolen to help
fund his re-election campaign.
He at first denied all knowledge of
this, but as the truth began to dawn
he was forced to resign from being
President.
If the President of America directly
lied to the American people you can
see why the mid to late 1970’s was
seen as a period of distrust in
American society.
Kent State Shootings
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The Kent State shootings involved the
shooting of unarmed college students by
the Ohio National Guard on Monday, May
4, 1970. The guardsmen fired 67 rounds
over a period of 13 seconds, killing four
students and wounding nine others, one
of whom suffered permanent paralysis.
With American military firing on American
people who were protesting against
Vietnam and President Nixon’s speech on
Cambodia the real sense of distrust can be
seen graphically in this picture (taken a
few seconds after the student on the
ground had been shot)
These shootings became a rallying point
for more Vietnam War protests to follow.
Vietnam War – Scarred America
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Vietnam was the first war where a
number of American people vocally
opposed the involvement of the American
army in a campaign far away from
American soil.
58,000 Americans died and for the first
time in their history America didn’t ‘win’
the war due to effective guerrilla
campaigns employed by the Vietnamese.
This led to prolonged protests in America
opposing the war throughout the late
1960’s and 70’s.
Psychologically the War affected the
American psyche with many American
War Veterans ignored when they came
home, many Americans didn’t want to
admit defeat and they took out their
frustrations against the Government
Vietnam War – Body horror
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Vietnam was the first ‘televised’ war
and Americans were confronted with
many horrific images every night on
their news programmes.
This focus on the destruction of the
body led to a new focus for science
fiction and horror films of the time,
where the focus of the horror in the
films became one of the destruction
of the body.
As the director of The Thing, John
Carpenter stated ‘the monster
couldn’t be a guy in the suit’ because
obviously what frightened the
audience in the 1980’s was radically
different from the 1950’s.
Fear of AIDS
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At the start of the 1980’s word began to
spread of a new virus/disease called
AIDS which spread invisibly between
people.
This new disease led to fears of people
being infected and although the film
The Thing is not about the disease
itself, it does dwell on ‘fears’ of being
contaminated by an unknown enemy
which is a clear metaphor for the
disease itself.
The ‘monster’ in the film is thus not an
‘external’ threat like Russia or
Communism, it is an internal threat
which represented the distrust in
America at the time of release and the
fear of being invaded by an invisible
force.
Civil Rights Campaign
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To add to the distrust in America at
this time in their history the Civil
Rights campaign made clear that the
black minority in the country wanted
their voice to be heard, as well as
obviously wanting to be treated with
respect and not second class citizens.
Figures like Rosa Parks and Martin
Luther King became symbols of
freedom and respect in the 1960’s
and added to the feeling of distrust in
the country.
Suburban Living
• Rapid home growth in the 1960’s
combined with cheaper
mortgages, inexpensive air travel,
cheaper cars and the American
mentality of spreading your roots
meant that by the end of the 70’s
many people had moved far away
from their home towns
• This led to a country where
people didn’t know who they
were living next to and also the
perception that extended families
were breaking up.
• This added to the climate of
mistrust in the early 1980’s
Yuppies
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The start of the 1980’s saw a rise of
people called Yuppies whose goal
was solely to make money, to see coworkers as competitors and to put
themselves above and beyond the
community.
This selfish nature can be directly
linked to the rise of distrust in
America in the 1970’s and is reflected
in the film The Thing.
When watching the film notice how
different the people work together to
that of the soldiers in the 1950’s.
Scrapping of The Hays Code
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By the mid 1960’s The Vietnam war and
radical social changes in society meant
that The Hays Code was ridiculously
outdated, so over time many films started
to increase the violence, sex and swearing
contained in movies.
One film which demonstrated this break
with The Hays Code was Bonnie and
Clyde, which ended with a gruesome
shoot out where the two protagonists are
shot repeatedly with rapid machine
gunfire.
Screen Violence changed as a result and
this was reflected in the science
fiction/horror films of the 1970’s/80’s.
Messages and Values - Essay
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I would start this essay with the point that both of the films studied are easily recognizable as
sci-fi/horror films because the codes and conventions of both films are similar:
An isolated setting
A threat from a monster
The use of the non diegetic soundtrack to build suspense
However film genres and the messages and values that they contain do change over time and
this is why it is important to compare and contrast two American films made in different
decades
The audience change because their expectations of what they expect from a sci-fi/horror film
changes from generation to generation. This is down to technological changes (special
effects) cultural changes (the abolition of The Hays Code) and historical change (the horror of
watching Vietnam on television news)
1950’s messages and values - fear of scientists (Hiroshima), the value of believing that
soldiers are ‘right,’ (WWII) the fear of Russia (WWII, McCarthy) – Hays Code
1980’s messages and values – ‘the sustained metaphor of the collapse of identity,
responsibility and trust in the modern world’ (Robert Cumbow) – Watergate, Suburban living,
Kent State, Civil Rights and the frailty of the human body – threat from Aids, the images from
Vietnam