Download - Project%20four%2c%20the%20essay
1
“Save the Essay”
Y. Li- Project Manager
Split the essay into thirds and gave out tasks to the team members.
Natasha Martin- Researcher
Researched the references and bibliography and changed/
corrected all references to the Harvard style. Also made track
changes to the first part of the essay with regards to the grammar
and flow.
Sam Allsopp- Content Creation
Made track changes to the second part of the essay and put all the
thirds together to create the final essay. Had final say in the
grammar, structure and flow of the whole essay. Added comments
using track changes.
Jennifer Knight- Presentation and dissemination
Made track changes to the third section of the essay with regards
to grammar and flow. Followed the specific presentation
instructions for the essay and uploaded to Slideshare.net
2
Using two examples from the genre of horror examine what a „classic
horror‟ film is.
The horror genre is one of the most popular genres and somewe may say that it
has started to develop practically immediately with the development of show
business and a free access of wide audience to cinema‟s and television. We can
find a lot of causes of the popularity of this genre but it is still not so easy to
explain its phenomenon, namely why it is so attractive for people despite all its
unreality. However, it would be a great mistake to say that horror movies are plain
or even primitive. Naturally, there are some movies which are really so
stereotyped, unbearably plain, and absolutely thoughtless. But in my opinion, it is
simply exclusion or films that were created by specialists who are far from real
moviemaking and they can create nothing but films of low quality regardless its
genre.
Also I‟d say that as any other branch of art cinema has its genius and its mediocre
majority because good films may be created only by a good crew and the genre is
not so important. Among such genius of cinema I would name the Two particularly
memorable horror films includecrews that worked on two films of horror genre,
they areDonald Siegel‟s “Invasion of Body Snatchers”(1956) and John
Carpenter‟s “The Thing”(1982). I said crews not because I do not want to agree
with those who believe that Donald Siegel and John Carpenter were outstanding
directors, on the contrary I am glad that people who worked on these two films
were led by such well-qualified professionals. So, we may say that “Invasion of
the Body Snatchers” and “The Thing” are classics of the horror genre and the best
Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 13pt, Underline
Formatted: Justified, Line spacing: Double
Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 13pt, Underline
Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12 pt
Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12 pt
Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12 pt
Comment [S1]: Irrelevant to essay
Formatted: Font: 12 pt
Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12 pt
Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12pt, Italic
Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12 pt
Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12 pt
Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12pt, Italic
Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12 pt
3
ones. But what I would like to analyze This essay will demonstrate why is the
reason why they are treated as such and in which way they are similar or
different.
First of all, Iit is necessary to say that these two films were created at during
different time periods. “Invasion of the Body Snatchers” was created in the mid-dle
1950s, more precisely, in 1956 whereas “The Thing” was producedcreated in
1982. It seems that such a time difference should make the films incomparable
completely different but, strangely enough,however they still have a lot of common
aspects. That is why at the beginning I would like to dwell upon similarities of both
films. First of all, we may say that, to a certain extent, the themes are similar in the
sense thatis close. bBoth films focus on the problem of the invasion of the human
race or just alive bodies by some aliens that tends to via assuming control of the
mind personality, the hosts actions judgments, etc. In the case of “Invasion of the
Body Snatchers”, we deal with a speciescreatures that LeGacy argues “has to
wait for the perfect moment when the target is asleep), and spend the next few
hours consuming and taking on that form. If the host wake up when the process is
not complete, the whole procedure is a failure” (LeGacey 1978:288). On the other
hand, the thing needs just a few minutes to do it because “it can assimilate the
host while its still conscious, against the host‟s will” (Landon 1993:p39). Probably
Ssuch changes are caused by by the changes of time or epoch. It is obvious that
the rhythm of life in 1980s was much faster than in 1950s, certainly it found its
Comment [S2]: Unprofessional
language. Incoherent
Formatted: Font: 12 pt
Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12 pt
Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12 pt
Formatted: Line spacing: Double
Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12pt, Italic
Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12 pt
Comment [S3]: Repetitive vocabulary
Formatted: Font: 12 pt
Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12 pt
Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12pt, Italic
Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12 pt
Comment [S4]: Would not make
sense otherwise
Formatted: Font: 12 pt
Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12 pt
Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12 pt
4
expression in the perception of the idea of possible alien assault or attempts to
invade human minds.
By the way, I think that
Bboth films express athe trend that took place in boththe societiesy when the idea
of total control of a human mind became more conceivable and more widely
spread. It means that symbolically by aliens creators of the films tried to imply
those powers either political or economical that by different means aimed at the
total control of public conscious through the invasion of the mind of a separate
individual. Both films demonstrate the effects of propaganda which the
government used to control the public. Siegel and Carpenter took advantage of
this and incorporated these ideas of public control through the invasion of the
mind into their films.
It was quite actual if we take into account Control was a very large factor if we
take into consideration the times when both films were released., For example,
1952 it was the year of the beginning of the cold war when the tension between
the well-developed democratic world western world and the communistic Soviet
Union grew and the governments of many countries, most famously America and
Russia Russiaincluding the most democratic, had started to struggle for the
control of public opinion and even each particular individual. At the same time
Similarly during,, 1982 thereit was a period when the cold war achieved its
apologue and the world was on the eve of Presidentthe Reagan‟s declaration of
the war on the „empire of evil‟. when the situation was very resembling to that of
Comment [S5]: Informal opening clause
Formatted: Font: 12 pt
Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12 pt
Comment [S6]: Multiple trends, two
different societies
Formatted: Font: 12 pt
Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12 pt
Comment [S7]: Incorrect use of
words, little cohesion
Formatted: Font: 12 pt
Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12 pt
Formatted: Line spacing: Double
Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12 pt
5
early 1950s. Furthermore, the degree of sSurveillance grew and specialists began
to talkspoke about the total control of certain organiszations over people.. In such
a situation the people transformed in pods in the horror films I‟ve just named look
like a prophecy and warning against such dangerous practice.. These ideas of
control are heavily emphasised by the directors within both films.
One more thing that makes “Invasion of the Body Snatchers” and “The Thing”
quite different is the juxtaposition degree of combination of reality and unreality.
as I would call it. In my opinion, at this point “The Thing” is much more radical in
the sense that the film is full of fantastic elements which creates a continuous
paranoia for the audience. and the state of paranoia overwhelms audience and
keeps people in such a state during the whole film. On the other hand, in
“Invasion of the Body Snatchers” it is quite difficult to distinguish whether what the
audience observe is fiction or non-fiction. we see is real or unreal. Personally,
when I watched Bboth films implied I had a permanent doubt ofin the mental
health of theits main characters. iIt was quite difficult to say whether it was
something really unusual, extraordinary things that happen to people in the city or
it was a simple hallucination, illusion, or just a nightmare and only at the end it
becomes clear that the whole city was really transformed in pods, people.
WWhereas in “The Thiang” it is evident practically from the very beginning.
Everyone realiszes that the characters act in an unreal situation; they really
confront some aliens that intend to control them their bodies and their minds.
Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12pt, English (United Kingdom)
Formatted: Font: 12 pt, English(United Kingdom)
Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12pt, English (United Kingdom)
Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12 pt
Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12 pt
Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12pt, English (United Kingdom)
Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12 pt
Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12pt, Italic
Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12 pt
Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12pt, Italic
Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12 pt
Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12pt, Italic
Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12 pt
Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12pt, Italic
Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12 pt
Comment [S8]: Not allowed to use pronouns
Formatted: Font: 12 pt
Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12 pt
Comment [S9]: Repetitive list
Formatted: Font: 12 pt
Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12 pt
Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12 pt
Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12 pt
Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12 pt
6
Probably, the cause of such a difference lies in the history of the origin of the
films. The audience For we know that “Invasion of the Body Snatchers” was
significantly influenced by proceedingthe film noir genre films noir that tended to
emphasise externalised the moral conflict of the detective story. Such films
inhabit:
““…shadow worlds and hover without resolve between the supernatural
and mundane rationalism. In the same sense “Invasion of the Body
Snatchers” and the other alien takeover films… psychologically
externalised the central conflict of the alien invader film – they were less
films about aliens than they were about alienation” i (Biskindg 1983:
PP.139).
However, Siegel the director tries to keep us in suspense for a while and injects
inrushes the film with rationalism and realism but when the nightmare becomes
the reality he widely uses film noir techniques such as shots down tight corridors,
silhouettes running against streetlights, close ups on sweaty faces and, tilted
angles.
Though Siegel he does not forget about classical horror films scenes such as
Biskind suggests
“shots up from under the plank under which McCarthy and Winter hide,
with the pod people crossing calmly assuring them there is nothing to fear,
the wide-angled shots out of the office window down onto the public
square, which becomes inexplicably frightening the moment all visitors are
Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12pt, Italic
Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12 pt
Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12pt, Italic
Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12 pt
Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12 pt
Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12 pt
Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12 pt
Formatted: Indent: Left: 1.27 cm,Line spacing: Double
Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12 pt
Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12 pt
Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12pt, Not Superscript/ Subscript
Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12pt, Not Superscript/ Subscript
Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12pt, Not Superscript/ Subscript
Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12pt, Not Superscript/ Subscript
Formatted: Line spacing: Double
Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12 pt
Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12pt, Not Superscript/ Subscript
Formatted: Not Superscript/ Subscript
Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12pt, Not Superscript/ Subscript
Formatted: Indent: Left: 1.27 cm,Line spacing: Double
7
cleared and the bustle of everyday chaos suddenly turns into something
ordered and people start organizing the pods to be distributed about the
country” (Biaskind 1983:141).
Whereas in “The Thing” its creators used the experience of past works in the field
of horror films and I would say this film is purer horror in the sense that the
psychological tension here is weakened by a certain simplification due to which
we should not guess whether it is a kind of psychological problems of the
characters or a paranormal phenomenon for the latter is quite obvious. Whereas,
in “The Thing” Carpenter has used less of a psychological theme which is
successful as it heightens the fear factor and kept the story simplified.
Also I want to add that
In addition, “The Thing” is much richer in special effects, particularly when we see
victims of aliens who “transform into twisted versions of themselves, complete
with claws, spider-like limbs, teeth and lots of flailing tentacles” (Landon 1993:36).
This And again I think that is the result the evolution of special effects from the
1950‟s to the 80‟s which made films (particularly sci-fi and horror) seem more
realistic. of time changes because in 1980s due to the development of computer
technologies and more sophisticated technical equipment impressive special
effects became an essential part of any good horror film pretending to be
interesting and popular. Whereas, in the 1950s not only was the sfx lesser
developed, technical opportunities were not so good but the tradition of film
shooting was a bit different. More attention was usually given to the psychological
Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12pt, Not Superscript/ Subscript
Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12pt, Not Superscript/ Subscript
Comment [S10]: Quote too long
Formatted: Font: 12 pt
Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12 pt
Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12 pt
Formatted: Line spacing: Double
Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12 pt
Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12pt, Italic
Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12 pt
8
side and could only be enforced by special effects which were not very „special‟
though in comparison with the 1980s.
Other As for some more similarities inof both “Invasion of the Body Snatchers”
and “The Thing”, include we may find not only theme and probably idea of the film
but also the atmosphere of films.
As argued, I have already said these films deals with the alien intrusion into
human life, into the human body, mind and consciousness. But they also have
other intentions. Theyse films also may serve as a warning about the danger of
such a situation, when of a total control of a human consciousness becomes a
reality. when people become pods but not thinking beings.
This ideaIt is reinforced by the reigning atmosphere of tension within the films.,
even This paranoia that makes the audience us forget about the unreality of the
events and entices them into the narrative. and deep into the action. From this
analysis, it It is obvious that Siegel and Carpenter creators of these films had
similar aims.
The representation of alien invasion is interesting in both “The Thing” and
“Invasion of the Body Snatchers.” The portrayal may be a bit different, but the
principles of such an invasion remain similar.
Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12 pt
Formatted: Justified, Right: 0.53 cm,Line spacing: Double
Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12pt, Italic
Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12 pt
Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12pt, Italic
Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12 pt
Formatted: Justified, Line spacing: Double
Formatted: Justified, Right: 0.53 cm,Line spacing: Double
Comment [J11]: New paragraph for a
new point. I have joined a few of his broken up sentences into this paragraph because there was no need
for continuous new paragraphs.
Formatted: Font: 12 pt
Formatted: Font: 12 pt
Formatted: Font: 12 pt, Italic
Formatted: Font: 12 pt
Formatted: Font: 12 pt, Italic
Formatted: Font: 12 pt
Formatted: Font: 12 pt
Comment [J12]: Added new comer and changed some words.
Formatted: Font: 12 pt
Formatted: Font: 12 pt
Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12 pt
9
Finally, I would like to add a few words about the way of alien invasion.
It may be a bit different by its form but the principle of such invasion remains
similar.
What I mean is the fact that certainly The aliens in “Invasion of the
Body Snatchers” and “The Thing” act differently as has been
argued., I have already mentioned that the latter act rapidly
without human will and they can act in any time while the former
are quite long reacted beings, they cannot attack men only if they
are not asleep.
The aliens in “Invasion of the Body Snatchers” and “The Thing” act differently as
has been argued. On the other hand,But we see t There is one common principle-
aliens in both in these this films attack from inside. , I mean they want They
invade human bodies and minds but not their land, property, they do not threat
directly to their and physical wealth. It seems that human life inner world is much
more important for them than anything else asbecause they try to control the
human‟s bodies.memory, and consequently our feelings, emotions, our state of
mind, perception of the world, our present and our past. Moreover, they “have
access to the being‟s memories, allowing them to blend in almost perfectly without
being detected by future target hosts who may know the person who has now
been replaced by these horrible alien creatures”ii. (Gregory:1972:?). Thus, we see
that unlike many other films about alien invasion, “Invasion of the Body Snatchers”
and “The Thing” pay much more attention to the inner world of people. This
implies the spiritual emptiness that threatens the people of the 21st century
because the alien‟s symbolisze all the complicated processes that take place in
Formatted: Justified, Line spacing: Double
Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12pt, Italic
Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12 pt
Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12pt, Italic
Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12 pt
Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12 pt
Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12 pt
Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12 pt
Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12 pt
Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12 pt
Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12pt, Not Superscript/ Subscript
Formatted: Font: 12 pt, NotSuperscript/ Subscript
Comment [J13]: Added in to conform
to the Harvard referencing style. Page number missing- researcher couldn‟t find.
Formatted: Font: 12 pt
Formatted: Font: 12 pt
Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12 pt
Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12pt, Italic
Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12 pt
Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12pt, Italic
Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12 pt
Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12pt, Superscript
Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12 pt
Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12 pt
Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12 pt
10
society which still continue to exist. This emptiness that led to the moral
degradation of people eventually resulted in their transformation into pods.
replaced by these horrible alien creatures”iii. Thus, we see that unlike many other
films about alien invasion “Invasion of the Body Snatchers” and “The Thing” pay
much more attention to the inner world of people, implying the spiritual emptiness
that threatens to the people of the 20th century because in my opinion the aliens
symbolize all those complicated processes that took place in our society in the
20th century and still continues to exist and that lead to moral degradation of
people to their transformation into pods.
Taking into account all the above mentioned, , I can come to the conclusion that
Siegel‟s, “Invasion of the Body Snatchers” and Carpenter‟s “The Thing” are real
masterpieces of the horror genre.. and we haveThe audience has perceived them
not only in the intendedproper sense but we should also it has been
realirealiszedze wthat the creators of these films had another message implied. In
my paper I have named a lot of things that are either There are many similarities
and differencessimilar or different in these films but what is the most importantly is
the fact that they both were and remain extremely popular. and the film that would
be better than them can be hardly imagined. One of the evidences of my idea is
the fact that there There are numerous remakes of these films which indicate the
success that, in its turn, tells us about the actuality of the plot., themes and ideas
conveyed with the help of “Invasion of the Body Snatchers” and “The Thing”. Thus
, I can say that both films should be regarded as classics of the horror genre and
Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12 pt
Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12 pt
Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12pt, Not Superscript/ Subscript
Comment [S14]: Paragraph rephrased as above due to high amount of mistakes.
Formatted: Font: 12 pt
Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12 pt
Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12 pt
Formatted: Justified, Line spacing: Double
Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12pt, Italic
Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12 pt
Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12pt, Italic
Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12 pt
Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12 pt
Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12pt, Font color: Blue
Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12 pt
Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12 pt
Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12pt, Italic
Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12 pt
Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12pt, Italic
Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12 pt
11
their traditions should be continued but not blindly copied as that would lead to the
underdevelopment and a monotonous prosperous future of this genre.
12
Bibliography
Biskind, P.(1983) “The Mind Managers: Invasion of the Body Snatchers and the
Paranoid Style in American Movies.” “In Seeing Is Believing: How Hollyiwood
Taught UsS to Stop Worrying and Love the Fifties” Movies. New York: Pantheon.
Biskin, Peter. “The Russians Are Coming, Aren‟t They? Them! The Thing, and the
Extremists from Beyond the Center.” In Seeing iIs Believing: How Hollyiwood
Taught UsS to Stop Worrying and Love the Fifties Movies. Pantheon; NY:, 1983
.Capenter, J (Director) (1982) The Thing [Film]
Gregory, C. (1972) “The Pod Society Versus the Rugged Individualists.” The
Journal of Popular Film and Television 1:1,1. (Winter 1972), 3-14 1972.
Landon, B. (1993) „The Thing in All Its Guises: Reconsidering a Science Fiction
Classic.‟ In Chapter 2 of The Aesthetic of Ambivalence: Rethinking the Science
Fiction Film in the Age of Electronic (Re)production. Greenwood Press Westport,
CT: Greenwood Press, 1993.
LeGacy, A. (1978) “Invasion of the Body Snatchers: A Metaphor for the Fifties.”
Literature/Film Quarterly 6(3), 285-91.
Siegel, D (Director) (1956) Invasion Of The Body Snatchers [Film]
Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12pt, Underline
Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12 pt
Formatted: Justified, Right: 0.53 cm,Line spacing: Double
Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12 pt
Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12 pt
Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12pt, No underline
Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12 pt
Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12 pt
Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12pt, Italic
Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12pt, No underline
Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12pt, Italic
Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12pt, No underline
Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12pt, Italic
Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12pt, No underline
Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12pt, No underline
Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12pt, Italic
Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12 pt
Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12pt, No underline
Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12 pt
Formatted ...
Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12 pt
Formatted ...
Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12 pt
Formatted ...
Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12 pt
Formatted ...
Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12 pt
Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12 pt
Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12 pt
Formatted ...
Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12 pt
Formatted ...
Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12 pt
Formatted ...
Formatted ...
Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12 pt
Formatted ...
Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12 pt