War of the Worlds

Last but not least, to conclude this blog series I will be looking at film posters for War of the Worlds, based on the novel by H.G. Wells. The film was first made in 1953, directed by Byron Haskin and later remediated in 2005 and directed by Steven Spielberg. Similar to The Thing, these two posters maintain a great deal of visual and artistic similarities, and similar to Invasion of the Body Snatchers, the posters exhibit manifestations of post-war anxieties.

Since both film posters are quite similar in terms of visualization, I will examine them interchangeably. Despite the fact that they were made roughly 50 years apart, both films maintain images of the three-fingered claw in the process of grasping. While the poster on the left shows the claw reaching down from space into earth to grab a couple, the poster on the right shows the claw reaching up and holding Earth in its palm. These posters are clearly meant to show the immanence of an otherworldly force in the process of taking over the planet. However, what was shocking to me is the fact the posters do not explicitly evoke war. In fact, what they demonstrate is a power struggle in which the humans are inevitably losing to a more dominant force.

Given the historical context of the 1953 film, Soviet bomb scares and the recurrence of the atom bomb throughout the film hints at a more in depth interpretation of human relations with the Martians. In Robert Torry’s piece, “Apocalypse Then: Benefits of the Bomb in Fifties Science Fiction Films” for Cinema Journal, he aptly presents the triangular relationship between the bomb, the Martians, and the humans. He writes, “[The film’s] purpose is, ultimately, to imagine even in the horrific circumstances of American conflict with a technologically superior enemy an opportunity for beneficial apocalypse” (18). In short, even in the midst of nuclear advancement, the invasion of the Martians inevitably dooms mankind.

I’d like to argue that the 2005 film poster demonstrates similar notions of a “beneficial apocalypse.” The fact that claw is lifting Earth up in the palm of its hand might be demonstrating an almost necessary overtaking. I find it fascinating to note how the apocalyptic trend of the 1950’s is returning to contemporary media a half century later. Much of our media, despite the reality of our technological advancement, focuses on our ultimate demise as a planet, echoing the potential return of paranoia.

Torry, Robert. "Apocalypse Then: Benefits of the Bomb in Fifties Science Fiction Films." Cinema Journal 31.1 (1991): 7-21. JSTOR. Web.