"That's good Hilda, I'm glad"

The Day the Earth Stood Still won a special award at the Golden Globes for promoting international understanding. I think this film plays true to this award. Klaatu has a certain old Hollywood hero appeal and so he is the perfect spaceman to relay a message of peace to the Earth.

I think the beginning of the film was trying to capture how the United States would react to something like an unidentified spacecraft; with heavy artillery. Good thing Klaatu brought with him Gort, a weapon vanquishing robot. Somehow through Klaatu’s study of Earth he has not realized the growing tensions between the leading countries. It is made obvious, these tensions, when it is explained to him that it would be “awkward” to have a meeting of all the world leaders. How did he not realize this after all the radio listening he had done?! This is supposed to make the world aware of exactly what is wrong with this “cold war”.

It is interesting as well that as we as a nation looked to the sky to explore our universe it is a man from this outer world to tell us our problems.

They often talk about “another world” when worrying about where this “spaceman” is from. Could it possibly be a reference to Russia as in another world different from our own? Russia during this time was worried to have supposed advancements in technology and willingness to take out any enemy such as the United States. This could be a very terrifying scare tactic indeed.

Klaatu enjoys many of the tourist attractions in DC that many take pleasure in. It is no wonder that Bobby, the all American boy, has a deceased father buried at Arlington. This plays into Klaatu’s opposition to war. Klaatu also recognizes Lincoln as a great man having “great words”. This is a positive reflection on America, even an alien can see that we are a super fantastic country.

The growing fear of atomic power and force is brought into clearer terms as Klaatu has wielded atomic energy for his spaceship. See? Atomic power can be great and used for good! But the planet is unaware that in the future we will apply this awesome power to spacecrafts with threatens the peace of the rest of the universe which is living in peace.

The genuine bits I felt in the film were the sheer amusement on Klaatu’s face of a variety of objects that he comes across such as a music box, a train set or a locked door. There is a type of sincerity in these reactions that I really responded positively to.

It is also no wonder that when asked to stir up the Earth by the professor Klaatu neutralizes electricity all over the world. Is Klaatu a Marxist? The car plants are shut down and farmers milking cows by machine are facing severe problems without electricity.

When there is no electricity Klaatu and Mrs. Benson were trapped in an elevator where he tells her everything. There is a strange shadow cast through the front elevator doors. Now the pattern is from these old fashioned doors obviously but I found it interesting that the shadow was similar to that of a cage or jail cell and is cast over the faces of these two characters. They are stuck in time, trapped in the elevator, neither of them are really progressing in their lives either. Mrs. Benson recently offered marriage still has no exact decision and Klaatu is a man running from the entire world and still has not gotten his message out to the Earth.

The film also has comments on religion. After Klaatu is brought back to life from some sort of mysterious machine by Gort he alludes to the idea that there is an Almighty Spirit.

Highlights from Klaatu’s monologue:

Universe grows smaller everyday
Security for all or else no one is secure
No freedom is given up except the freedom to act irresponsibly (when talking of the advantages of robots such as Gort)
Mutual protection of all planets
Complete elimination of aggression

Join and live in peace or continue and face obliteration