E.T. and other kids' movies that actually have a disturbing or nihilistic message

Cafe Society
1

There are probably a lot of examples of this but the one I’m going to go with is E.T. - The Extra-Terrestrial.

This is a pretty typical 80s-era Spielberg whimsical movie, with all the hallmarks of Spielberg’s film. It starts out centered around a suburban neighborhood and focuses on a family and a very realistic portrayal of their home-life which is at once hectic and cozy. The kids discover a bizarre yet cute alien creature. They “adopt” it, teach it to speak, bond with it in various ways, realize that they have a spiritual connection with it in some way - all very positive and uplifting.

Then all of a sudden the authorities get wind of it. The transition of the movie from positive and happy to extremely disturbing comes specifically at the moment when scientists, clad in space suits, literally come crashing through the windows of the house - terrifying the family and appropriating their new alien friend. There is pretty deep symbolism here if you ask me. These are astronauts we’re talking about - maybe not actual space-mission astronauts, but scientists wearing full astronaut suits (complete with American flag patches) all the same.

The image of the astronaut is embedded in the American psyche, especially that of children, as being the ultimate hero, representing both brains and bravery, the archetypical icon of benevolent technology and the quest for knowledge, and a patriotic symbol of America’s commitment to scientific progress and the frontier-spirit of exploration. Every kid wants to be an astronaut when he grows up. And here Spielberg shows us astronauts breaking into a family’s home and invading their privacy and peace of mind. The faceless visage of the astronauts’ helmets are transformed into masks of terror; the mechanical sucking sound of their respiration recalling the ultimate science-fantasy villain, Darth Vader.

The next scene shows the family’s house - their house, the symbol of American stability and prosperity, the fortress of a family’s security - cordoned off by Hazmat men and scientists and transformed into a convoluted maze of unnatural tubes and plastic sheets. The scientists and doctors that set up a mobile research lab to study E.T. are not a benevolent force of progress - they’re a supremely annoying and prying bunch of guys, bombarding the kids and their mother with questions about the alien. As E.T. shows signs of dying, the doctors make a desperate effort to keep him alive, but it’s not out of any goodwill towards the creature himself or towards the family that has grown to love him. It’s simply because they want to be able to study an alien life form (and, presumably, win both the glory and money that would accompany such a breakthrough.)

The movie does ultimately have a happy ending. But it comes in the form of an escape from authority and a defiance of the government. There’s nothing unusual about this, for a kids’ movie - rebellion is always “cool.” But in this case, the government and all the scientific authorities in general do not come off looking very good. True goodwill and peace comes from outer space - from E.T. - and human science and technology represent evil, or at best, the crushing of the dreams of youth. Even the science teacher at the elementary school comes off as a villain when he tries and fails to get his students to dissect a frog. His demonstration of the electrical stimulation of the dead frog’s muscles is particularly disturbing - in this teacher’s hands, science is something terrifying, disgusting, and above all, supremely unnatural.

The ultimate message of E.T., all things considered, seems to be that the government is at best a selfish and meddling force, and at worst, a malignant crusher of the dreams and vitality of youth, and the exuberance of curiosity and knowledge. Scientists are seen as self-interested pricks who coldly examine the alien and bombard it with sensory over-stimulation and harrassment, instead of treating it as a fellow intelligent life form and trying to get to know him. The overall picture we get here is really pretty negative, if you ask me.

Even as a kid I was put-off by those elements of the movie, but re-watching it recently, it really hit me.

What’s your take on this? Agree? Disagree? Are there other kids’ movies you feel are in the same boat?

2

This isn’t confined to kids’ movies. It’s been a cliche in most Hollywood films since the 60s that the authorities are the bad guys. Big business too gets a rough time from Hollywood, which is rather amusing considering that Hollywood is controlled by big business.

Peter Biskind wrote an excellent book, Seeing Is Believing: Or, How Hollywood Taught Us To Stop Worrying and Love the 50s, analysing films to show how different authority figures or anti-authority figues were treated.

3

But that is just because that is the common experience of bureaucracy and big business (there is even a nice scene about it early in American Gangster) heartless and impersonal. And it is the lack of personal involvement that makes it both true and an easy plot get-out.

It is the old Nuremberg defence refreshed - “I vas never a member of the US government, I vas just following orders.” But you can substitute any government or any management team of a large organisation.

4

Or E.T is symbol of childhood and goverment is symbol of adulthood. And adulthood is devastating to, well, childhood. And so you have to hide your own private life - if they discover it, they will destroy it. The frog - which lives both in water (subconscious) and on land (conscious) - is in the hands of the adult stripped of its magic, and “proven” to be nothing but mechanical. And they want to do that with E.T. too, with the Self of the child, if you will. The movie is then about saving what is you when “they” come.

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(Double post, sorry.)

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Lots of children’s movies have a disturbing message: Old Yeller,

where the right thing to do is to kill the dog that saved your life, is the first thing that comes to mind.

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Like somebody said, this isn’t new, even to children’s lit. Look at Hansel and Gretel: evil stepmom, Dad willing to kill the kids to gain the favor of the new wife, adults who torture and kill, using the child’s favorite things (sweets) as a means to lure them to their doom. Authority is seen as, at best weak, at worst murderous.

And, yeah, Speilberg did go through his “space hippies” phase with ET and Close Encounters, films where the aliens were kind, with messages of love and music. ET was a botanist sent out to pick flowers, the CE3K aliens in the end just wanted to jam - it’s all just so groovy, man! Given that, it’s not at all surprising that the military-industrial complex is the “enemy” in both films.

The establishment didn’t do Oliver Twist any favors, either. :wink:

8

I think Pixar’s The Incredibles could be seen as having some undertones rather dark in their implications. At the very least, it seems chock full of homages to Ayn Rand, both visually (Edna’s studio, Mr. Incredible lifting the spherical robot) and in the dialogue:

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All true, but I would argue that The Incredibles is not a kids’ movie. Its a film about marital anxiety which happens to be animated (and feature superheroes).

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I think ET was supposed to be a JC-like figure. Consider this: he heals the sick, and instructs the kids in New-age morality (don’t dissect frogs). He then dies , and comes back from the dead. He then ascends into space, leaving a message with his followers.
“CLOSE ENCOUNTERS” is sorta similar-except the aliens (though benevolent) seem to want to sawp earthligs (they return the Navy fliers (missing since 1945), in exchange for frsh victims).

11

Marital anxiety is a huge issue for kids, though–they sense it and see it and in some ways have more at stake regarding it than do the principals.

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“The Wizard of Oz” sends the message that it’s beeter to live in crushing poverty on a dirt farm in Kansas where some evil bitch is trying to kill your dog instead of in a fabulous magical realm where you’re a national heroine and in with the ruling cabal. That’s fucked up right there.

13

This is just a general theme and not a specific movie, but I’m finding it harder and harder to get behind the “predators are evil” theme. In pretty much every kids movie that stars animals, there’s inevitably a conflict where predators are doing what they’re naturally supposed to do and hunting other animals. Our stars are of course the noble prey who outwit and defeat the evil predators. But we gloss over the fact that predators need to hunt and eat prey or they’ll die. They don’t have a choice in the matter; if they don’t eat other creatures they’ll starve. Nature is cruel like that, but in movie-land nature is pure and noble, except when it isn’t. It makes for an easy plot device so it’ll continue to be done, but it’s still a bit disturbing.

14

Another thing about The Incredibles is when Dash is running from the men on the island, the men are driving the big, flying saucer type things and Dash, well, is laughing as he is KILLING these men.

He’s doing it ever so subtly, but if you notice, it’s an evil little laugh. The next time you watch it, it’s really kind of morbid that a young, eight (or whatever age he is) year old is indirectly killing his pursuers and laughing about it. Or, you could look at is as he’s just laughing at his newfound abilities. Weird, huh? haha

15

What’s disturbing about that? It’s pro-individual, but doesn’t put anybody down. I started writing a story with the opposite implications shortly before I saw The Incredibles, so to some small extent I disagree with the message, but it didn’t bother me at all.

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I have appropriated Skald the Rhymers’ signature for the purposes of this thread:

I think that says a lot about it. Disturbing messages are in movies and books and fairy tales and music because they are in us. Hopefully, the movie, book, fairy tale or music will also contain a bit of Hope, Truth or Justice (if not the American Way), or at the very least a parent will provide the context for the disturbing bits.

17

If there’s a way to have phoney sentimental glop in a movie, Spielberg will find it. He’s worse with cliches than Peter Jackson and lesser praise is impossible for me to utter. When the bicycles started flying, I would have walked out of the theatre if I hadn’t had my kids and their friends with me.

I thought ET was a pretty cute movie until then, but it’s Spielberg’s idea of what kids are like, I never met a kid like those kids and, moreover, I was a kid once myself. They were movie kids, in a movie family, and they had movie adventures.

Since movies are made by adults, that kind of disconnect with real kid-dom is inevitable. I can’t say I thought anything was nihilistic in tone or intent. What I saw was Spielberg’s peculiar idea of what childhood in America was like or could be like or should be like.

As for “Old Yeller”, I am at a loss to discern what “disturbing message” it contained. That sometimes even kids have to do hard things? As Disney movies go, it was better than most.

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“Disturbing” doesn’t mean untrue or harmful. It means uncomfortable or stressful–and I’d argue that Old Yeller is both of those for 99% of six year olds.

19

I think * Iron Giant * qualifies in this thread - although my daghter loves it.

20

I remember there being very very few Disney movies where the children have a good home life. Kids like watching lonely abused orphans running away from home apparently.