"The Day The Earth Stood Still"

A place to engage extended discussions of things that come up on the ttbrown.com website. Anything goes here, as long as it's somehow pertinent to the subject(s) at hand.
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Linda Brown
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"The Day The Earth Stood Still"

Post by Linda Brown »

As some of you know, the original film was a great favorite of my Dads and so strangely I feel sort of compelled to start this thread so that we can have a discussion about the new movie ... and whatever each of you happen to think about it.

I saw it this afternoon and I have many comments. Without being critical of the script that much ... for those of you who have seen it .... how about a discussion about the ending?When he said that the humans would be saved, perhaps. but " at a price." At the end its obvious that the modern technology has been stripped away.

Now I guess its better than facing immediate extinction, which seemed to be the other option... but does anyone want to talk about what that would actually mean. No more electromagetic technology. Zip. Nada. Immediately.

I wonder two things right off. How long would it be before 90% of humankind died of starvation because the lines of commerce and food supply had been so suddenly cut...modern farming stamped out... lines of supply to the cities cut forever. the first winter would be telling .... and then of course I had this very odd thought. ITS HAPPENED BEFORE.

Except perhaps the original civilization had developed on the " Electrogravitic" side of Dads triangle ....... and had it taken away .... just as the " electromagnetic knowledge" was " taken away in this last movie. Only thing left would be the mist shrouded stories and myths of airships in the sky .... and ancient knowledge that had something to do with gravity.

When I saw that ending ... realizing what it meant... all I could think of was Dads saying .... returning, returning, returning .... so maybe someday we will be able to go back to the " electrogravitic knowledge. Will we be wise enough this second time around I wonder?

And Trickfox... you wondered why the first scene in the movie was based in India in the mountains. Strong reasons there and not a waste of the film time, really.... Anybody notice anything else? Linda
Linda Brown
Resident Mystic
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Re: "The Day The Earth Stood Still"

Post by Linda Brown »

And just an interesting detail. When Klattu visited the Nobel Prize winner and stood there next to his blackboard when he started erasing and then replacing some of the formulas... the other scientist seemed to silently join him at the blackboard in what looked like some sort of wonderful dance .... part of the formula by one, the balznce by the other ... a wonderful exchange of intelligences where one is keeping up with the other. I have a feeling that Dad would have somehow recognized the feeling ... if not the math!

And did you notice that this Klattu walked and held his hands just the way Michael Rennie did?I would have noticed and been disappointed I think i if he hadn't. Linda
Mikado14
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I'll throw a nickel in...

Post by Mikado14 »

....and I want five pennies back.

Hello Ms Brown.

I feel compelled after seeing the movie as well that I need to give a view, or as some would say an opinion. Let's look at your first statement:

how about a discussion about the ending?When he said that the humans would be saved, perhaps. but " at a price." At the end its obvious that the modern technology has been stripped away.

Perhaps the best title would have been "The First Day that the Earth Stood Still". The original title implies a single day. So, now I look at the title and the ending as confusion. If the Earth stood still for a day then after a 24 hour period all energy would have been restored and man would have had a wake up call otherwise, this remake has made a major diversion from the original story and the only semblance that remains is the name Klaatu and a similarity in the robots. I never heard the robots name given although something was mumbled after Klaatu was shot and the robot stopped his advance. Continuing, Klaatu made his plea in the end to the scientists and gave a warning, in this version, the destruction occurred with no warning and it was only after the visit in the cemetery and in the culvert that he made up his mind.

I wonder two things right off. How long would it be before 90% of humankind died of starvation because the lines of commerce and food supply had been so suddenly cut...modern farming stamped out... lines of supply to the cities cut forever. the first winter would be telling .... and then of course I had this very odd thought. ITS HAPPENED BEFORE.

I agree with your opening statement in part in that it would not be long before starvation would be the prize for many individuals but then what about those that would take from those that have? How much barbarism would erupt? How many would die from this barbarism? Would cannabalism occurr? I can give a myriad group of questions in this vein so I will cut to the chase. What advanced civilization would do this to another that is apparently a few rungs down the evolutionary ladder? Does a human parent discipline first or would they give a warning first? Jumping back farther, what advanced group could even do this? Klaatu states that there are only so many worlds that have the diversity of life that the earth has and is in a small group of planets but yet his species is willing to just arbitrarily commit genocide without so much as a trial or a stern warning. How about the scene where he brought the police officer back to life? What a dichotomy in that he would bring back a life since he had no quarrel with him but he could be the deliverer of a holocaust on the human race....WTF????

This film is full of contradictions and I can see that it was probably written from a far left individual who would, if they were king for a day, enjoy doing such destruction to "teach" man a lesson.

In the original, Klaatu came to deliver a message along with a gift. The message was a stern warning but a stern warning none the less. In this remake, Klaatu came back as Shiva the destroyer of worlds, perhaps that is the similarity you pointed out about India.

I feel after watching this movie much as I did after watching the latest attempt at another Indiann Jones movie. I would love to see what South Park would do with this. I'll stick with the original, it is much better.

Mikado
There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, Than are dreamt of in your philosophy
Mark Culpepper
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Re: "The Day The Earth Stood Still"

Post by Mark Culpepper »

I don't know that I agree with you here Mikado. The meeting with the Chinese man pretty much told the story of warnings that continually went unheeded and if you think about our own history..... how many wise men have come and gone and been unheard?

Linda. Perhaps it was just one day where the Earth Stood Still. Perhaps just a twenty four hour ... wake up call. Perhaps after twenty four hours all the cars would run again, the lights would come back on ... life would resume... but certainly people would be paying attention?
I prefer to think of it in that way.

And of course the main message was that LOVE was the most important thing and technology ranged far behind. A theme I see in Pauls work too.

And I am amazed that you Trickfox saw that entire movie and did not get the meeting with the Chinese man at McDonalds. I thought it was one of the better parts.

Perhaps the day of " Big Brother" would not work now? ( Like Gort... he is the , at least in 1951, was the, epitomy of the entity that would stand by to make sure that mankind would not venture beyond his capabilities. Gort you remember was programed to react to any agressive behavior. But in the long run ... with humans living under that kind of shadow ... is that what we really are?

I thought it was an interesting touch to have GORT " disassemble " himself into what looked then like a plague of locusts. The modern day biblical scourge.

Why would this other entity collect specimens ( ala Noahs Arc) unless the entire planet was doomed somehow and by our hands? There is something there, I agree with you Mikado, that just doesn't tie up. If man was the culprit and the little metal locusts could kill him off... why bother to take samples away in the arcs?

And it wasn't right that Klaatu was not aware of fine music ... or the true history of man, including the ability to love ... Isn' t that one of the first things that someone learning of us would learn? That we are major F#*k ups but that we have hope for being better someday?

No.... I prefer to think that the earth will " stop" for just twentyfour hours. We would all have to go home and rethink our positions... then when everything started up again .... would we be different people? I would like to think so.

If it stretched beyond twentyfour hours... I guess I would have a few horses for transportation.... and after that I suppose horseburger? Surely we are destined for much better than that. MarkC
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