Mars
Attacks! is a
film that was inspired by the Topps Playing Cards of the ‘60s. Tim Burton takes
some of these images and uses them in the film. Burton pays homage to Ed Wood's
B-style films with Mars Attacks! Burton uses this movie as way to
comment on America’s patriotism; this poke at America is a reason why the film
was not a hit in this country. Burton takes the science fiction genre and turns
it on its head, making commentaries on the American patriotism,
as well as the genre itself. Films like Independence Day and Alien take
alien invasion seriously. When watching Mars Attacks! you
cannot help but laugh at the colorful Martians and the weird sounds that they
make.
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| From The Breathing Dead Blog |
A scene that truly
captures the way in which Burton satirizes military occurs when the Martians
invade the President's situation room. General Decker attempts to stand up to
the Martians in an exaggerated militaristic way. Rather than the Martians
vaporizing him with one zap, the Martian ambassador uses a shrink ray to make
General Decker appear nothing more than an ant. The Martian ambassador then goes
on to stomp General Decker with his foot. His ego is flaunted, and Burton
ironically turns him into a small man. This scene satirizes the
military as it takes a man, who some might look up to or even follow orders
from, and takes away all of his power, and he is defeated by the
enemy.
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| From Mile High Cinema |
Another
scene in which Burton satirizes military occurs when the two young brothers,
Neville and Cedric, are taking a tour of the white house. The trained secret
service men cannot properly protect the President against the
Martians; the boys are able to obtain two guns and shoot at the Martians
without fear. The most training the two boys have is from playing a Martian
video game. This scene is comical because two young boys are simply using
skills they have learned from a video game, and applying them to a real life
situation in which even the adults were afraid of the power of the Martians. Mars
Attacks! is a very funny B-movie that hopefully is more successful
today in America than it was during its release.
Akeem, the two scenes you discuss in your post are great ones that satirize the government and its power. The first one, in which General Decker is squashed by a Martian, pokes fun at his ego, just like you said. He sees himself as a big, tough guy, but the Martians make him into a tiny, unimportant figure, and they easily defeat him. You're definitely right in saying that this scene makes fun of the way that most Americans look up to the military and strong military figures. I think the second scene you chose is one of the most satiric ones of the entire movie. These two young boys are able to take down the invading enemies when the actual Secret Service can't. The Secret Service has had much training in defending the President, but two young kids who have had video game "training" are able to do things that the Secret Service can't.
ReplyDelete- Ashley Lay
The scenes that you have chosen to illustrate the satirization of the government are excellent. Those two particular scenes show just how much we as citizens do look up to the military and government for protection and guidance. Burton's satirization of this dependence reminds us that the officials and military are nothing more than people like you and me, and if we want something done we have to do it ourselves.
ReplyDelete-Summer Balbero
I really like the two scenes that you discussed because they are ones I overlooked in the many scenes in this film that parodies the American government. The scene about General Decker is spot-on as he represents the typical macho military man that thinks he can defeat any enemy. Even when facing a Martian face-to-face he continues to yell as if he has a chance at winning. The shrink ray also represents his ego deflating as the Martian diminishes him to nothing but a little ant that can be squashed. It is definitely representative of Americans’ reliance on military power. The part about the two young boys is also hysterical because they can do a better job than any of the Secret Service Agents simply from playing hours of a video game. When they assert their command it is also funny because they know exactly what to do in the midst of all the directionless special agents.
ReplyDelete-Yamato O'Connell