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Academic Angels

Project Manager – Natasha Jonnud

Research – Kerry Snode

Presentation & Design – Claire Boyle and Bronte Allen

Formatted: Left

1

Using two examples from the genre of horror examine what a Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 13
pt, Bold
‘classic horror’ film is.

The horror genre is one of the most popular genres in film and, we may say, Comment [bma1]: Doesn‟t specify
that horror is a genre of film
Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12 pt
that it has started to develop practically almost immediately with the
Formatted: Justified, Line spacing:
Double
development of show business and a the free access of wide audiences to
Formatted: Font: 12 pt
cinemas and television. We can find a lot of causes of the popularity of this

genre, but it is still not so easy to explain its phenomenon, - namely why it is

so attractive for people despite all its unreality. However, it would be a great

mistake to say that horror movies are plain or even primitive,. Naturally Comment [cb2]: Used a conjunction
to link these two sentences together

having said this though, there are naturally some movies which are really so Formatted: Font: 12 pt
greatly stereotyped, unbearably plain, and absolutely thoughtless. But in my Comment [T3]: Removal of
opinion/first person.

opinion perhaps, it is simply exclusion or films that were created by Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12 pt
specialists who are far from real moviemaking and they can create nothing Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12 pt
but films of low quality regardless of its genre. Also, I‟d say that, as any other Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12 pt
Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12
branch of art cinema, it has its genius as well as and but yet its mediocre pt, Italic
majority because good films may can be created only by a good crew and Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12
pt, Italic
the genre is not so important regardless of the genre. Among such this rare Comment [K4]: The Titles of the films
have been changed to italics as this is
the right way according to the Harvard
genius of cinema, I would name the crews that worked on are two horror Referencing System
films: of horror genre,; they are “Invasion of Body Snatchers” and “The Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12 pt
Thing”. I would credit the said crew,s not because I do not want to agree with
those who believe that Donald Siegel and John Carpenter were outstanding

directors -, on the contrary, I am glad that people who worked on these two Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12
pt, Italic
films were led by such well-qualified professionals. So, we may say It can be
pt, Italic
said that “Invasion of the Body Snatchers” and “The Thing” are classics of

2

the horror genre and the best ones,. bBut what I would like to analyze

analyse is the reason why they are treated as such and in which ways they Comment [cb5]: Changed the
spelling from American English to
British English
are similar or and different from each other. Formatted: Font: 12 pt

First of all, it is necessary to say make the point that that these two films Formatted: Line spacing: Double

were created at different times. “Invasion of the Body Snatchers” was Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12
pt, Italic

created in the middle 1950s, more precisely in 1956 whereas “The Thing” Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12 pt

Comment [cb6]: Changed the
was created in 1982. It seemsSome might say that such a large time pronoun of „we‟ to make the essay have
a more academic style of writing
difference should make the films completely different but, strangely enough,

they have a lot of common aspects.; Tthat is why at the beginning I would I Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12 pt
Comment [bma7]: Changed some
wording to make the sentence flow
would first like to dwell upon the similarities of both films. First of all, we may better
sayit may be interpreted that, to a certain extent, the themes is close of the Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12 pt
two films are closely related. Both films focus on the problem of the invasion pt, Italic
of human or just alive bodies by some aliens who that tends to control the Formatted: Indent: Left: 1.27 cm,
Line spacing: Double
hosts‟ personality, actions and judgementjudgments. personality, the hosts Comment [K8]: Any quote that is over
40 words must be indented into the text
separated by line spacing and not have
actions judgments, etc. In the case of “Invasion of the Body Snatchers”, we quotation marks
deal with creatures that, “ Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12 pt
Comment [bma9]: Changed the word
„thing‟ as it is not specific enough
[have]s to wait for the perfect moment when the target is asleep), and Formatted: Line spacing: Double
spend the next few hours consuming and taking on that form. If the
Comment [bma10]: „do it‟ like „thing‟
host wake up when the process is not complete, the whole procedure is also not specific enough to tell the
reader what is happening
is a failure” (LeGacey, 1978,:p.288). Formatted: Font: 12 pt
Comment [K11]: Single quotation
On the other hand, in “The Thing”, the alien thing needs just a few minutes to marks should be used on quotes under
40 words and included in the text. This
is the correct referencing according to
control its victim do it because „“it can assimilate the host while it‟s still the Harvard System, all referencing
should use the same system
conscious, against the host‟s will‟” (Landon, 1993,:p.39). Probably, such

3

changes are caused by the changes of time or epoch. It is obvious that the

rhythm of life in the 1980s was much faster than in the 1950s,; certainly it

found its expression in the perception of the idea of possible alien assault or

attempts to invade human minds.

By the way, As well as this, I think that both films express represent the trend Comment [bma12]: Too
conversational
that took place in the their own societiesy when the idea of total control of a

human mind became more and more widely spread. It means that

symbolically by aliens with the symbolic use of the aliens, the creators of the

films tried to imply those powers that either political or economical powers, by

that by using different means, was aimed at the total control of public

consciousness through the invasion of the mind of a separate individual. This Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12 pt

idea is feasible It was quite actual if we take into account if we take into

consideration the time when both films were released., When the film

“Invasion of the Body Snatchers” was released in 19562, it was during the Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12
pt, Italic

early part of the year of the beginning of tThe cCold wWar when the tension Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12 pt

between the well-developed democratic world and the communistic Soviet

Union grew and the governments of many countries, including the most

democratic, had started to struggle for the control of public opinion and even

each particular individual. At the same time Similarly, in 1982 when “The Comment [K13]: The cold war
actually began at the end of the 1940‟s
but lasted for many years until the early
Thing” was released, it was it was a period when the cold war achieved its 1990‟s, the film would of been released
during the time of the Cold War.

apologe and the world was on the eve of the President Ronald Reagan‟s Formatted: Font: 12 pt

declaration of the war on the „empire of evil‟, a when the situation was very Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12
pt, Italic

that resembling resembled to that of the early 1950s. Furthermore, during Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12 pt

these times, the degree of surveillance grew and specialists began to speak

4

spoke about the total control of certain organizations organisations over Comment [cb14]: Changed the
British English
people. In such a situations, the people transformed into pods in the horror Formatted: Font: 12 pt
films, possibly serving as I‟ve just named look like a prophecy or and a
warning against such dangerous practices.

One more thing On the contrary, something that makes “Invasion of the Body Comment [cb15]: Changed this to a
conjunction so make it clear the essay
will now be taken into a different
Snatchers” and “The Thing” quite different is the degree of the combination direction
of reality and unreality. as I would call it. In my opinion, at this point I would Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12 pt
consider “The Thing” ias much more radical thing in the sense that the film is pt, Italic
full of fantastic elements and the state of paranoia overwhelms the audience Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12
pt, Italic
and keeps them people in such a state during the whole film. On the other Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12 pt
hand, in “Invasion of the Body Snatchers” it is quite difficult to distinguish pt, Italic
whether what we see is real or not unreal. Personally, when I watched both Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12 pt
films I had a permanent doubt about in the mental health of the its main pt, Italic
characters; it was quite difficult to say whether it the happenings was Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12 pt
something were really unusual, extraordinary things that happened to normal Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12 pt

people in the a city or whether it was simply a simple hallucination, illusion, or Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12 pt

just a nightmare. and oOnly at the end does it becomes clear that the whole Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12 pt

city was really transformed into pods people,. Wwhereas in “The Thiang” it is Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12
pt, Italic

evident practically from the very beginning.; Eeveryone realizes realises that Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12 pt
the characters act in an unreal situation and they really confront some aliens British English
that intend to control their bodies and their minds. Probably, Tthe cause of Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12 pt
such a difference probably lies in the history of the origin of the films., Ffor

we know that “Invasion of the Body SnatchersSatchers” was significantly Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12
pt, Italic

5

influenced by precedingoceeding films noir that tended to externalised the Comment [T17]: Preceding instead o
proceeding

moral conflict of the detective story. Such films inhabit, “ Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12 pt

shadow worlds and hover without resolve between the supernatural Formatted: Indent: Left: 1.27 cm,

and mundane rationalism. In the same sense “Invasion of the Body Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12
pt, Italic

Snatchers” and the other alien takeover films… psychologically Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12 pt

externalised the central conflict of the alien invader film – they were

less films about aliens than they were about alienation”1 (Biskindg, Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12 pt
1983, PPp.139). Comment [K18]: The correct way to
write page is p. For one page or pp. For
more than one page
However, the director tries to keep us in suspense for a while and inrushes

the film with rationalism and realism. but wWhen the nightmare becomes the Formatted: Line spacing: Double
reality he widely uses film noir techniques such as shots down tight corridors, Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12 pt

silhouettes running against streetlights, close ups on sweaty faces, and tilted

angles. Having said this Tthough, he does not forget about classical horror

films scenes techniques such as, “

shots up from under the plank under which McCarthy and Winter hide, Formatted: Indent: Left: 1.27 cm,

with the pod people crossing calmly assuring them there is nothing to

fear, the wide-angled shots out of the office window down onto the

public square, which becomes inexplicably frightening the moment all

visitors are cleared and the bustle of everyday chaos suddenly turns
Comment [K19]: According to the
into something ordered and people start organizing the pods to be Harvard Referencing system you can
used colons or commas I chose to use
colons on all of the references to be
distributed about the country” (Biaskind, 1983,:p.141). consistant
1
Peter Biskindg 1983 PP.139 Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12 pt

6

Whereas in “The Thing” its creators used the experience of past works in the Formatted: Line spacing: Double
field of horror films genre. and Consequently , I would say this film is „purer‟ pt, Italic

horror in the sense that the psychological tension here is weakened by a

certain simplification due to which where we should not guess whether it is a

kind of the psychological problems of the characters or a paranormal Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12 pt

phenomenon, for the latter is quite obvious. Also I want to add that In

addition, “The Thing” is much richer in special effects, particularly when we Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12
pt, Italic

see victims of aliens who “‟transform into twisted versions of themselves, Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12 pt

complete with claws, spider-like limbs, teeth and lots of flailing tentacles‟”

(Landon, 1993,:p.36). And again I again think that this is the result of time Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12 pt

changeswhen the film was made because in the 1980s ,due to the

development of computer technologies and more sophisticated technical

equipment, impressive special effects became an essential part of any good

horror film. pretending to be interesting and popular. Whereas, in the 1950s,

not only were technical opportunities were not so good, but the tradition of

film shooting was a bit different.; Mmore attention was usually given to the

psychological side and could only be enforced by special effects - which

were not very „special‟ though in comparison to with the 1980s effects. Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12 pt

As for some more similarities Another similarity of both “Invasion of Double
pt, Italic
the Body Snatchers” and “The Thing”, we may find is not only

theme and probably the idea of the film but also the atmosphere of Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12
pt, Italic
the films.
pt, Italic

7

As I have already said, these films deals with the alien intrusion into human

life, into human body, mind and consciousness. These films also may serve

as a warning about the dangers of such a situation, of a the total control of Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12 pt
human consciousness when people become pods but not instead of thinking Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12 pt

beings.

It This is reinforced by the reigning atmosphere of tension, even and Formatted: Justified, Right: 0.53 cm,

paranoia that makes us forget about the unreality of the events and throws

us deep into the action. making it It is obvious that the creators of these films

had similar aims. Comment [cb20]: All of these
paragraphs should be one, as they are
all discussing the same point
Finally, I would like to comment on the similarity in ofadd a few words about
the way nature of alien invasion within these films. Even though the form of Double
invasion

Comment [cb21]: Added an extra
piece of information into the paragraph
It may be a bit different - with the aliens in „Invasion of the Body Snatchers’ to give extra information on the point
that had been made, rewording
something that something that was in a
only being able to slowly attack men while they are asleep, where as the separate paragraph later on
aliens in „The Thing‟ act rapidly at any time without the need of human will -
by its form but the principle of such an invasion remains similar.
pt, Italic
Comment [bma22]: These are
What I mean is the fact that certainly aliens Aliens in “Invasion of the Body wasted words, they need to get to the
point

Snatchers” and “The Thing” act differently, I have already mentioned that the Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12 pt
Formatted: Justified, Right: 0.53 cm,
latter act rapidly without human will and they can act in any time while the

former are quite long reacted beings, they cannot attack men, only if they are Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12 pt
pt, Italic
not asleep.
pt, Italic

8

But wWe see that there is one common principle: aliens in these this films Formatted: Justified, Line spacing:
Double

attack from inside, I mean meaning they want to invade human bodies and Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12 pt

minds but not their land, or property,: they do not threat directly to have no

interest in their physical wealth. It seems that the human inner world is much

more important for them than anything else; because they try being able to

control human‟s memoriesy, and consequently our their feelings, emotions,

our state of mind, perception of the world, our their present and our their Comment [K23]: See footnote for
comment
past. Moreover, they “‟have access to the being‟s memories, allowing them to Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12 pt
blend in almost perfectly without being detected by future target hosts who Formatted: Font: 12 pt
may know the person who has now been
pt, Italic
replaced by these horrible alien creatures‟”2 (Gregory, 1972). Thus, we see Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12
pt, Italic
that unlike many other films about alien invasion “Invasion of the Body Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12 pt
Comment [T24]: American spelling
Snatchers” and “The Thing” pay much more attention to the inner world of changed
people, implying the spiritual emptiness that threatens to the people of the Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12 pt
20th century. because inIn my opinion the aliens symbolizse all theose Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12 pt
complicated processes that took place in our society in the 20th century, and
Comment [cb25]: All of these
these processes and that still continues to exist, and that leading to the moral paragraphs should be one, as they are
all discussing the same point
degradation of people to their transformation into pods. Formatted: Font: 12 pt
Taking into account everything all above mentioned, I can come to the pt, Italic
conclusion conclude that “Invasion of the Body Snatchers” and “The Thing” Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12
pt, Italic
are real masterpieces of the horror genre. and we We have perceive them Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12 pt
not only in the proper sense but we should also realizerealise what the spelling from American English to
British English
2
Gregory, Charles. “The Pod Society Versus the Rugged Individualists.” The Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12 pt
Journal of Popular Film 1. Winter 1972. Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12 pt

9

creators of these films implied metaphorically. In my paper I have named a

lot of things that are both either similar or and different in these films, but

what is the most important factor is the fact that they both were, and remain,

extremely popular; and the a film that would be better than superior to them Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12 pt

can be hardly imagined. One of the evidences Evidence of for my this idea

is the fact that there are numerous remakes of these films that, in its turn,

tells us about the actuality of the plot, themes and ideas conveyed with the

help of “Invasion of the Body Snatchers” and “The Thing”. Thus, I can say Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12
pt, Italic

that both films should be regarded as classics of horror genre and their Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12 pt
pt, Italic
traditions should be continued but not blindly copied. that This would lead to

the development and prosperous future of this genre. Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12 pt

Comment [K27]: According to the
Harvard referencing system it is not
necessary for footnotes if you reference
the text after the quote, however this
quote didn‟t have a page number
therefore it should have a footnote
Comment [K28]: Page numbers
added central to the page

10

Comment [K29]: Bibliography Page
should be on a separate page from the
actual essay
Comment [K30]: Surname of Author
Reference:Bibliography was spelt wrong
Biskind, Peter. (1983) “The Mind Managers: Invasion of the Body Snatchers
and the Paranoid Style in American Movies.” Iin: Seeing Is Believing: How pt, No underline
Hollyiwood Taught US to Stop Worrying and Love Movies. New York: Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12 pt
Pantheon, 1983. Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12
pt, Italic
Biskind, Peter. (1983) “TThe Russians Are Coming, Aren‟t They? Them! The Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12
Thing, and the Extremists from Beyond the Center.” Iin: Seeing Is Believing: pt, No underline
How Hollyiwood Taught US to Stop Worrying and Love Movies. New York: Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12 pt
Pantheon Pantheon; NY:, 1983. Comment [K31]: The correct way to
reference a book according to the
Harvard System
Gregory, Charles. (1972) “The Pod Society Versus the Rugged Individualists.
” The Journal of Popular Film and Television. Winter, (1). Taylor & Francis, Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12 pt

Inc: Philadelphia Winter 1972. Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12
pt, Italic

Landon, Brooks. (1993) „The Thing in All Its Guises: Reconsidering a Comment [K32]: This is the correct
way to layout a reference that is from a
Science Fiction Classic.‟ Chapter 2 of The Aesthetic of Ambivalence: Journal (article) according to the
Rethinking the Science Fiction Film in the Age of Electronic (Re)production. Harvard system

(2) Westport: CT: Greenwood Press Westport, CT:, 1993. Formatted: Font: 12 pt
LeGacy, Arthur. (1978) “Invasion of the Body Snatchers: A Metaphor for the pt, Italic

Fifties.” Literature/Film Quarterly (6.2) Maryland: Sailsbury University Press, Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12 pt
1978. Comment [K33]: This is also an
article this is now correct
pt, Italic

11

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