Manipulating Media Project 4 - PATT

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Patrick McClellan – Project Manager

Amy Martin – Researcher

Tae Inui – Content Creator

Tom Bannister – Presentation & Design

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Using two examples from the genre of horror examine what a „classic Formatted: Left, Line spacing:
single
horror‟ film is.

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The horror genre is one of the most popular genres and we may sayit can be said Formatted: Font: Arial, 12 pt
Formatted: Justified, Line spacing:
that it has started to develop practically immediately with the development of show Double
business and a free access of wide audience to cinemas and television. We can

findThere are a lot of causesreasons of the popularity of this genre but it is still not Formatted: Font: Arial, 12 pt
so easy to explain its phenomenon, namelysuch as why it is so attractive for Formatted: Font: Arial, 12 pt

people despite all its unreality. However, itIt would be a great mistake to saydefine Formatted: Font: Arial, 12 pt
that horror moviesfilms areas plain or even primitive. NaturallyIn fact, there are Formatted: Font: Arial, 12 pt
some moviesfilms which are really so stereotyped, unbearably plain, and

absolutely thoughtless. But in my opinionHowever, it is simplythey are just Formatted: Font: Arial, 12 pt
exclusions or films that wereare created by specialists who are far from real Formatted: Font: Arial, 12 pt
moviemakingfilmmaking, and theywho can create nothing but films of low quality
regardless of its genre. Also I‟d sayIn addition, it can be said that as any other
branch of art cinemafilm has its genius and its mediocre majority because good Formatted: Font: Arial, 12 pt
films may be created only by a good crew and the genre is not so important. Formatted: Font: Arial, 12 pt

Among such genius of cinema I would name theThe crews that worked on two Formatted: Font: Arial, 12 pt

horror films of horror genre, theywhich are “Invasion of Body Snatchers” and “The

Thing” are the examples of such genius films. I saidIt was mentioned previously Formatted: Font: Arial, 12 pt, Italic
that crews were important, but it was not saying that not because I do not want to Formatted: Font: Arial, 12 pt, Italic
agree with those who believe that Donald Siegel and John Carpenter were not
outstanding directors., oOn the contrary I am gladit was saying that the fact that
people who worked on these two films were led by such well-qualified Formatted: Font: Arial, 12 pt
1

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professionals was an advantage for the two films. SoTherefore, we may say that Formatted ...
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“Invasion of the Body Snatchers” and “The Thing” are classics of the horror Formatted ...
Comment [T1]: This was too long.
genrefilms and the best ones. But what I would like toThis essay will analyzse is Formatted ...
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the reason why they are treated as suchclassic and in which way they are similar
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or different.by considering the similarities and differences between them. And then, Formatted ...
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it will find out what factors make a classic horror film. Formatted ...
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First of allBefore starting analysing the two films, it is necessary to say that these
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two films were created at different times. “Invasion of the Body Snatchers” was Formatted ...
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created in the mid-dle 11950s, more precisely in 1956, whereas The Thing was Formatted ...
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created in 1982. It seems that such time difference should makes the films
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completely different but, strangely enough, they have a lot of common aspects.
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That is why at the beginning I would like to dwell uponthis essay will firstly Formatted ...
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consider the similarities of both filmsbetween them. First of all, we may say that, Formatted ...
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to a certain extent, the themes isare close. Both films focus on the problem of the
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invasion of human or just alive bodies by some aliens that tends to control such Formatted ...
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as the personalitiesy, the hosts‟ actions, and the judgments, etc. In the case of Formatted ...
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“Invasion of the Body Snatchers”, LeGacey shows how wepeople deal with an
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alien kind that:with creatures that:
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“has to wait for the perfect moment when the target is asleep), and spend
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the next few hours consuming and taking on that form. If the host wakehost Formatted ...
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wakes up when the process is not complete, the whole procedure is a Formatted ...
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failure.” (LeGacey, 1978, :p.288). Formatted ...
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On the other hand, „the thing‟The Thing needs just a few minutes to do it because Formatted: Font: Arial, 12 pt
“it can assimilate the host while its still conscious, against the host‟s will” (Landon, Formatted: Line spacing: Double
1993, p:39). Probably suchThose changes are caused by the changes of time or

epoch. It is obvious that theThe rhythm of life in 1980s was much faster than in Formatted: Font: Arial, 12 pt
1950s,. certainly it found itsIt can be seen in the expression in the perception of Comment [T2]: Nothing can be
obvious in academic works.
the idea of possible alien assault or attempts to invade human minds. Formatted: Font: Arial, 12 pt
By the way, I think that bothBoth films express the trend that took place in the
Comment [T3]: The paragraph
society when the idea of total control of a human mind became more and more which starts from here is too long.
It would be better separated into
widely spread. It means that symbolically by aliens creators of the films tried to four paragraphs.
imply those powers either political or economical that by different means aimed at Formatted: Font: 12 pt
the total control of public conscious through the invasion of the mind of a separate

individual. It wasis quite actual if we take into account if we take into consideration

the time when both films were released, is taken into consideration. 1952 it was

the year of the beginning of the cold war when the tension between the well-

developed democratic world and the communistic Soviet Union grew. and theThe

governments of many countries, including the most democratic, had started to

struggle forwith the control of public opinion and even each particular individual. Comment [T4]: The sentence was
too long, so it was divided into
three sentences.
At the same time, 1982 it was a period when the cold war achieved its apologue
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and the world was on the eve of the ReagansReagan‟s declaration of the war on Formatted: Font: Arial, 12 pt
the „empire of evil‟ when the situation was very resembling to that of early 1950s. Formatted: Font: Arial, 12 pt

Furthermore, the degree of surveillance grew and specialists began to

spokespeak about the total control of certain organizsations over people. In such Formatted: Font: Arial, 12 pt
3

a situation, the people transformed in pods in the horror films I‟ve just named look Formatted: Font: Arial, 12 pt
like a prophecy and warning against such dangerous practice. Double
Formatted: Font: Arial, 12 pt, Italic

As for some more similarities of both “Invasion of the Body Snatchers” Formatted: Font: Arial, 12 pt
Comment [T5]: Better to be „not
and “The Thing”, we may find not only theme and probably idea of the only theme or idea of the film but
also the atmosphere of films can
be considered as the similarities.‟
film but also the atmosphere of films. Formatted: Font: Arial, 12 pt
Comment [T6]: Better to be
„mentioned previously...‟
As I have already said these films deals with the alien intrusion into human life, Formatted: Font: Arial, 12 pt
Comment [T7]: Should be changed
into human body, mind and consciousness. These films also may serve as a into „this‟ instead of „it‟.
warning about the danger of such a situation, of a total control of human
Comment [T8]: Should be changed
into „the audience‟.
consciousness when people become pods but not thinking beings.
Comment [T9]: Would better be
„Therefore, it can be said...‟
It is reinforced by the reigning atmosphere of tension, even paranoia
Comment [T10]: This was moved
from below to here. (Refer [T32])
that makes us forget about the unreality of the events and deep into the

action. It is obvious that creators of these films had similar aims. Formatted: Font: 12 pt
Comment [T11]: Better to be
„There is one more similarity that
needs to be mentioned, which is...‟

Finally, I would like to add a few words about the way of alien invasion. Formatted: Font: Arial, 12 pt
Comment [T12]: Change to „That
is to say, the...‟
It may be a bit different by its form but the principle of such invasion remains Formatted: Line spacing: Double
similar. Formatted: Font: Arial, 12 pt, Italic
Comment [T13]: Should end here
What I mean is the fact that certainly aliens in “Invasion of the Body Snatchers”
Comment [T14]: „As above'.

and “The Thing” act differently, I have already mentioned that the latter act rapidly Formatted: Font: Arial, 12 pt, Italic
4

without human will and they can act in any time while the former are quite long Comment [T15]: „and‟ before „they‟
reacted beings, they cannot attack men only if they are not asleep.
Comment [T16]: Better be
„However, the audience can...‟
Double
But we see that there is one common principle aliens in these this films attack Formatted: Font: Arial, 12 pt
Comment [T17]: „That is,‟ instead
from inside, I mean they want invade human bodies and minds but not their land, Formatted: Font: Arial, 12 pt
Comment [T18]: „human‟s‟ instead
property, they do not threat directly to their physical wealth. It seems that human
Comment [T19]: Remove this.
inner world is much more important for them than anything else because they try Formatted: Font: Arial, 12 pt
to control human‟s memory, and consequently our feelings, emotions, our state of Comment [T20]: „the‟ instead of
our
mind, perception of the world, our present and our past, as. Moreover, “the Thing Formatted: Font: Arial, 12 pt
is smarter than graden-variety humans” (Biskind, 1983, p.134). they “have access
Comment [A21]: Don‟t know where
this quote is from so have replaced
to the being‟s memories, allowing them to blend in almost perfectly without being it with another from Baskind.
detected by future target hosts who may know the person who has now been Formatted: Font: Arial, 12 pt
Formatted: Font: Arial, 12 pt, Not
replaced by these horrible alien creatures”i. Thus, we seeit can be said that unlike Superscript/ Subscript
Formatted: Font: Arial, 12 pt, Italic,
many other films about alien invasion “Invasion of the Body Snatchers” and “The Not Superscript/ Subscript
Thing” pay much more attention to the inner world of people,. They implying the Superscript/ Subscript
spiritual emptiness that threatens to the people of the 20th century because in my Not Superscript/ Subscript
opinion the aliens symbolizse all those complicated processes that took place in Superscript/ Subscript
ourthe society in the 20th century. andThey still continuescontinue to exist and Superscript/ Subscript
Comment [T22]: This was too long.
that lead to moral degradation of people to their transformation into pods. Comment [T23]: This was moved
from below to here. (Refer [T32])
Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12
pt, (Asian) Japanese
These are the key points that make the two films similar. However, there are also Formatted: Font: Arial, 12 pt
Comment [T24]: Not needed.
differences between them. One more thing One of the key elements that makes
5

“Invasion of the Body Snatchers” and “The Thing” quite different is the degree of Formatted: Font: Arial, 12 pt, Italic
combination of reality and unreality as I would call it. In my opinion, at this point Formatted: Font: Arial, 12 pt, Italic
“The Thing” is much more radical thing in the sense thatbecause the filmit is full of

fantastic elements and the state of paranoia overwhelms audience and keeps Formatted: Font: Arial, 12 pt
peoplethem in such a state during the whole film. On the other hand, in “Invasion Formatted: Font: Arial, 12 pt
of the Body Snatchers” it is quite difficult to distinguish whether what wethe
audience sees is real or unreal. Personally, when I watched both films I had a
permanent doubt in the mental health of its main characters it was quite difficult to Formatted: Font: Arial, 12 pt
Comment [TB25]: This section was
say whether it was something really unusual, extraordinary things that happen to in a different font to the rest of the
essay. Inconsistent.

people in the city or it was a simple hallucination, illusion, or just a nightmare and Formatted: Font: 12 pt
only at the end it becomes clear that the whole city was really transformed in pods

people. WhereasHowever in “The Thiang” it is evident practically from the very Comment [T26]: Any personal
opinions must not include in the
academic essays, so this part
beginning. Everyone realizses that the characters act in an unreal situation, such would better be cut off.
as they really confront some aliens that intend to control their bodies and their

minds. Formatted: Font: Arial, 12 pt, Italic
Formatted: Font: 12 pt, Italic
Probably, theThe cause of such athis difference lies in the history of the origin of

the films. For we know that “Invasion of the Body Snatchers” was significantly Formatted: Font: Arial, 12 pt
influenced by proceeding films noir that tended to externalisedexternalized the Formatted: Font: 12 pt, Italic
moral conflict of the detective story. According to Biskind,Ssuch films inhabitare
set in:

6

“shadow worlds and hover without resolve between the supernatural and Formatted: Font: Arial, 12 pt
Formatted: Indent: Left: 1.27 cm,
mundane rationalism. In the same sense “Invasion of the Body Snatchers” Line spacing: Double
and the other alien takeover films… psychologically Formatted: Font: Arial, 12 pt

externalisedexternalized the central conflict of the alien invader film – they Formatted: Font: Arial, 12 pt
were less films about aliens than they were about alienation” ii (Biskindg Formatted: Font: Arial, 12 pt, Not
Superscript/ Subscript
1983, PP.p139). Formatted: Font: Arial, 12 pt, Not

However the director, Donald Siegel, triesd to keep usthe audience in suspense Formatted: Font: Arial, 12 pt, Not
for a while and inrushesd the film with rationalism and realism but when the
nightmare becomesbecame the realityreal he widely usesd film noir techniques
such as shots down tight corridors, silhouettes running against streetlights, close
ups on sweaty faces, and tilted angles. ThoughEven though he introduced some
film noir techniques he doesdid not forget about including classical horror films
scenes, which is suggested by Biskind when he writes: such as “
shots up from under the plank under which McCarthy and Winter hide, with Superscript/ Subscript
the pod people crossing calmly assuring them there is nothing to fear, the Superscript/ Subscript
wide-angled shots out of the office window down onto the public square, Superscript/ Subscript
which becomes inexplicably frightening the moment all visitors are cleared Superscript/ Subscript
and the bustle of everyday chaos suddenly turns into something ordered Superscript/ Subscript
and people start organizing the pods to be distributed about the country” Superscript/ Subscript
(BaskinBiskind, 1983, :p.141). Superscript/ Subscript
Formatted ...
Formatted ...
Formatted ...
Formatted ...
7

WhereasHowever, in “The Thing” its creators used the experience of past works Formatted: Font: Arial, 12 pt, Not
in the field of horror films. and I would sayIn addition, it can be said that this film is Formatted: Font: Arial, 12 pt, Not

purer horror in the sense that the psychological tension here is weakened by a Formatted: Line spacing: Double
certain simplification. That is, due to which we the audience should not guess Not Superscript/ Subscript

whether it is a kind of psychological problems of the characters or a paranormal

phenomenon for the latter because it is quite obvious easy to find out. Comment [T27]: The sentence
was too long, so it was divided into
three sentences.
AlsoIn addition, I want to add that “The Thing” iscontains much richermore in Formatted: Font: Arial, 12 pt
special effects, particularly when we see victims of aliens who “transform into Formatted: Font: Arial, 12 pt
twisted versions of themselves, complete with claws, spider-like limbs, teeth and
lots of flailing tentacles” (Landon 1993, p.:36). And again I think that isThis is also Formatted: Font: Arial, 12 pt
the result of time changes because in 1980s due to the development of computer

technologies and more sophisticated technical equipment impressiveand special Formatted: Font: Arial, 12 pt

effects became an essential part of any good horror films pretending to be Formatted: Font: Arial, 12 pt

interesting and popular. Whereas, in 1950s, not only technical opportunities were

not so good but the tradition of film shooting was a bit different. More more Comment [T28]: This sentence
was moved to the bottom of the
paragraph with some changes.
attention was usually given to psychological side and could only be enforced by

special effects which were not very „special‟ though in comparison with 1980s. It Formatted: Font: Arial, 12 pt

was not only because there were not many technical opportunities, but also

because the tradition of film shooting was slightly different.

As for some more similarities of both “Invasion of the Body Snatchers” Formatted: Justified, Line spacing:
Double
and “The Thing”, we may find not only theme and probably idea of the

film but also the atmosphere of films.
8

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 danger of such a situation, of a total control of human

consciousness when people become pods but not thinking beings.

It is reinforced by the reigning atmosphere of tension, even paranoia

that makes us forget about the unreality of the events and deep into the

action. It is obvious that creators of these films had similar aims. Comment [T29]: This is about a
similarity between the two films, so
it should be written right after the
other similarities. Therefore, it was
Finally, I would like to add a few words about the way of alien invasion. moved forward. And also, these
three paragraphs should be in one
paragraph.
It may be a bit different by its form but the principle of such invasion remains
similar.

What I mean is the fact that certainly aliens in “Invasion of the

Body Snatchers” and “The Thing” act differently, I have already

mentioned that the 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 not asleep.

But we see that there is one common principle aliens in these this films attack

from inside, I mean they want invade human bodies and minds but not their land,

property, they do not threat directly to their physical wealth. It seems that human

inner world is much more important for them than anything else because they try

to control human‟s memory, and consequently our feelings, emotions, our state of

mind, perception of the world, our present and our past. Moreover, they “have

access to the being‟s memories, allowing them to blend in almost perfectly without
9

being detected by future target hosts who may know the person who has now

been
Comment [T30]: There is no need
to divide here.
replaced by these horrible alien creatures”iii. Thus, we see that unlike many other Formatted: Font: Arial, 12 pt
films about alien invasion “Invasion of the Body Snatchers” and “The Thing” pay Formatted: Font: Arial, 12 pt, Not
much more attention to the inner world of people, implying the spiritual emptiness Comment [T31]: This is about a
similarity between the two films, so
it should be written right after the
that threatens to the people of the 20th century because in my opinion the aliens other similarities. Therefore, it was
moved forward. And also, these
symbolize all those complicated processes that took place in our society in the five paragraph should be in one
paragraph.

20th century and still continues to exist and that lead to moral degradation of Formatted: Font: 12 pt
people to their transformation into pods. Formatted: Font: Arial, 12 pt
In conclusion, Taking all mentioned above into account all above mentioned, I can

come to the conclusion that “Invasion of the Body Snatchers” and “The Thing” are Formatted: Font: Arial, 12 pt, Italic
real masterpieces of the horror genre. and we haveThis can be perceived them Formatted: Font: Arial, 12 pt
not only in the proper sense but also by realising we should also realize what the
creators of these films implied. In my paper I have namedThis essay considered a
lot of things that are eitherboth similarities orand differentces inbetween these two Formatted: Font: Arial, 12 pt
films, but what is the most important is the fact that they both were and remain Formatted: Font: Arial, 12 pt
extremely popular and the film that would be better than them can be hardly

imagined. One of the evidences of my idea is the fact thatThis is because there Formatted: Font: Arial, 12 pt
are numerous remakes of these films that, in its turn, tells usthe audience about Formatted: Font: Arial, 12 pt
the actuality of the plot, themes and ideas conveyed with the help ofin “Invasion of Formatted: Font: Arial, 12 pt
the Body Snatchers” and “The Thing”. Thus, I can sayit can be said that both films
should be regarded as classic of horror genrefilms and their traditions should be Formatted: Font: Arial, 12 pt, Italic
10

continued but not blindly copied because that would lead to the development and Formatted: Font: Arial, 12 pt

prosperous future of this genre.


11

Bibliography: Reference: Comment [A32]: The bibliography
needed more structure with
sections for books, journals and a
Filmography. Each section in
Books: alphabetical order.
Comment [T33]: References
Biskind, P.,eter. (1983) “The Mind Managers: Invasion of the Body Snatchers and should be listed on a new page.
Formatted: Font: 12 pt, Underline
the Paranoid Style in American Movies.” In Seeing Is Believing: How Hollyiwood Formatted: Font: 12 pt, Underline
Taught UsS to Stop Worrying and Love the Fifties.Movies. New York: Pantheon
Books, 1983.
Landon, B., (1993) The Aesthetic of Ambivalence: Rethinking the Science Fiction Formatted: Font: Arial, 12 pt
Film in the Age of Electronic (Re) production. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press
Biskin, Peter. “The Russians Are Coming, Aren‟t They? Them! The Thing, and the Formatted: Font: 12 pt, Italic
Extremists from Beyond the Center.” In Seeing Is Believing: How Holliwood Formatted: Font: Arial, 12 pt, Italic
Taught US to Stop Worrying and Love Movies. Pantheon; NY:, 1983.
Journals: Formatted: Font: Arial, 12 pt
Comment [A34]: Isn‟t necessary to
Gregory, C.T.harles. (1972) The pod society vs. the rugged individualists. The list the same book twice.
journal of popular film and television, 1, 3-14 “The Pod Society Versus the Formatted: Font: 12 pt, Underline
Rugged Individualists.” The Journal of Popular Film 1. Winter 1972.

Landon, B. „The Thing in All Its Guises: Reconsidering a Science Fiction Classic.‟

Chapter 2 of The Aesthetic of Ambivalence: Rethinking the Science Fiction Film in

the Age of Electronic (Re)production. Greenwood Press Westport, CT:, 1993. Comment [A35]: Moved into the
book section of the bibliography.

12

LeGacy, Arthur. (1978) Invasion of the Body Snatchers: A metaphor for the fifties. Formatted: Font: Arial, 12 pt

Literature/Film Quarterly, 6.3, 285-292

“Invasion of the Body Snatchers: A Metaphor for the Fifties.” Literature/Film Formatted: Font: Arial, 12 pt

Quarterly 6.2, 1978. Comment [A36]: This was not
referenced correctly according to
the Harvard system.

Filmography: Comment [A37]: Films also need
to be referenced at the end in a
Filmography, not just as they are
mentioned in the text.
Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956) Film. Directed by Don Siegel USA: Allied Formatted: Font: 12 pt, Underline
Artists Pictures/Walter Wanger Productions.
Formatted: Justified, Right: 0 cm,
Space Before: 0 pt, After: 6 pt, Line
spacing: Double
Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12
pt, English (U.K.)
The Thing (1982) Film. Directed by John Carpenter UK: Universal Pictures/Turman

Foster Company.

i
Gregory, Charles. “The Pod Society Versus the Rugged Individualists.” The Journal of Popular Film
1. Winter 1972.
ii
Bisking 1983 PP.139
iii
Gregory, Charles. “The Pod Society Versus the Rugged Individualists.” The Journal of Popular
Film 1. Winter 1972.

13

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