The Day the Earth Stood Still

How did the text help you look at the film differently? Do you agree with the author of the handout?

When the author was talking about the movie, I agreed with him at certain points. He stated that, "the threat of violence is essential to the smooth running of the rational state. I didn't really agree with that statement because if I understand it correctly he is saying we are irrational unless there is the threat of death. I personally don' t think that is the case because usually it is the opposite, and we are more irrational when faced with violence. However, he did say that in the movie "individualism is merely irrational selfishness." That I do agree with. I think that when Hellen's boyfriend was going to rat out Klattu, he was only thinking for himself and not the world as a whole. In this movie, the people were extremely selfish and I think that is sometimes the case in real life too. He also said that "science in general isn't bad, but it is when used in an irrational and irresponsible maner." I agree with that too because we have to respect the technology we have and not take advantage of it. It is potentially dangerous and I agree that we need to take care of it very well.