The Day the Earth Stood Still

Keanu Reaves is remaking one of the all time classics of the Sci Fi genre, The Day the Earth Stood Still. The early rumors of the script is that the story, while updated, is still largely similar to the original 1951 version. The original movie is very dated and looks a little silly now to anyone who is not a a Sci Fi buff. Also, you would be forgiven for seeing suspicious similarities between the original story and the story of Christ - it is rumored to be intentional.

"The Day the Earth Stood Still" is based on the premise that an alien being called Gort, enforces peace and harmony and decimates populations that don't live in harmony. Klaatu, an alien, arrives on Earth to warn us of impending disaster if we don't mend our ways. One of the sub-texts of the film is that humans can be made to unite through an external threat from an alien specie. It is a theme that was echoed by President Reagan, who was reportedly inspired enough by the film to tell the UN "I occasionally think how quickly our differences worldwide would vanish if we were facing an alien threat from outside this world."

I bring this up because early next year will see the release of another movie called "Watchmen" based on a comic book series by Alan Moore from the mid 1980s. The comic book, Watchmen, explores whether the conclusion that Reagan reached are likely to be true and reaches very interesting conclusions. It has rather a surprise ending, so I won't spoil it for those who don't already know it by discussing it here, but it is significantly darker.

It is fascinating that in 2008-09, Hollywood has chosen to make/remake two of the most profound and seminal Sci-Fi stories about attempts to end war - both with very different conclusions. It will be interesting to see whether the directors can find any lessons from the intervening years that add to the richness of their moral message, and whether Hollywood can resist the temptation of turning them into the same banal stuff they usually dish out.