'E.T. The Extra- Terrestrial' - Film Review (2-8)

‘E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial’ (2-8)’

(Words 946)

Steven Spielberg’s 1982 film, ‘E.T. The Extra- Terrestrial’, can be expressed simply as both a sentimental, and optimistic fantasy genre film- concerning an alien, who upon being separated by his family, sets off in a seemingly hopeless quest to get back home.

Luckily, our small protagonist finds refugee in the form of a young, 11 year-old boy Elliott, with whom, an unlikely friendship begins to form. Despite the distance of the two species, it becomes quickly clear that the two share a kindred childlike curiosity, and view of the world away from the recurringly antagonistic adults. From which, a ‘battle’ quickly comes to play between themselves and 'the adults', whose first initial instinct, according to Elliot, is to (‘cut him up’). 

Through the eyes of this young child, the alien learns about the human race, (at times to humorous consequences… while others, with more depressing undertones). 

As Todd McCarthy states in his review (1982), that at time of release…. “Rarely has a picture so completely evinced a kid’s p.o.v. and shown the complicity of youngsters against adults.”.

It's as if the film encourages us to recall this adult and child rebellion, and our younger selves as something we should remember fondly. Indeed, nostalgia becomes a powerful motivator in the film. 

Incidentally, it could also be a means of questioning our decisions, as adults, by understanding the true reality of what they’re doing, courtesy of filming from an alternative angle. As Elliot tells Greg is response to his question "Well, can't he just beam up?", "This is reality" (E.T., 1982),  makes him seem in some ways, more mature than most of the adults there.

It may be true that the adults aren’t meaning to hurt the alien… in fact, Speliburg seem’s to allow ‘Key’s’ (seen in Fig.1), to show adults in a more understanding light to children/youths. 

But this 'childlike fascination' he shows towards aliens also comes at the cost of E.T.'s well-being.

Fig. 1 Government Agent Keys

Once he seems to fully understand the consequences of their actions, and truly side 'the kids', his face

(our means as an audience to identify with a character) is shown. Having it hidden initially, was an effective means of showing this distrust between the young main characters, of this adult.

Incidentally: Keys isn’t the only adult to be portrayed in such light... as we see time and time again, adult characters wearing masks, protective gear, or just plain face away from the camera….to obscure their visibility to us (the audience), and the main characters.

Fig. 2 

Fig. 3

This conflict between adult, and child also extends across into the family dynamics between Elliot, his father and his mother. 

As observed on 'Empire' magazine's article (John Harris, 2016)... this view could have routes from Spielberg's own personal experiences of divorce:

“The latter film was inspired by the night Spielberg's father showed him a meteor shower; E.T.-by contrast, is informed by the desolation felt when his parents divorced and his dad exited the family home. He was 17 at the time, yet there is the occasional inference that, when dad left, he took the last vestiges of childhood wonder with him. "Dad would believe me," mutters Elliott when his mother quietly rejects his belief that he's clapped eyes on something deeply strange. In its own way, it's the most revealing line in the movie.”

Fig. 4

This conflict can arguably be seen in cinematic terms in scenes like the dinner table (as observed in Fig. 4), where sharp edges and enclosed spaces, help mirror the uncomfortable nature of the conversation.

Additionally, the negative attitude towards adulthood can be witnessed with Spielberg's character: Michael (Elliot's older brother), whose first appearance - again according to Harris (2016)- comes in "a fug of cigarette smoke, ordering Elliot to fetch pizza and affecting the pose of a grown-up". 

However, with the arrival of E.T., he quickly becomes more empathetic to Elliot and likeable to the audience, as "by the end, he and his younger brother see the world through identical eyes" (Harris, 2016).

He states that within the midst of this conflict of adulthood, however, "childhood remains inviolate...Indeed, the character of E.T. has the power to pull people back from the brink of cynical adulthood" (Harris, 2016).

E.T. seems to represent this sense of ‘impossibility’, and of child like wonder. 

Incidentally, the film becomes both a story of memory and childhood… and the surprising strength and potential of the younger generation- who in this story stand for the entirety of man-kind.

When E.T. departs however, and we think ‘innocence’ and childhood is fleeing for good, E.T. tells Elliot he’ll always be with him in heart, and in mind.

That was particularly profound, because not only can it be interpreted as Spielberg’s ideas around his parent’s divorce, and fathers departure… but also (on a sci-fi, universal route) that E.T. understands human emotion and the importance of child-like curiousity.

Something which goes to show… ironically/funnily enough... that in some ways there’s less difference between E.T. and Elliot (who live light years away), than there is between himself and his parents, who are in the same house.

Fig. 5

The whole idea of what we consider alien, or familiar, turns on it's head, as we see E.T. becoming more relatable to Elliot than the adult dominant world beyond his window (as you see in fig. 5, Spielberg plays with our ideas around extra-terrestrial and space, mirroring the bright white light we expect to see from film's representation of non-human technology, with something we should feel familiar with, i.e the sun).

This universal fact of loneliness is seen to span the cosmos. In returning E.T. to his own family, Elliot in some ways fixes his own broken home... by moving onwards from the ordeal, with a sense of acceptance.

References

Websites

Carroll, Kathleen (1982), ‘E.T. the Extra- Terrestrial’ phones homes: 1982 review’, [Online]. Available at: http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/movies/e-t-extra-terrestrial-1982-review-article-1.2665682 [Accessed Date: 13/04/2017]

Canby, Vincent (1982), ‘E.T. Fantasy From Spielberg’, [Online]. Available at: http://www.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9C0DEFDB143BF932A25755C0A964948260 [Accessed Date: 13/04/2017]

Graydon, Danny (2002), ‘E.T. The Extra Terrestrial (1982)’, [Online]. Available at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/films/2002/03/19/et_the_extra_terrestrial_2002_review.shtml [Accessed Date: 13/04/2017]

Harris, John (2016), ‘EMPIRE ESSAY: E.T. the Extra Terrestrial Review’, [Online]. Available at: http://www.empireonline.com/movies/empire-essay-et-extra-terrestrial-2/review/ [Accessed Date: 13/04/2017]

McCarthy, Todd (1982), ‘Review: E.T. – The Extra- Terrestrial’, [Online]. Available at: http://variety.com/1982/film/reviews/e-t-the-extra-terrestrial-1200425287/ [Accessed Date: 13/04/2017]

Illustrations

Fig. 1 'E.T. The Extra- Terrestrial' (1982), Available at: http://www.leiweb.it/celebrity/cinema-e-tv/2012/gallery/img/06/peter_coyiote_ieri.jpg [Accessed Date: 13/04/2017]

Fig. 2 'E.T. The Extra- Terrestrial' (1982), Available at: http://www.virtual-history.com/movie/person/14391/henry-thomas [Accessed Date: 13/04/2017]

Fig. 3 'E.T. The Extra- Terrestrial' (1982), Available at: http://www.themanwhosavedmovies.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/keysandmary-1038x576.jpg [Accessed Date: 13/04/2017]

Fig. 4 'E.T. The Extra- Terrestrial' (1982), Available at: http://images2.fanpop.com/images/photos/5000000/E-T-The-Extra-Terrestrial-et-the-extra-terrestrial-5075605-852-480.jpg [Accessed Date: 13/04/2017]

Fig. 5 'E.T. The Extra- Terrestrial' (1982), Available at: http://ec2-52-64-118-214.ap-southeast-2.compute.amazonaws.com/content/images/xet_the_extra-terrestrial_18.jpg.pagespeed.ic.SjUHJeNTMI.jpg [Accessed Date: 13/04/2017]