The Day the Earth Stood Still

Earlier this week, I re-watched The Day the Earth Stood Still for the first time in many years, and I noticed some religious overtones.

When Klaatu arrives on Earth, he says, "We have come to visit you in peace and with goodwill," which echoes what the angels say in Luke 2:14 when they announce Jesus' birth to the shepherds:  "'Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men!'" [NKJV]

When Klaatu escapes from the military hospital, he disguises himself in clothing belonging to a Major L. M. Carpenter, and he takes on Carpenter's name as his own.  In the Bible, Jesus is referred to as "the carpenter" (Mark 6:3) and "the carpenter's son" (Matthew 13:55).

Klaatu also acknowledges a higher power.  After he is apparently revived from death by Gort, Helen asks him, "You mean, he has the power of life and death?" and he replies, "No, that power is reserved to the Almighty Spirit; this technique, in some cases, can restore life for a limited period."

American Graffiti

A couple times over the last two months, I had some vague thoughts about American Graffiti.  Last week, I watched it again in order to pay close attention to details and write this post.

The DJ Wolfman Jack holds great significance for the characters, and every radio is tuned to his station.  When Curt goes to the radio station to talk to him, "Crying in the Chapel" by Sonny Till & the Orioles is playing.  This is the only non-secular song in the entire soundtrack, and its subject matter and placement underscore the godlike status that the characters attribute to the Wolfman.  In this light, Curt's trip to see the Wolfman at the radio station takes on the same meaning as a pilgrimage to a deity's shrine.

The Wolfman's comment "that's just a dedication, man; what I can do is I relay it, it'll be on tomorrow or Tuesday" suggests that the current day is Sunday, which also figures into this quasi-religious aspect since Sunday is the usual day for church services.

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Until the end of the movie, Bob Falfa is always wearing a hat, and he displays an arrogant confidence that he's faster than Milner.  The two features are connected:  Falfa's hat acts as a sort of victor's crown representing a status that he doesn't really deserve.  Falfa loses the race with Milner when he crashes, and it's in this crash that he's de-crowned.  After Milner helps him stumble away from his wrecked car, he's left merely holding his hat:

The Ray Bradbury Theater - "The Wonderful Death of Dudley Stone"

Last week, I watched "The Wonderful Death of Dudley Stone," an episode of The Ray Bradbury Theater.  At the beginning of the episode, celebrated writer Dudley Stone is having a book signing, and he's approached by John Oatis Kendall, an aspiring author who feels hopelessly overshadowed by Stone.  Kendall passes a note to Stone that reads, "Dudley Stone, I have come here to kill you!" and shows him a gun concealed in his pocket.  Stone doesn't seem too perturbed by this and invites Kendall to his house the following day.  There, he explains that there are many things he wants to do with his life besides writing:  "All the books I promised myself to read but I've never read; all the symphonies yet to be heard; all the films as yet unseen; spices waiting to be snuffed; beef joints, ham hocks waiting to be devoured; tapestries yet to be woven; sculptures to be shaped; paintings waiting to be painted; sons and daughters to be advised; grandchildren to be raised; far countries to be flown over, to be walked through; hang gliding yet to be tried; tides yet unswum to be swum; all of it around me, free and vital, beckoning, waiting:  my reasons for letting you kill me."  He urges Kendall to kill him, but more metaphorically than literally.  Stone shows Kendall a multitude of his unpublished manuscripts, and Kendall kills Stone's writing career by throwing the manuscripts into the sea:

Freed from the burden of writing, Stone can now do what he wants with his life.

I'm not sure which level to take this on (whether it's Stone's design, Bradbury's allusion, or just a coincidence), but the same sort of event is described near the end of Shakespeare's The Tempest.  In Act Five, Prospero says,

I here abjure, and when I have required

Some heavenly music, which even now I do,

To work mine end upon their senses that

This airy charm is for, I'll break my staff,

Bury it certain fathoms in the earth,

And, deeper than did ever plummet sound,

I'll drown my book.  [V.i.51-57]

Prospero is a magician, not a writer, but for him, as for Stone, throwing his book into the sea marks a definitive end.

Star Wars: Rebels - S2E1 - "The Siege of Lothal"

In re-watching Star Wars: Rebels, I recently started season two, and I noticed a detail in the first part of the first episode, "The Siege of Lothal."  After a successful rebel mission, there's a meeting on one of the command ships.  Significantly, Kanan is sitting apart from the others:

Shortly after this scene, he complains to Hera about joining a larger rebellion:  "When you and I started together, it was rob from the Empire, give to the needy:  a noble cause.  Now we're gettin' drawn into some kind of military thing, and I don't like it."  The distance between him and the others in this meeting visually indicates his misgivings.