Here’s the thing about alien and space movies. Space is the last unknown realm in existence. Star Trek got it right when they called it the “final frontier.” We have scoured the earth to all it’s nooks and crannies, nothing on earth can surprise us any more. The ocean used to be mysterious, that’s why we had Moby Dick and 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, but we conquered that. The west used to be open and mysterious, and that gave us cowboys and Indians. Then we stripped malled it. It’s like international headlines when we discover people who shoot arrows at helicopters. We’re left to look up to the stars to find mystery and imagination, because we know so little we can do whatever we want and it makes sense. Teleportation? Done. Aliens with specific problems that represent issues we are facing ourselves that can help us teach a moral lesson? Pandora-Done. Complete energy control? Warp speed to Done.
Which brings us to our latest news about the latest alien and space movie. Sam Raimi (fantastic first name, by the way) is bringing a new alien invasion movie. Though he will not be directing, and no director has been attached, Raimi is producing along with one of the producers of District 9.
The awesome sounding twist to this movie is that a small alien attack force demolishes our historical landmarks and takes out most of military headquarters and what not. Basic alien invasion stuff so far. But then they leave and it turns out they were the scouting party and the big invaders will be here in ten months (scientist get readings about a radiation spike from a nearby galaxy and do some calculus or something. Doesn’t matter, the nerds say aliens are COMING!). So the human race has ten months to advance its technology and prepare itself for defending our planet. Sounds awesome to me, almost like Independence Day but with the allegorical context of the Cold War Space Race. I would have had a field day writing about that in college – “Conceptualizing Cold War Politics and Alien Presentation in Present Day Media: When E.T. met Marx.”
Anyway, this is call EDF for now. Earth Defense Force, which, yeah, will probably change. But the movie will hopefully show the human race finally coming together to solve a crisis that will effect us all in the only way we know how – kicking someone’s ass! Welcome to Earth!
Source: NY Magazine
