Post by FRANK the giant bunny on Mar 24, 2011 7:10:52 GMT -5
IT CAME FROM OUTER SPACE
Originally I was only going to use this film to make a few connections and perhaps point out a few similarities. Upon watching it however I realized that this film is just as significant as "Invasion of the Body Snatchers". Out of all the films listed on this forum "It came from Outer Spaces" is the only film I do not own on DVD.
In 1950s science fiction and horror films the conceit utilized within this film was very common, this film however breaks from traditional plot structures by making the aliens relatively peaceful beings. Ray Bradbury presented the studio with two outlines for the film, one with malicious aliens, the other with benign aliens; as he recalls
"I wanted to treat the invaders as beings who were not dangerous, and that was very unusual. The studio picked the right concept, and I stayed on"
In many ways "It came" is an exact reversal of what we see in "Invasion" In this film it is the humans who are hostile, while the aliens are dedicated to peaceful exploration of the universe. The aliens in fact only wound up on earth do to technical difficulties with their ship, in fact they would have been perfectly happy to have bypassed the earth all together. Also the humans whom the aliens take over are simply copied rather then being totally absorbed mind, body and soul. The real humans are kept alive and are intended to be released after the aliens leave the earth.
The aliens have been working for thousands of years to get to the point where they could leave their world and search the rest of the universe. Their purpose seems to be a search for knowledge of things outside their world, and an eventual contact with another species somewhere out in the universe. Realizing that humanity is not ready to welcome them they decide that the time isn't right. In many ways the aliens are the true Gnostic's, this is especially significant when we consider the tactics they use to acquire the electronics they need to fix their damaged ship.
Certain Gnostic scriptures tell of how Jesus (in his pre-human form) manages to avoid capture by the hostile powers which reside over creation. These beings or Archons as they are called in some Gnostic system are represented by the planets, which in ancient times were considered malevolent forces which keep the soul from attaining liberation from materiality. Scriptures such as "The letter of Peter to Philip" tell of Jesus altering his appearance so that he could pass through the hostile cosmic powers which rule over materiality. His goal in doing this is to impart gnosis unto humanity, which is what the aliens in this film might have done, had not humanity been so hostile toward them.
"Next concerning the pleroma: I am the one who was sent down in the body because of the seed which had fallen away. And I came down into their mortal mold. But they did not recognize me; they were thinking of me that I was a mortal man."
Selection made from James M. Robinson, ed., The Nag Hammadi Library, revised edition. HarperCollins, San Francisco, 1990.
It is the portrayals of the main and supporting characters which give us our first taste of similarity between this film and Gnosticism. Within Gnosticism there is what are known as the three soul types, all of humanity falls into one of these three categories. These three types of humans are the pneumatics (spiritual, those who possess gnosis), psychics (the intermediate, those who at least have an inclination toward gnosis) and the Hyletics (the completely materialistic person).
As it was explained above the aliens that have invaded the earth represent the spiritual person, they have sought gnosis and enlightenment by leaving their world. By their own admission the aliens sought other lifeforms with which to share their experiences, but deeming humanity unworthy of such gifts they have chosen to wait for a time when the human race is ready. The Hyletics are represented by the town people who are quick to judge the aliens as evil, even though they had no inclination of the disappearances attributed to the aliens when they decided take up arms against them. The Psychics are represented by only one character within the film, that of one Professor Snow. Even though as a scientist he is capable of accepting the premise of an alien race upon the earth, he refuses to do so, with this choice he forsakes gnosis and joins the hyletics.
The main character, author and amateur astronomer John Putnam is also a pneumatic, this is represented by his unwavering determination to discover the truth, and his willingness to comprehend and accept things beyond our present understanding. Seen as an oddball by the residents of the small town Putnam is himself viewed with suspicion, perhaps this is why the aliens seem to have a spacial relationship with him. At no point do they attempt to kill him, even though they make a clone of him and steal some of his cloths. They issue several warnings to him not to interfere and at one point they even seem a little found of him, when they tell him that they don't want to hurt anyone, least of all him. This seems to suggest that he and the aliens share a common bond, that vital link being an insatiable thirst for knowledge.
Ultimately the film expresses our own lack of gnosis, and our inclination toward fear and mistrust. As with the mob which attempts to hunt down and destroy the alien invaders our gnosis is at this point insufficient. Both the film and Ancient Gnostic's themselves provide us with a positive endnote however. As long as there are those who are willing to seak enlightenment, the saving gnosis is still attainable, the main character in "It came from Outer Space" assures us that the aliens may very well return one day, perhaps then we will be ready to welcome them (welcome gnosis) without fear.
The film has been viewed as a metaphor of supposed xenophobic attitudes and ideology of the Cold War, this would make it an interesting companion to Invasion of the Body Snatches which is often interpreted as a metaphor for McCarthyism.
•It Came from Outer Space is one of the classic films mentioned in the opening theme ("Science Fiction/Double Feature") of the musical The Rocky Horror Show and its film adaptation.