The Day the Earth Stood Still is rather simple. An alien, Klaatu, lands on Earth in order to advise the planet to achieve global peace and to put aside the warfare that has historically—and ceaselessly—plagued humanity. He is attacked and captured by the U.S. military but escapes to a boarding house. There, he meets a widow and her son, and both teach the alien about Earth, its potential and its problems. Klaatu then, along with the brilliant Professor Barnhardt, decides to launch a global event in order to unite the world and steer it towards unification.

Building from this B-movie premise, it is in the details that The Day the Earth Stood Still approaches something profoundly relevant, especially to our modern world. The threat of nuclear warfare is becoming a daily reality, one increasing with every political action. There is also the sense of some impending doom, perhaps more than in recent years. One could argue this is just as related to the actual political climate as it is to the constant bombardment of information and communication at our disposal. Either way, there’s a very real sense that the world is at some kind of precipice: whether it ends up being a point of potential or one of downfall remains to be seen.

Although The Day the Earth Stood Still never really indicates or poses an immediate threat to humanity, the shadow of World War II lingers over the whole movie, as does the specter of future (nuclear) wars—a detail made even more palpable with our modern hindsight. The widow, Helen, lost her husband in the war. In one scene, her son brings Klaatu to his father’s grave at Arlington cemetery. It is a sobering scene, one steeped in not just the memory of those fallen in World War II but those fallen to warfare throughout our species’ history. This shadow permeates the whole movie, whether it is in the discussion of global unification or the dueling capabilities of nuclear power and nuclear warfare.

Klaatu is painted as a Christ figure, yet one that seems to serve the Old Testament God. It is an intriguing dichotomy created in Klaatu’s disposition and in his final offer of peace to the world. Klaatu is objective in his approach and sees the loss of lives as worthwhile if it jumpstarts global peace talks—an almost reflection of the modern U.S. approach to freedom via bombs and destabilization. Likewise, in Klaatu’s vision of peace, the vision of his galactic community, peace is obtained through sheer force and power; arguably, through a militaristic police force that, above all else, accomplishes unquestioned justice via capital punishment. It is only through Helen and Professor Barnhardt’s humanity that Klaatu stays his hand.

Although the film never seems to approach a philosophical discussion of whether Klaatu’s vision of peace is true harmony or one crafted out of control and fear, there is an open-endedness to the movie. The audience is begged to ask itself, what of world peace? What of the awesome responsibility of nuclear power and warfare? What of the seemingly impossible task of policing a society?

This is a movie with an idealistic message at its core, one that is arguably naïve. Yet the movie never seems as if it is that far off from reality and, instead, is steeped in moralism, realism, and a documentary-like approach to its filmic vision. It is also subversive, featuring traditionally feminine behaviors and actions as heroic decisions, especially in a world so steeped in violence and war: Helen is not only the voice of our species, but also our savior. Klaatu may be a Christ figure, but Helen is something more, something heroic and revolutionary.

Intriguingly, the film never proffers blame or villainizes one nation or peoples, an exceptional feat during the beginnings of the Cold War. Instead, the movie indicts mankind’s obsession with violence, aggression, and warfare—namely, those tools of the patriarchy. Instead of proper villains, the enemies become humanity’s weaknesses, as reflected in the mindsets and mistakes of politicians, soldiers, and even a group of friends arguing politics after dinner.

The only character who could be considered a villain is Helen’s boyfriend, who wants to take her away from Washington—the holy land, now that Klaatu has arrived. He is a salesman, greedy and manipulative, who centers his worldview in his own ego and a misogyny that presents itself as jealousy at Helen’s independence and friendship with Klaatu.

It doesn’t really need to be explained, let alone in the United States, how dangerous a man can be when guided by selfishness, greed, and an immature worldview—especially when put into a position of power.

The Day the Earth Stood Still is a movie that begs to be watched now more than ever. It is an open-ended discussion of violence, nuclear warfare, and the difficulties of a sensible police system—the scene of Klaatu’s arrival is almost an intimate reminder of how inadequate our police system currently is. I can’t say the movie offers any comforting answers or platitudes, but it does respectfully force the audience to engage and contend with this shared history of war and violence. It is especially directed at a U.S. audience, who must constantly re-contextualize their experiences in a world where U.S. power has so ruthlessly exercised itself onto countless countries and peoples. Arguably, with its Washington, D.C. center, it proposes the U.S. as not only savior, but also primary roadblock to world peace—Washington is then both Sodom and Holy Land.

For the citizens of the U.S., there has really never been a time in which the shadow of war did not pervade our daily lives—we are, after all, a country built and continually reinforced by being the aggressors in an almost constant state of warfare. The Day the Earth Stood Still suggests that, with enough effort, compromise, and even an idealistic vision, we can approach something better for our children and for our world.

We can approach a world without shadow.

The Day the Earth Stood Still
1951
dir. Robert Wise
92 min.

4/16 at 4:30 & 9:30 pm @ Brattle Theatre
Double feature with Contact
Part of the ongoing series: Contact! Presented by the Cambridge Science Festival