The Day the Earth Stood Still

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The film dramatises two key preoccupations of the 1950s: atomic energy and space travel.  It cites these two factors as the reason for Klaatu’s visitation.  Earth has developed nuclear technology and is beginning to venture into space.  This unchecked progress is causing concern among other planets.

Science fiction can be used to comment on contemporary anxieties by representing them in metaphorical terms.  The film’s producer Julian Blaustein set out to make a film about the fears that characterized the Cold War and the Atomic Age.  He reviewed over 200 science fiction texts in search of a storyline that could be used as a metaphor for the times. 

The film criticises the Cold War scenario of deep suspicion between the superpowers.  The world is on the brink of nuclear annihilation, but Klaatu brings a message of peace.  He wants to address all world leaders at once, but they refuse to meet in one place because of their political differences.  This is a criticism of the ideological differences that divide us.  The film promotes the idea of a strong United Nations, an international council for communication and understanding.  It was hoped that this would resolve Cold War tensions and lead to world peace.

In one scene, people are discussing the flying saucer and one says that the ship has come from Russia.  Someone says that the Soviets would send missiles not space ships.  This is a clear depiction of Cold War hysteria.

The film has an ambiguous attitude to technology.  Human beings are becoming a danger because they have developed atomic power and are taking their first steps into space.  Klaatu demonstrates his power by neutralizing all electrical systems and bringing the world to a standstill, hence the title of the film.  This emphasises our reliance on technology.  This suggests that unchecked technological progress can be a danger. 

At the same time, however, Klaatu explains that his people have created robots like Gort and given them absolute power to terminate anyone who acts aggressively.  This has created a culture of passivism.  So they have an incredible trust in technology.  Later films like The Terminator and The Matrix ask what might happen if we give machines too much power.  The fear is that they will rebel and destroy us.  The Day the Earth Stood Still does not consider this danger.

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