Super 8 (2011): An Ongoing Conflict in the Sci-Fi Community

            Steven Spielberg has been a trademark director in the sci-fi film genre for years. From the heartfelt film E.T The Extra Terrestrial (1982) to the scary and terrifying War of the Worlds (2005), Spielberg has created many classic films about aliens and human encounters. While he did not direct the movie Super 8 (2011), he was still able to be apart of the film as one of its directors. With the dream team J.J Abrams and Spielberg working together on this film, I expected nothing but the best, and that is exactly what I received.  Super 8 (2011) is not only a film about young Joe Lamb (the main character) connecting with a government-hidden alien from outer space, it is much more than that. This film has so many depths and many insightful aspects to it. Super 8 (2011) shows the courageousness of a young boy, yet it also brings about the problem of how to decipher a sci-fi movie from a horror film. As discussed in the book “Screening Space” by Vivian Sobchack, both sci-fi and horror deal with chaos, but how can one distinctly tell whether chaos is moral or civil? What is the difference between a monster and a creature? Critics have the tough job of clarifying what genre a film truly falls under while considering each of these questions. I would have never have known the difference between the two if it were not for Sobchack and “Screening Space”. This book has opened my eyes to the world of sci-fi films and has made me look at the movie Super 8 (2011) in a new light.

            The film Super 8 (2011) has aspects of both a sci-fi and a horror movie, so what distinctly makes is a sci-fi movie? The difference between a sci-fi and horror movie has been an ongoing controversy in the sci-fi community. As the audience, we may see the movie as both horror and sci-fi yet there is a clear and distinct difference. Before we can differentiate between sci-fi and horror movies, we must first find where these two genres came from. Some critics suggest that sci-fi films originated from classis horror movies.

Science fiction cinema…assimilated all the themes of traditional fantasy. Martians, Venusians or mutants evolved from vampires, while robots imitated the trance-like states of zombies and the Golem. The confined setting of the haunted house expanded to the dimensions of a satellite populated by invisible extraterrestrial presences. (Laclos 1958)

The fantasy visions of alien monstrosities or evolutionary missteps have refused to acknowledge their kinship with traditional horror films and persist in explaining themselves out of all their dramatic potential (Isaacs 1973).

It is easy to see how sci-fi originated form horror because they have similar qualities. Yet it is also easy to see how difficult it must be to differentiate between the two because they are so similar.

As novelist William Makepiece Thackeray once said, “bravery never goes out of fashion”. This quote is true of almost every Steven Spielberg film. In E.T The Extra Terrestrial (1982), young Elliott must disobey authorities in order to save his alien friend. In War of the Worlds (2005) Ray Ferrier (Tom Cruise) must protect his son and daughter from the alien invasion destroying planet earth. From the terrifying thriller Jaws (1975) to my favorite war picture Saving Private Ryan (1998), Spielberg has always given his audience brave and courageous characters with thrilling and mind boggling story lines. Spielberg’s latest film Super 8 (2011) is nothing shy of perfection. Young Joe Lamb (the main character) shows impeccable bravery throughout the entire film. He disobeys the authorities and goes back into town to save his friend. He runs through falling debris and burning buildings to save his town. Joe Lamb somehow finds the courage to stand up to the huge alien destroying his town.

            Bravery is something we all wish to someday obtain. This is a quality that the main character in most of Steven Spielberg’s movie possesses. From E.T The Extra Terrestrial (1982) to War of the Worlds (2005) and more recently Super 8 (2011), each has main characters that show courage in many different ways. Yet bravery is not the only topic brought about in each movie. It also brings about the problem of how to decipher a sci-fi movie from a horror film. As discussed in “Screening Space” by Vivian Sobchack

The horror film is primarily concerned with the individual in conflict

with society or with some extensions of himself, the SF film with

society and its institutions in conflict with each other or with some alien

other (30)

Spielberg’s ingeniousness, combined with director J.J Abrams, made Super 8 (2011) the amazing film it is today. With underlying questions and themes aroused by this movie, it is no wonder why it earned $37 million this summer and received 7 out of 10 stars.

Works Cited

·      Michael Laclos, Le Fantastique au Cinema (Paris: J.J Pauvert, 19580

·      Neil D. Isaacs, “Unstuck in Time: Clockwork Orange and Slaughterhouse Five,” Literture/Film Quarterly 1 (Spring 1973): 123.

·      Sobchack, Vivian Carol, Screening Space: the American Science Fiction Film. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers UP, 1997. Print