VALUABLE AND EXISTENTIAL SEARCHES OF HUMAN DURING EXTREME SITUATIONS IN MOVIE “THE INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS” (1956, 1978, 1993, 2007)

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.31392/cult.alm.2023.2.36

Keywords:

values, axiology, science fiction, American cinematography, modern aliens, society, war.

Abstract

The purpose of this article is the analysis of valuable and existential questions, which rise before person in the extreme situations. In this paper are revealed and characterized the main questions and dilemmas, which appear before human in the process of choice between the trust to close people and personal survival, self-dedication and the relevance of risks in case of different dangers, and how person solves these contradictions. These issues are disclosed on the theme of «human – alien» confrontation, which is presented in science fiction film «Invasion of the Body Snatchers» (1956, director – D. Siegel), and its remakes «Invasion of the Body Snatchers» (1978, director – P. Kaufman), «Body Snatchers» (1993, director – A. Ferrara), «The Invasion» (2007, director – O. Hirschbiegel). The methodology of this article includes the use of comparative, systematic and axiological methods. Each of these methods helps to discover, which of the main heroes’ deeds can be accepted as a valuable standards and intolerable acts in dangerous situations, and how each of screen versions reveals these values. The results of this paper disclose the moral traits and values, which people follow during extreme situations, and the heavy psychological risks, which humanity takes in these circumstances. Moreover the specific of «human – alien» struggle theme is revised in this work. As the confrontation between humans and extraterrestrials is one of the main plot themes in the genre of science fiction and it causes a huge interest and discussion among the viewers and scientific community. This work shows, how «Invasion of the Body Snatchers» extends the theme of «humanalien » relationship, comparing to other science fiction movies, and which new features it gives to this genre’s plot construction.

References

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Stifflemire, B.S. (2010). Physicians, Society, and the Science Fiction Genre in the Film Versions of Invasion of the Body Snatchers: or Doctors with a Serious Pod Complex. (Extended abstract of master’s thesis). Brigham Young University. Provo.

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Published

2023-09-19

How to Cite

Myslavskyi В. Н., & Mukhin О. Ю. (2023). VALUABLE AND EXISTENTIAL SEARCHES OF HUMAN DURING EXTREME SITUATIONS IN MOVIE “THE INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS” (1956, 1978, 1993, 2007). Культурологічний альманах, (2), 263–268. https://doi.org/10.31392/cult.alm.2023.2.36

Issue

Section

CULTUROLOGY