by Maria Ramos
Few science fiction authors have had the influence on the
genre that Ray Bradbury has. His penchant for the strange and mysterious,
coupled with evocative, lyrical prose, made his works readily accessible for
adaptation into television shows and movies. Bradbury felt acutely the fears
and anxieties that many Americans experienced during the Cold War and this is
reflected in many of his works. Themes of identity and persecution tied
directly to McCarthyism
and the Red Scare,
while outright condemnations of atomic testing and nuclear war in his stories
were indicative of the public unease that our leaders would cause devastation to
our planet.
The one-eyed alien from It Came From Outer Space |
It Came From Outer Space
(1953), based on Bradbury's story treatment, touched on the fear of Communism by telling a story of clandestine
alien beings among us. The inability to discern who was an alien and who was
not was a powerful metaphor for the paranoia that fueled the Red Scare. The
premise carried such weight that this theme also provided the basis for the
popular film Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956) just a couple of years later.
Anxiety over rapidly advancing technology was at the center
of Bradbury's "I Sing the Body Electric," a short story about
children who rebel against an android that has been programmed to care for
them. The story was made into a highly regarded episode of The Twilight Zone,
and examined the fundamental mistrust of automation and its potential to
deprive able bodied Americans of jobs.
"The Fog Horn" followed a monster lured from the
deep by the sound of a horn projected from a coastal lighthouse. The story was
made into the film The Beast
from 20,000 Fathoms (1953), which reimagined the monster's origin as the
product of atomic testing in order to tap into public unease surrounding
nuclear war after the devastation of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The Japanese
monster classic Godzilla (1954) would utilize an almost identical premise the
following year.
Ray Harryhausen brought to life The Beast From 20,000 Fathoms |
The ideas and themes Bradbury explored can be seen in other
popular science fiction films from the same era. The
Day the Earth Stood Still (1951) also deals with the arrival of
an alien being on Earth who is greeted with fear and mistrust. The Charlton Heston
classic Planet
of the Apes (1968) taps into similar anxieties, working as a veiled
metaphor for the suppression of American pride during a time when the unpopular
Vietnam War was killing American troops by the thousands. Logan's Run (1967)
does a fantastic job presenting the perils of living in a futuristic society
where technology has become too advanced for its own good, and like the classic
Soylent Green (1973),
shows a future where the media is heavily propagandized and manipulated by
those in power. Both films reflected a general mistrust of government.
Josephine Hutchinson and Veronica Cartwright in The Twilight Zone's "I Sing the Body Electric" |
As the decades have gone by, it is easy to see where
fundamental shifts in the public consciousness occurred. During Bradbury's most
active period the focus was largely on simple cautionary parables about free
speech and man's reach exceeding his grasp. As the years went on, technology
and the mass media became more prominent in science fiction film making, but
the same themes of mistrust, hidden tyranny and abuse of power still roiled
underneath. Mass anxiety still existed, and the films of the 1970's still mined
the inexhaustible vein of paranoia, only the focus became the Vietnam
War rather than the Cold War. Each film deals at a fundamental level with
fear of the unknown, whether that unknown be new technology, the inner workings
of the media and government, or the true intentions of people we share the
planet with.
These fears continue to be explored in contemporary science
fiction, in films such as The
Matrix (1999) and Ex Machina (2015). The many faceted subjects that Bradbury tackled in his extensive and thoughtful
works formed the basis for all the science fiction cinema that followed. Next
time you sit down to check out the latest technological thriller or futuristic think
piece, be sure to say a quick thanks to Ray Bradbury.
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Maria Ramos is a freelance writer interested in comic books, baking, horror films, and anything science fiction. She has a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from the University of Illinois. In her spare time, she enjoys cycling, gardening, and anything that gets her outside. She currently lives in Chicago with her two pet turtles, Franklin and Roy. You can follow her on Twitter @MariaRamos1889.
Thanks so much for this, Maria and Rich! I love these films mentioned, and have read some Bradbury, but not enough. This inspired me to reserve a collection of his short stories at my local library, which I will pick up tomorrow.
ReplyDeleteI had never made the connection between Bradbury and Hollywood, so this was an education for me as well.
DeleteExcellent article about one of my best loved writers. I have read everything he ever wrote, I think, and re-read his stories periodically. His writing is poetry in so many ways. I've always been particularly fond of his contributions to John Huston's screenplay for Moby Dick. You can easily see the haunting dialogue that is pure Bradbury. Thanks for this lovely article.
ReplyDeleteAs far as the classic writers go, the only one of them I know well is Heinlein. I've dabbled in Bradbury and Asimov, I read 'Brave New World' and '1984' in school, and I know Wells better from the movies.
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