The Body Snatchers In Invasion

The science fiction genre is very often associated with space, the future, or extra-terrestrial beings. Many classic depictions of sci-fi stories involve cliché alien encounters where the alien species invades Earth and take control over humanity. The alien species introduce themselves to human kind as foreign and unknown by using deadly viruses or weapons of massive destruction to destroy all human life on Earth. The foreign alien species are often shown to have no understanding of human kind or human nature, and pursue a takeover of the planet purely for sustenance or power. However, there are stories of the science fiction genre that create interesting contrasts to the common depiction of alien life forms throughout media. For example, the

The Body Snatchers took over the lives of the humans by stealing their bodies and maintaining their memories, but loose all emotion. This is seen when Elizabeth’s clone tells Matthew to embrace his fate and sleep in a cold and heartless manner. By being incapable of emotion, people lose a piece of humanity instead of losing their lives. Portraying emotions is the strongest quality of human nature. To see the world over run by beings that look like humans that do not possess the most important aspect of human nature is more tragic and horrific than simply losing one’s life. Also, the aliens duplicate the humans by destroying their previous bodies and creating new ones. Although the person’s body and memories are recreated in the double, they are not the same person they once were. The Body Snatchers did not only kill the human race, but took control of human kind by being under command of their

The four main characters only realized what was happening was extraterrestrial and that they were being invaded until late in the night. Because it was already too late to save the most of the city, the characters were forced to run from the inevitable. It was truly frightening for the main characters and the audience to see, how they became doubles, what became of them, and who exactly their threat was all while the invasion was happening. For example, when Matthew and Elizabeth come to a now cloned Jack and Dr. Kibner in the health office trying to turn them over is heart breaking and awful for them, especially Matthew to witness. Because the characters were knowledgeable of their situation, it was painful for the characters to survive through the horror. The audience could truly witness the panic once the characters realized what would happen if their loved ones were to turn. For example, when Nancy calls out to Matthew when he fell asleep next to the pods, Nancy knew sleeping will allow the aliens to take over. The audience could feel her sense of anxiety to wake everyone up, because she was already aware that the Body Snatchers prey during their sleep. Having knowledge on the specific dangers and situation over a prolonged period of time is more horrific than a brief moment of shock and