War Of The Worlds Themes

Science fiction, when referring to creatures not from Earth, depicts them as semi-human, imperialistic intellects who, despite their technological advancements over human beings, are still inferior. The majority of science fiction novels depicting extraterrestrials have them arrive unannounced, like in H.G. Wells’ War of the Worlds ( presumably looking for resources like water that lack on their home planet) with tools of destruction -in fact, very similarly to how the European settlers invaded and took over the new world-. They arrive and decimate the majority of Earth, as seen in Robert Emmerich’s Independence Day, take all of its resources, as well as some of it’s people, and wage war on Earth. Although they have giant ships, and intimidating

This style of book and movie uses these themes to appeal to people’s xenophobic, and western-centric view of the universe.
Extra-terrestrial beings are normally described as semi-human, imperialistic, and foreign in any science fiction media where they are featured, in order to appeal to the western xenophobia. H.G Wells’ War of the Worlds, describes the Martians in the beginning of the book as beings that “regarded this earth with envious eyes… drawing their plans against us.” The aliens, coming from “across the gulf of space...” are jealous of the humans, and plot an imperialist takeover of the planet from them, for their resources. This xenophobic ideal, that the foreigner is going to come in and take away resources that, although convenient to us, are almost nonexistent to them, is a fear that has been kindled by western society recently, whether that resources be water and nuclear material or jobs. The War of the Worlds gives us the Martian enemy as a way of expressing our fear and disgust into something “semi-human,” to bring our patriotism against a common enemy rather than other people, implying that the foreigner is not someone from another country on Earth, but rather an

In War of the Worlds, the main character leaves his secure home to investigate the lack of noise from the battlefield, “And scattered about it, some in their overturned war-machines, some in the now rigid handling-machines, and a dozen of them stark and silent and laid in a row, were the Martians – dead! – slain by the putrefactive and disease bacteria against which their systems were unprepared…” The extra terrestrials, not even destroyed by humans, but bacteria. This lack of preparation, despite having technology that’s similar to“...bows and arrows against the lightning...”, a comparison that is almost making humans seem primitive, artillery wise, to the Martians, almost implies a lack of thought and feebleness that humans easily surpass. This feebleness, coupled with their imperialistic desires, makes them very easy targets for our negative feelings for foreigners, as well as an overwhelming sense of pride for westerners, as they singlehandedly defeat the aliens. Independence day also captures this patriotic pride, albeit humorously “[walking toward crashed alien plane] THAT'S RIGHT! THAT'S RIGHT! That's what you get! Look at you, ship all *banged* up! Who's the man? Huh? Who's the man? Wait till I get another plane! I'm-a line all your