There is a very interesting article over at The Nation online titled “Can You Spot the American Military in Your Favorite Sci-Fi Film?” by William Astore. The author bring his experience a retired Air Force officer and lifelong science fiction fan to his analysis, and discusses his changing perceptions of the military over the years as perceived through this genre. His take is an interesting one given the shift from the positive portrayals and perceptions of the military in post-World War II science fiction cinema to more recent depictions of the military industrial complex, especially after 9/11. Here’s an excerpt:
In the aftermath of the invasion of Afghanistan and the “shock and awe” assault on Iraq, the never-ending destructiveness of the wars that followed, coupled with the US government’s deployment of deadly robotic drones and special ops units across the globe, alien invasion movies aren’t—at least for me—the campy fun they once were, and not just because the latest of them is louder, dumber, and more cliché-ridden than ever. I suspect that there’s something else at work as well, something that’s barely risen to consciousness here: In these years, we’ve morphed into the planet’s invading aliens.
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