EllioT

EllioT

A Thematic Film Paper Response in E.T. The Extra Terrestrial

As a deeply moving story of the special friendship that develops between Elliott, a very accepting and open-minded lonely young boy living in a suburban California community, and a wise visitor from another planet who becomes lost on Earth makes E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial is an everlasting movie that Hollywood and the world ever had. The story between Elliot and ET contains archetypes of the major characters in the film that would be explained in limits below.

The first overview that delivers the extra terrestrial's character introduction happens slowly through out the first few scenes of the movie. In the first scene, ET has been stranded in a new world, knowing no one. In his first contact with the human species, ET was chased, frightened, and scared into hiding. These are some reasons why I categorized ET as the foreigner in archetypal character. Not also as a foreigner, but later on after met Elliot ET became the noble savage as the new creature. Even though he has seen lack in (earth) culture but ET has goodness and willingness to exist, in addition he also learns easily.

That Elliot and ET feel, do and think the same thing after their first contact, I saw the complexity character in Elliot in his connection with the extraterrestrial. Elliot was a boy who has lost his father due to a parental separation gains a great relationship with an extraterrestrial. Kids develop a sense of empathy as they grow and this story shows how Elliot does. It concludes that Elliot fits into the child character in his wisdom and not superficial, but as I dig deeper, I found that he is more than just the child. When the authorities kill the alien, it is clear that the boy is dying, too. So, the story manages to show the giving up of one’s life for another and the giving of a loving spirit rather than just to be a reluctant hero in Elliot’s attempts to help his extra-terrestrial companion contact his home planet so that he might be rescued.

Finally, after ET went with his spaceship, the final moment in the story comes in the form of a rainbow, a promise that things will be all right. Through his contact with the extraterrestrial, Elliot will grow up with greater compassion, wisdom, and capacity for emotion in his life. Besides the main characters archetypal, I am sure that there are many things that the scholars can dig and develop through this great film.

Credit

E.T. The Extra Terrestrial. Dir. Stephen Spielberg. Perf. Dee Wallace, Henry Thomas, Robert MacNaughton, Drew Barrymore. Universal Pictures, 2002. VCD

By Anisa Caesar, Spring 2010