Steven Spielberg’s 1982 blockbuster E.T. not only broke chart records by surpassing it’s $10.5 million budget and earning $792.9 million at the box office, but also broke the hearts of moviegoers worldwide for generations to come. E.T. holds just as prominent of a relevance in society today as it did the day it came out, though maybe now for different reasons. The film tells the tale of a friendly extra-terrestrial who finds himself stranded on Earth. A young boy named Elliot and his siblings take it upon themselves to help their new alien friend find a way to get back to his home planet while attempting to keep him hidden from government officials.

Coming off the successes of previous hit films like “Jaws” and “Raiders of the Lost Ark,” E.T. was more of a conventional film. It also tied very closely into the emerging early-80s science fiction theme of family movies based around Space. With examples of are “Close encounters of the third kind” and “Captain EO”.  These successes paved the road for a popular movie theme that remains a favorite to this day. Not only are humans fascinated with the mystery and adventure that surrounds space travel and the terrifying yet exciting possibility of life on other planets, but I believe that there is a certain draw to the feeling of being an outcast or being alone in a world full of people that don’t understand you. Even with the revolutionary graphics and technology used in the film, the theme is still a conventional one though it may be redefined by Spielberg.

The film opens on a night in suburban California, a group of alien travelers hastily evade capture by federal agents. Unfortunately in their rush, they leave one of their own behind. Not long after, a boy named Elliot stumbles on the friendly alien in his backyard. Since no one believes him, Elliot takes it upon himself to lure his new friend with Reese’s pieces and hides him in his closet. After swearing his siblings Michael and Gertie to secrecy, the kids begin to learn that E.T. has special powers, like resurrecting plants and levitating objects. However the most important power that the alien has is with Elliot. Everything that Elliott feels, E.T. does too. The kids begin teaching E.T. how to speak and he is able to communicate that he wants to “phone home.” It turns out that his health is declining and that he wants to return to his home planet. The kids begin to build a communication device as the sinister federal agents are gaining in on them. On Halloween, Elliot wakes up sick and finds E.T. gone. After finding him, the federal agents and government doctors do too. As the doctors set up their equipment, we learn that as Elliot gets better, E.T. gets more sick. Only when Elliot tells E.T. that he loves him, does the alien wake up and the plan to return home is back on. Elliott, Michael, and Michael’s friends race E.T. back to the woods arriving just in time to meet the aliens’ spaceship. After heartfelt goodbyes all around, E.T. returns to the ship and it departs, leaving a rainbow across the sky.

The film’s primary narrative shows the two main ways that we, as humans, can treat differences. The children, who still have their naivety, are able to see differences as something that can be learned from. The adults instantly view the alien as something to fear and that needs to be taken by force and inspected. The adults also view themselves as entitled enough to take an alien creature and have power over it’s life and well being. This is relevant to what can be seen in regards to the immigration crisis in America and globally today. Unfortunately the mindset that the world most relates to is that of the adults and federal agents in the movie. We as a species tend to see differences as something threatening and that needs to be feared. Also we see things that are different as something inferior and that needs to be dominated over. The reality is that all living things are interconnected with each other, much like E.T. and Elliot are in the movie. The Hollywood Reporter confirms that “that no matter how different God’s creatures may be, there’s a common bond between the thinking ones — because they’re also capable of love.” Love is the common denominator between living things and so by hurting each other we are in fact hurting ourselves in the end.

This film has stood the test of time because it isn’t just a space movie serving the purpose to simply entertain its audience. Ebert states that “it reveals facts about the E.T.’s nature; it develops the personalities of Elliott, his mother, brother and sister; it involves the federal space agencies; it touches on extra-terrestrial medicine, biology and communication, and still it inspires genuine laughter and tears.” E.T. reminds us about the importance of compassion, understanding and most importantly the power of love. That love can triumph over bigotry and fear and with a little more of that rather that hatred, we could all better this planet that we like to call home.

sources:

The Hollywood Reporter – ET Review: 1982

Roger Ebert: E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial movie

E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial Trailer