War of the Worlds explores the horror of a colonial invader.
From the 14th through the 19th centuries Western European nations competed for natural resources that were dwindling in their native countries. Spain, France, Portugal, The Netherlands and England led international expeditions to claim lands holding an abundance of wood, gold, spice and metals. These resources replenished the imperial engine, and provided the impetus of this frantic expansion.
This drive to conquer and control the world's resources devastated the native populations who were invaded by this indestructible force. Facing a foe armed with advanced weaponry and a thirst for gain, indigenous populations were stranded. Spielberg's War of the Worlds reflects this experience, and the helplessness felt in the face of a superior European colonizer.
Aliens and Hernan Cortez
Set in modern New York City, aliens fly in from the sky and wreak havoc on the world by incinerating humans and feasting on their blood. The horror of the situation lies in the impenetrable robot aliens, where missiles and bullets simply deflect off their armor. Tom Cruise and his family run for their lives but the aliens always catch up.
Hernan Cortez’s conquest of the Aztec empire reflects similar themes as the Spaniards eviscerated the Aztec nation and took over the city. The armor and modern weaponry of the Spanish allowed them to crush the resistance of the Aztecs.
A painting by Emanuel Leutze depicts the Spanish clash with the natives at the city of Teocalli which took place in 1520. A chaotic scene is chaotic with dramatic gesticulations and with violent facial expressions. In the center of this chaos an Aztec warrior valiantly defies the invasion of the Spanish. While his heroic stature is laudable, his attempt to hack down three armored invaders with a wooden club is all but futile. Luetze captures a man who is proud to defend his country, but his demise is inevitable in the face of a superior enemy.
Upon defeat, the suffering of the vanquished nation is just beginning, as a lifetime of servitude ensues. Life becomes a living hell as freedom disappears, in favor of forced labor and subjugation.
Life as the Vanquished
John Milton’s Paradise Lost offers a glimpse into life as a conquered nation. The central character, Satan, was one of God’s former angels until he betrayed him and was banished to hell. Satan’s life in hell is what one would expect,
He with his horrid crew
Lay vanquisht, rowling in the fiery Gulfe
Confounded though immortal: But his doom
Reserv’d him to more wrath; for now the thought
Both of lost happiness and lasting pain
Torments him; round he throws his baleful eyes
That witness’d huge affliction and dismay
Mixt with obdurate pride and stedfast hate"
Satan’s experience of lost happiness and never ending pain reflects the lives of colonized peoples: A world of lost freedom. Living in these conditions will eventually lead to dramatic action as seen from Moloch, one of Satan’s underlings, who supports open rebellion,
My sentence is for open Warr…
For while they sit contriving, shall the rest,
Millions that stand in Arms, and longing wait
The Signal to ascend, sit lingring here
Moloch passionately supports a call to arms against the forces of heaven. He denounces the idleness of his compatriots in favor of swift violent action to dispel the conqueror’s suffocating grip. Both the language and the tone of his voice reflect pent up frustration that occurs after years of suppression, and Moloch wants to utilize this frustration and convert it into violence and destruction.
While Moloch's patriotism is laudable, the chances of defeating a superior enemy are slim and may only lead to more pain. In response, Belial rejects Moloch’s declaration to rebel,
I laugh, when those who at the Spear are bold
And vent’rous, if that fail them, shrink and fear
What yet they know must follow, to endure
Exile, or ignominy, or bonds, or pain,
The sentence of thir Conquerour: This is now
Our doom
The conservative Belial rejects the idea of taking arms against the enemy. He knows rebellion is doomed to fail and will only cause more suffering. Rather than taking arms, Belial attempts to persuade the others that a peaceful relationship can exist in the future and present pains will eventually ease. Rebellion will only stir the enemy and inflict even greater tragedy.
Futility of Rebellion
A print from the 19th century depicts the colonial British battling the rebelling native African Zulus. This image, of the first battle by the colonizing British, depicts an organized British army taking aim against the helpless Zulu resistance armed with spears and shields. Unsurprisingly, the natives drop like flies in the face of ringing bullets. While the Zulu's fought valiantly, the British subdued the rebellion in a few months.
Deciding to fight an enemy with far superior weaponry illustrates the motivation for colonial rebellion was not a calculated risk, but rather driven by anger, frustration and a desire to regain lost freedom.
While most colonial rebellions ended in failure, there is at least a sense of redemption in trying. The patriotic Moloch sums it up, “which if not in Victory is yet Revenge”
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