Reisz Mars Attacks!

Aliens in Mars Attacks! Land on Earth

When the president gives his great speech about bridging the gap between the humans and aliens encapsulates how Burton’s satire towards the government and patriotism perfectly. The president is first cowering behind his chair, which is already against the notion of a strong president with great willpower. He then rises as he gives what he clearly believes to be the words that will be written in textbooks for years to come as it brings the worlds together. Burton illustrates this through the overly dramatic and patriotic music playing behind the president. When the alien and president finally shake hands and the arm kills the president, the joke is clearly on the president. Audience members laugh as it crawls over him and the flag rises to mark their new territory. In films like Independence Day, it is this grand powerful mentality of great leaders that defeat the frightening invaders. By taking a similar soundtrack and camera angles upward at the president as he speaks, Burton imitates films that focus on this belief. But the outcome is drastically different and the actor simply seems overdramatic. Also, throughout the film Jack Nicholson is treated more like a child who needs to be led and put up with through his rants (not treated with great awe and admiration). Burton even creates the picture that the president might as well be a crook from Las Vegas and he would serve just about the same amount of usefulness. Instead of being the man that led the people or comforted them in their time of need, he acted more like a coward who was just as unsure what to do as anyone. When the military asks for him to sign off on military weapons of great destruction, like bombs, he just does as he is told and signs the papers. His role is actually of no importance to the nation in the film other than a public face.

The other scene where Burton really satirizes the military is when the aliens first land on Earth. America really wants to make a great spectacle of it and have the general act as the great man who welcomes them first onto the planet. There are people set up to see it, no doubt paid to see it, and the military set up a large encroachment of forces to make it look official. By acting like it worked out perfectly and depicting everyone’s excitement and the military’s satisfaction, the quick switch to chaos makes everyone just look ridiculous. Despite the fact that so many military men were there for protection, they were not helpful at all during the attack. It made the entire institution look like it was there for show and served to real purpose. The great military institution was actually not very intelligent nor did they overcome. I think that the film, especially in these two scenes, makes a statement about how ridiculous it is that people hold so much faith in institutions to take care of things. Also, that we take things too seriously and overthink a matter that is actually simple.