SPOTLIGHT
JULY/AUGUST 2020 ISSUE
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CLASSIC SCIENCE FICTION FILMS
By Douglas Schwartz
All artwork featured in this SPOTLIGHT, whether written or visual, © copyright the respective artists. All rights reserved.
Picture this. UFOs land on Earth and attack humans...
pods from space attempt to take over the world...
gigantic, mutant creatures go on a deadly rampage...
and a man shrinks into the infinite. These and other
topics of classic science fiction films fuel both our
anxiety and imagination...and all are the creative
accomplishments of talented artists.

Artists have a long history of showing both the good
as well as the bad things in life. This includes the
positive and negative aspects of mankind itself.
Their work can serve as a mirror for the world and,
like it or not, force us to see what we may not want
to see, but should.

The films included in this SPOTLIGHT reflect such
monumental subjects as the dangers posed by
invaders from space (The War of the Worlds, 1953
and Invasion of the Body Snatchers, 1956), the
terrifying outcome of tampering with nature
(Them!, 1954 and Tarantula!, 1955), time travel
(The Time Machine, 1960), and demonstrate that
all life is precious and important, no matter how
insignificant it may appear to others (The Incredible
Shrinking Man
, 1957). While these films are
designed to provide entertainment, they are also
capable of teaching us valuable lessons as well.

Perhaps the greatest lesson of all is that we must
learn to live in peace and harmony as a species,
or else perish (The Day the Earth Stood Still, 1951).
If we can somehow manage to achieve this, perhaps
we will be able to defeat an attack of monsters from
outer space, should the time come, or even the
demons of this Earth.

Classic science fiction films provide an escape from
reality while examining our fears and our hopes.
In doing so, we are both confronted and comforted.
The cinematic experiences of these films can take us
to other worlds, or allow us to conceive of a different
reality in this one. They lift our imagination and
propel us on a spaceship into the realm of thought
that lies in the stratosphere of ultimate possibility!
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