Strip the book of its observtion on the human condition and, well, you have a basic well written horror story. But put it back and you have a reason to write. A reason to think. A reason to see what we are for who we are and to decide if that's what we want for humanity. Well done. Thanks!
12:25 "Hey Louis, remember that time where I drove that tripod into the city" *cut to peter driving a 2005 tripod crushing buildings and burning people*
Regardless of Wells' political inclinations, the book, radio show and numerous other presentations...the intention was surely to entertain...and all of them did that to varying degrees of success. Its now 2023 and still no one believes in life on Mars. Another very professinally produced video Catherine.
I never saw the 2005 movie as just "9/11 with Aliens". Spielberg clearly gave us the feeling of inferiority and helplessness when confronted with a superior species. It plays off our primal fear of predators. That makes it, imo, a much better film than Independence Day, which is a simple "fun alien movie".
I feel that one manages to come the closest to capturing the anti-colonialism themes of the book personally, along with the 1953 and 2012 versions to an extent.
This is a great overview. I wonder if “District 9” is sort of a “War of the Worlds” turned inside-out. Maybe that’s a reach. But it has many similar themes, but with the aliens as the victims.
Yes, good point. Partway through the video, as I considered more modern themes of racial stratification with which to update the novel's core theme, the idea of apartheid struck me - and District 9 leapt into my head too. I think that Blomkamp must have had the War of the Worlds in mind as a reference point; even if an opposed or subverted one.
Part of the problem with the various update versions, as opposed to Wells' original, is that they all assume that the Martians' invasion is worldwide. and if the effects are international, the metaphor doesn't quite work. In the original only GB is attacked, with the Martians presumably intending to spread out by means of flying machines, thus advancing their own form of extraterrestrial imperialism. Thus, the invaders get a taste of what's it's like to be invaded. But the metaphor doesn't quite feel the same when everybody is getting invaded all at the same time.
not only that! What Wells and in some ways this smart young man did not think of is, humans have always attacked one another to in-slave, take land and resources in its history. the Mongols who had I think the largest empire in world history were not European, nor was Islam who took 98 percent of its land mass by sword and indeed their prophet did the same. or even the great Zulu tribe who conquered other African tribes, like wise the Native tribes in north America who became empires of their own through the same methods. There are so many parts of history where great powers came about from such actions and had to this very day mis-treated it's conquered and minorities. Least the European race have the honor of trying to stop slavery, though we know it still goes on. Wells as a socialist will be heart broken, where those nations is suppose to be under socialism, are run by power hungry dictators, who stole the wealth of that country for themselves and their cronies.
Many times art can be understood in different ways. It’s not JUST about colonization. It’s a sci-fi masterpiece too and it’s perfectly fine to say on that level
But maybe if we explored the themes we are uncomfortable with we might be able to learn from history. I believe colonialisation culture, like unregulated capitalism, is ultimately doomed to crash, like all empires. The current trend in politics is a modern interpretation of corporate imperialism fought against civilians and in the battleground of acceptability. There is no such future where infinite growth can be maintained. The hubris of Atlantis is a tale that’s been forgotten for ancient aliens and grifters. Vainglory was a sin of leadership, but power seeks to be outside scrutiny.
Yes its too much to ask. I came across your channel because I'm an old fan of Ray Harryhausen and I came across a video about how Ray Harryhausen had long wanted to do a faithful rendition of War of The Worlds. He has done some preliminary work some sketches and a short test shot using stop animation of a Martian exiting a Cylinder? You are probably already familiar. Anyway I want to compliment you on your critique and analysis of War of The Worlds; best I have ever seen or heard. I am definitely going to check out your other videos.
I'm also amused that the guy the narrator meets while hiding near a Martian landing site, the guy with Big Plans to dig in and prepare for a guerilla war against the Martian invaders, who would be a heroic protagonist in a 1930s pulp SF story, turns out to be largely delusional.
A'reyt Catherine. I really enjoyed this. I read the book when at school and the CD of the Album you showed was the first I bought, having only afforded to buy a former jukebox single of Forever Autumn, with The Fighting Machine on the B side as a kid. I even quoted the bit about coming from Mars in comments on a recent Metatron channel video. I was a kid at the time of the original Star Wars. The focus was on the future. The kids in my class at school were of parents from the empire that had gone. The geography teacher, Adrian Edmondson's dad, may have tried to entice us with tales from Africa, but I remember looking through my Star Wars cards, never imagining the teacher's son would later be in it. I may have Indian ancestry, according to family rumours about Indian army origins, but that was the past. The futuristic theme of travel to another world is bound to draw the audience and generate more income. One line from the CD from the artilleryman is "Not poems and rubbish - science" for which you could interpret not history but science fiction. You make a good case against this, but here on earth, money makes the world go round. That is why the chances of anything coming from Mars are a million to one, but still they came to Yorkshire to spy on KitKat production, I reckon.
I totally agree. Everyone (well, not quite everyone but way too many) focus sooooo exclusively on Plot other considerations such as theme or character fall by the wayside, all too often forgotten and dismissed.
Nice video. I live ten minutes walk from the house where Wells wrote WOTW in Woking. Well worth a visit as the down has a lot of monuments to him. Keep up the good work ;)
Magnificent commentary on an aspect of this great novel which is, indeed, often overlooked. And you are quite correct; No-one to date has really got the Martians right!
Thank you for pointing out that almost every adaptation of The War of the Worlds gets the Martain designs completely wrong, as that's a problem that also extends to some cover art and illustrations of the novel both old and new. Such as how H.G. Wells hated Warwick Goble's design of the Martian Fighting Machines for the original 1897 Perason Magazine serial due to Goble's design being inaccurate to Wells' text like the fact the tripods had knees on the legs that leak green mist from the joints. So much so that Wells later wrote a paragraph in the 1898 novelization in the second chapter of Book 2 "What We Saw From The Ruined House" about his disapproval of Warwick Goble's designs and that they should disregard them and, by extension, all future illustrations as non-canon and The War of the Worlds would have been better off without them. For adaptation that drives into the colonialism elements of H.G. Wells' novel, I highly recommend reading the Scarlet Traces comics by Dark Horse and 2000 AD. Scarlet Traces is a sequel to The War of the Worlds set 10 years after the Martian invasion of England and follows how the British Empire abuses the leftover Martian tech to place the entire Earth under the British Empire's metal heel leading to them invading Mars not out of revenge but in name colonialism after conquering all of Earth. Not to mention the Scarlet Traces team's 2006 comic adaptation of H.G. Wells' The War of the Worlds, which was commissioned by Jeff Wayne as he was doing a comic and merch deal with Dark Horse for a 2008 CGI animated film adaptation of the musical that never happened, and it's still the best adaptation of The War of the Worlds in a visual medium. As someone who is writing my own War of the Worlds sequel novel, which even includes the Biped aliens that were used as food in the octopus Martian invaders' cylinder ships on their journey to the Earth briefly mentioned in H.G. Wells' novel in the second chapter of Book 2 "What We Saw From The Ruined House" and H.G. Wells' The Crystal Egg short story, which is often considered a prequel to The War of the Worlds, as a major story element instead of background worldbuilding. This is a great video and I'll happily share it with my co-writer. I look forward to seeing more of your videos about The War of the Worlds and you earn a sub from me.
I mean, it only stands to reason that Martians would be pink. Little green men? er, cephalods? I don't believe a word of it. It;'s a pity about the recent BBC series: this deserves a proper budget treatment on the original theme
All good solid points. While I do understand other commenters' position on the matter of adaptation it *is* fascinating that, for the most part, social commentary in the form of satire or critical self-assessment is largely absent from the major adaptations. And *Spielberg* of all should have known that this was a grand opportunity to do something bold like that: As you specifically mention US interventionism (the new colonialism), it's incredible that his movie touches briefly on "the terrorists" and alludes to 9/11, yet it fails utterly to explore what it was that brought about that terrible moment - *US interventionism* in the Middle East. For a brilliant man who directed so many works of social commentary, this was surely one of the great missed opportunities? - And yes, the Martian thing gets me every time someone tries (and largely fails) to invent a creepy new alien format: The atrophied body and super-mind of the grotesquely-proportioned invaders from the book is itself a satirical commentary on Humankind and its potential bleak future. *sigh* The closest thing we've ever had to an authentic depiction of the Wellsian Martian is actually in the lesser 50s alien invasion flick "Invaders From Mars", in which the telepathic Martian controller is a head with tentacles - and it's horrific! (They even have a bipedal subjugated species, although they are used as drones and cannon fodder, rather than as food on the voyage to Earth.) Great little video. Many thanks.
This book has been translated into Cornish. Gwerryans an Planettys translated by Nicholas Williams. There's also a version in Northeast Scots by Sheela Blackhall.
To be fair, many adaptations just reflect the tensions of the time, and the theme of the Martians' design... Well, it's a design that would be considered cartoonish nowadays with all those cartoons and toys, I understand why they would want to change it. With that beign said, I love this video
I think the Jeff Wayne musical is one of the few adaptations that accurately portrays the Martians the way they are described in the book. The others being the animated sequel, War of the Worlds: Goliath; and the 2005 Pendragon Pictures adaptation. Also, fun fact, there was gonna be an adaptation by the great Ray Harryhausen that would have been faithful to the book. He took it to Hollywood and left it with Jesse Lasky, Jr. for six months, but they couldn't raise any money and, eventually, Cecil B. Demille gave George Pál permission to make his the 1953 adaptation we know today. Though confident that his friend George Pál would do a good job Harryhausen was still bitterly disappointed.
I feel you have still missed the point of the book. It is more about how humans treat animals than about how we treat each other. Colonialism is a theme but it is only a secondary one. Wells was a lifelong vegetarian, an anti vivisectionist and was deeply concerned with animal welfare. Your point about Martians feeding on human blood can be taken as a metaphor for colonialism but it can be taken literally to show one species killing another one for a tasty meal. The passage you quoted:L "For that moment I touched an emotion beyond the common range of men, yet one that the poor brutes we dominate know only too well" goes on. "I felt as a rabbit might feel returning to his burrow and suddenly confronted by the work of a dozen busy navvies digging the foundations of a house." And the second passage: ".Surely, if we have learned nothing else, this war has taught us pity-pity for those witless souls that suffer our dominion." is preceded by "(I)"crept out of the house like a rat leaving its hiding place-a creature scarcely larger, an inferior animal, a thing that for any passing whim of our masters might be hunted and killed."
Very well summarised, this stuff has been bothering me for years (though I think that the later paragraphs in book 2 are more about how we treat animals than strictly just colonialism). I will say that I think the reason most films change the appearance of the Martians is because the way they're described in the novel would be pretty hard to do in live action without looking really silly.
It wasn't just the themes of colonialism that made the book legendary but the presentation of PTSD. In every alien invasion story including the unfaithful adaptations, humanity wins and everyone celebrates. Wells' character though, doesn't have such a happy ending. Through the book, we are with him watching so many die as he's driven nearly insane by the terror of the Martians and the mental deterioration of certain characters like the Curate. Near the end, he stands in front of a Martian tripod screaming at it to put him out of his misery only to find the aliens dead from bacterial infection and collapses into a nervous breakdown. Even when reunited with his wife and the Martians' defeat, he is not fully recovered and is deeply troubled and fearful of the Martians' eventual return seeing the first invaders as simply "pioneers." This was what I loved reading the book. Watching a character initially intrigued by the discovery of alien visitors become a broken man slowly rebuilding his mental condition following weeks of fleeing and hiding from merciless invaders.
This is a point I have mentioned to a few people. Thankfully, it has, so far, not resulted in any heated arguments. So, my question is, how might one work these comparison "organically" into an adaptation, particularly into a visual narrative like a movie or mini-series. In the novel, Wells had the luxury to peek into the mind of his unnamed protagonist, or even at times as an omniscient narrator to express these thoughts. I may be forgetting some passages, but I don't think the protagonist discussed these disturbing parallels with any other character. How would you convey this information to the audience when the usual philosophy in visual media is to "show; don't tell", meaning, don't get bogged down with exposition. Would you opt for narration, a voice over by the lead stating his inner thoughts? Done skillfully, it could work, but I keep thinking how awkward it seemed in the David Lynch adaptation of "Dune" back in '84. Hmm, I just remembered, in George Pal's adaptation of "the Time Machine" he had star Rod Taylor as "George" do just that. He even has him look at a newspaper headline about the war in South Africa.
Mm, good point. Exposition is difficult to get right. The trick is to use it to keep the story moving and advance the plot, without having to have repeated 'time-outs' for another exposition dump. It can be done, and a good example of a movie doing this well eludes me right this second, annoyingly.
There's this wonderful 1940 radio interview with both H.G. Wells and Orson Welles! They even talk about the supposed hysteria, Adolf Hitler, and a little film Orson is working on called Citizen Kane...
Great video 📹 Maybe when there's a new adaptation of this story, they could reference how Britain was once a colonized nation, by the Romans, the Germanic tribes of Northern Europe, and the Norman French.
I loved this video, thank you so much for talking about this! As a First Nations person, I guess reading War Of The Worlds hits different. It’s fascinating to me to read so many comments expressing that they had never noticed this theme before - to me it was immediately obvious and impossible to divorce from the plot (the text itself makes it so obvious too!). And then there are other comments still wanting to sweep it aside as “secondary” or unrelated to the plot. It seems like there is still so much cognitive dissonance amongst some non-Indigenous people and an intense urge to avoid having to examine the uncomfortable truths about colonialism that the novel tries to address. Either way - loved it!
Thanks for another informative video. I've always thought the Tripods trilogy of novels by John Christopher was a sort of "what if the invaders had won" follow up to War of The Worlds. As a kid, I was an avid sci-fi reader. Wells, Asimov, Bradbury, A C Clarke, Heinlein, Herbert....too many to mention. With other genres stuck on earth, sci fi had a whole universe to explore. And as you rightly say, they could get an allegory or two in there too!
Excellent piece on one of my favourite Sci-fi books Catherine.The best interpratation of the Martians physical appearance was actually in a totally different Sci-fi movie called the Trollenberg Terror. Ray Harehausen did draw up some drafts for some more acurate portrayals in the early fifties but the plans were scrapped by the studio due to budget constraints. Also, in the book the Martians used chemical weapons as well as the heat ray to devestating effect but this rarely appears in on screen adaptations ( although it was part of the BBCs adaptation ). Most of the characters in the the book are either badly portrayed or not portrayed at all in the screen versions. The only way to authentically make a screen version would be to make it very long, perhaps a trilogy, but would there be sufficient demand? I feel there wouldn't be, most audiances just want a shoot 'em up allien invaders movie.
its kinda crazy to me how frequently this aspect of the novel is forgotten given like half the passages in the text are wells basically turning to the reader and saying "Oh and by the way if you subscribe to that social darwinism bullshit, every horrifying thing I've described so far is perfectly justified in your stupid idiot worldview." like there's some real venom dripping from the book's politics and i kinda adore it for that lol. among everything else ofc
Volume two of the graphic novel 'The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen' involves Wells' Martian invasion. Nothing about colonialism but well-depicted Martians and author Alan Moore made an effort to follow the storyline as closely as he could while working with characters who are themselves characters from 19thC fiction.
I actually have the movie by Timothy Hines that’s actually a adaptation of the book it’s pretty good but it doesn’t have any subtitles so I don’t understand what being said
Nice work Catherine really enjoyed it. It was always too deep a message for the rightwing flag waving drones to either want or understand. I think the 2005 version is the best adaptation considering America's history. Like avatar the message always needs wrapping in CGI and romance but the story is still underneath if you look closely. The bbc recent version was dreadful tripe. More of these types of vids would be great
Thank you. I love finding out the background to stories. I recently found out The Wizard of Oz is about capitalism. Yellow Brick Road. Gold Brick. And, Alice in Wonderland is about math. All the bizarre imagery is math paradoxes and constructs. The Cheshire Cat's smile is an old timey bridge. A catenary bridge. cat-enary, tee hee, grinning.
Are we in danger of conflating two different things here? I agree that the original intent of a work is often missed. It's not so long ago that the Sun was complaining that kids today are so woke that they think the monster in Frankenstein was a victim (!?). However...isn't the point of an adaptation to use the source material to comment on present day society? To loop back to your Western series, Soldier Blue was set in the old West. It didn't comment on Manifest Destiny, though, it was an explicit comment on the My Lai massacre and the subsequent Winter Soldier hearings. Based on that, can we expect that Welles (after the US had just passed three neutrality acts) would comment on imperialism? The same with Spielberg. Who would have predicted, in the later days of the 20th Century, that an unknown, faceless enemy would destroy the twin towers?
But, reading the original Shelley novel, wasn't the monster the victim of his 'father's hubris, contempt, abuse and rejection? Yes, he *chooses* to do the things he does to innocents, but not out of monstrous stupidity, out of *vengeance*. He is clearly portrayed in the first part of the story as a pitiable and innocent being. That's not how he finishes. It's sci-fi, it's horror, but most of all, it's a tragedy.
Great video, Catherine! ( You must have been a bit sweaty after all that running..... :) ) Agreed - it is about colonialism. That said, as a New Zealander I'm very happy to be in one of the colonies of Britain! Keep up the great work!
Why was it dying? Maybe it was because their needs outstripped supply. Sounds familiar. Maybe the lesson is that not seeking sustainable existence puts societies on the path of colonialisation and ultimate fall.
The adaptations also miss the point that the Martians invade out of desperation. Mars was a dying world, the Martians threw everything they had in a last ditch attempt to survive.
You definitely have made a good point here . I only read the book once . As a piece of dramatic literature ; I found it rather uninspiring . I completely agree with you about the politics . Britain by its amazing capacity for hypocrisy , has managed to get its history of slave trading and colonialism ; overlooked ; whilst at the same time managing to demonise their competitors ; for doing the same thing . As they did to Napoleon in the early 19th century . Partly this was due to the fact the British Empire generally exploited weaker peoples that were not in a position to defend themselves even in the wider circles of other Western nations . I did not know HG Wells was part of the Socialist movement of the early 20th Century though I was aware of the Fabian Society notably GB Shaw . I think it was the lack of strong characters ; especially the main protagonist , that left me feeling uninvolved . I completely over looked the points you so clearly and explicitly point out . Certainly the 2019 drama on BBC did a better job as a drama ; the characters were better fleshed out ; and you care what happens to them . Yes I do remember his description of the Martians , and the detailed explanation of why they had such peculiar bodies . I am content to accept your interpretation ; without revisiting the original text . I tend to read non fiction nowdays . I studied literature and history at college and have always tended to separate the two , which is probably why I missed the theme of colonialism completely . Of course this was rampant in the early 20th Century and lovers of Winston Churchill ; always downplay his overt racism and Empire loving even after it was going out of fashion in 30s and 40s Britain . He has to be the most over rated and misunderstood British politician of modern history .
Upton Sinclair, also a socialist, wrote The Jungle to expose the terrible working conditions in the meat packing industry. But people were mostly shocked by how disgusting it was, which lead to new food safety laws being passed. “I aimed at the public's heart, and by accident I hit it in the stomach.” ― Upton Sinclair
I've reread War of the Worlds many times over the decades, about every four or so years since the 60s. What the adaptations get wrong: They don't portray it in its proper time period or location. They shoehorn a woman companion into the plot. They don't seem to realize the Narrator is mostly traveling alone and reflecting on what he encounters with temporary companions. Till someone does, my favorite is the 1953 version set in California because I grew up with it and it is very good. My second favorite my be The Great Martian War (1913-1917) which I just watched yesterday, even though barely resembles anything in the book, it just looks convincing. The Speilberg tripods are the best, even though they are too large. I'll never forgive the BBC for screwing up WotW as I thought if anyone could produce a satisfying accurate adaptation it would be them.
I have one problem with this interpretation, it's sure he touches on colonialism but he could do it not to sympathize with the conquered but more to warn the invaders of possible retaliation. He was a known Darwinist and later he even became a Eugenic, in 1901, 4 years after the publishment of War of the Worlds, he expressed his ideas on superior races in Anticipations, he stated that those who he believed were inferior should be eliminated from the society. To his defense, few years later he shifted his views and stood firm as human rights activist agains race prejudice. To sum it up, it's extremely complex to be sure what he had meant by World of the Worlds, but it's sure it's not only a book of science fiction but a social statement as well.
Politics and war have always been a part of human relationship---personal and nationally. We might well condemn the bad (evil) side of such interactions, but it seems that as humans, we are almost bound up to follow such scenarios. The antidote is of course, love.
Given that the whole world is now practically colonized, I don’t think the horror of the theme really resonates as well as it used to in more modern adaptations. But like with other classic stories, it leaves room up to some interpretation, so it makes sense as to why the most famous adaptations of the work tended to be made during times when threats like war and invasions were more prevalent. They’re a more resonate theme to relate to than colonialism.
After seeing Steven Spielbergs War of the World, 1950’s version, and the BBC series, I’d say Steven’s and the BBC series has the context of the story correct, but colonialism is pretty close to non existent in these adaptations, and I agree with your interpretation. H.G. Wells The War of the Worlds was actually pretty far ahead for its time and inspired a lot of sci-fi work we see now-a-days like Aliens, Independence day, Close Encounters of the third kind! Etc.
Hubret George Wells, WOW I never knew his name, You ask Why they can't get the martians right, I ask why can't they get an entire chapter right? The Thunderchild. Finally, I find it so delightfully Ironic to be talking about H.G. Wells making the horrors of colonialism plain and simple, while another country is currently trying and failing terribly on its gambit for colonialism. (not gonna mention any names but you get the idea, I think)
I am a big fan of science fiction, and I just want to give a big thanks to Wells for creating one of the most influential books in human history. But it is a shame for how it’s message has been lost to time.
Perhaps another aspect of the book often not discussed, is that despite the books dystopian characteristics, it is not a science fiction story at all. It is a dark horror story about the end of mankind. The BBC version was very woke and had a very unlike the feeling or events of the book aspect to it. It had a specifically left leaning modern interpretation to it, which was distant from the socialism of Wells. I felt that as much as colonialism the book also considered man as a moderately intelligent mammal and placed it in the line of evolution, as not too distant from other animals. The main character's friend, who was working class and a gardener for instance. Wells was a vegetarian.
Hi Catherine, I love quoting parts of the original story to people as I work in Regents Park Barracks in London. Look it up a see what Wikipedia says 😉 Basically Regents Park Barracks was built in 1821 & is on Albany Street next to Regents Park. Now the link.... in the book there is a line...”the sound of drumming and trumpeting came from the Albany Street Barracks”. 😁
This is quite common for Well's work. He was a socialist first and he made sure to pepper his thinking into his work. Take The Time Machine, it is an exploration of what happens to the different social classes if the divisions of capitalism remain unchanged.
you are right about colonialism being one of welles's major points in the story. .the problem is it is almost impossible to present colonialism from one side only. .if welles could have incorporated the martians' viewpoint in the story as well it might have worked as a moral tale, but it would have failed as dramatic narration. .the complications would have drowned out the suspense and "adventure." .just how the martians' side could have been presented escapes me; even their thought processes would have to be so alien as to be untranslatable. .the tale would have degenerated to a sociological presentation in a monograph.
Dang bro My Kids Just give the opinion About Another Adaptation of Wells Story like Jeff Wayne, Steven Spielberg,George paul.However, there is little bit cut the Narratortion 12:24 You saying about Never Get any Further Than Just Superficially Telling Story. However No either Design are good, The Martians themselves. Okay if you want to saying everything about them!? We look at some Jeff Wayne, Indeed in the game, Martians More Like Wells Say About them but And in The live action Tour 2009 or 2010 The Martian more like octopus, Blob ,Bird Brain Like Thing, but It's okay you know. Plus the Machine, we talking About Machine, In Musical version Of The War Of the World Martians Machine Are Are very, very. Different then those Adaptation Like Mosquito,Wasp Or Moth But, The Leg Are Good At All, We're looking to Film. In the Film Martians War Machine Head Are Good More like Sea Creature like Mantaray Fish With the Little bit Hood Like Head, But. The Leg Not either good or some reason. We're looking at the mini series Of Bbc War of the world, Yes They're saying about Wells Story, The leg can be Split the part but. The Head Are good, Also The Heat Ray Are Looking Like Warping beam Which not either Consider has a Rays, Or Wil Consider Has Heat Rays, You Know? but Your opinion are good!?
The point of the story is there are no good guys. The central character is not a meaningful protagonist as his choices do not really influence events in a meaningful way. No-one wins, there is no triumph. Mankind is powerless against the Martians, no human scheme can stand against them. The invasion fails only because the Martians are vulnerable to terrestrial bacteria, something humanity had no hand in whatsoever.
It's not surprising that any critical commentary is rejected in the retelling Just look at some of the comments, that also brush it under the carpet. Don't worry about the dirty reality of colonialism, just enjoy the spectacle for the sake of entertainment. Not sure how the ending relates to the end of imperialism. Going to have to read the novel now to see if that too is something the adaptations left out!
Interesting. However the passages you quoted feel rather like the author explaining his political beliefs and trying to weave a political thread through what is a science fiction story. It is no surprise that screenplay writers ignore those thoughts and dramatise the actual story. There is probably a short film in a dramatisation of H.G. Well's life and the process of writing the book, seeing the public reaction to it, and the adaptations (if any were made during his life).
Science fiction is inherently political, though. Otherwise the writer would just write a contemporary story. Wells didn't set out to write science fiction, he set out to write a story about, 'what if someone did to us what we have been doing to other people?'. The sci-fi is just a mechanism to allow us to step back and think about the question calmly. If he had just written 'what if black people colonised white people' it would have been too inflammatory.
Well he failed in his mission, because everyone I have asked knows the war of the worlds story and none of them has read the book. His message was lost mostly because he failed to incorporate it into the storyline. Besides which, colonisation was almost never followed by a mission to exterminate, so the comparison falls pretty flat, except for the bit about being more advanced technologically.
G.H.Wells was a totally loyal Victorian British gentleman, a renowed writer admired and cherished in his society. If he ever considered Colonialism it would most likely be as a Good Thing, bringing British superior culture and civilization to bare feet dark-skinned people in Africa and India. He would praise Colonialism as a gift donated by her Majesty to those in need of Enlightenment. Wells, a revolutionary? How extraordinary, by Jove.
It’s kind of hard to take the allegories to colonialism seriously, especially nowadays since we know a lot of the "uncomfortable realities" about European colonialism are either half truths or straight up lies. So it makes sense that modern adaptations don’t include them since the old European empires are practically gone so propaganda slandering them is a mute point🤷🏻♂️
Well in the novel its more just a nod/ wink wink thing, Its not ABOUT colonialism, but it is paralleling colonialism. So no ide prefer adaptations dont yell in our faces "Colonialism is bad! You should feel horrible for existing because you were born a country founded on colonialism!" Ide prefer not XD
Strip the book of its observtion on the human condition and, well, you have a basic well written horror story. But put it back and you have a reason to write. A reason to think. A reason to see what we are for who we are and to decide if that's what we want for humanity. Well done. Thanks!
12:25
"Hey Louis, remember that time where I drove that tripod into the city"
*cut to peter driving a 2005 tripod crushing buildings and burning people*
Regardless of Wells' political inclinations, the book, radio show and numerous other presentations...the intention was surely to entertain...and all of them did that to varying degrees of success. Its now 2023 and still no one believes in life on Mars. Another very professinally produced video Catherine.
LOL, that was what Orson said when the cops came in, but we all know he had things on his mind other than "entertainment"...
I never saw the 2005 movie as just "9/11 with Aliens". Spielberg clearly gave us the feeling of inferiority and helplessness when confronted with a superior species. It plays off our primal fear of predators. That makes it, imo, a much better film than Independence Day, which is a simple "fun alien movie".
I feel that one manages to come the closest to capturing the anti-colonialism themes of the book personally, along with the 1953 and 2012 versions to an extent.
This is a great overview.
I wonder if “District 9” is sort of a “War of the Worlds” turned inside-out. Maybe that’s a reach. But it has many similar themes, but with the aliens as the victims.
Yes, good point. Partway through the video, as I considered more modern themes of racial stratification with which to update the novel's core theme, the idea of apartheid struck me - and District 9 leapt into my head too.
I think that Blomkamp must have had the War of the Worlds in mind as a reference point; even if an opposed or subverted one.
Part of the problem with the various update versions, as opposed to Wells' original, is that they all assume that the Martians' invasion is worldwide. and if the effects are international, the metaphor doesn't quite work. In the original only GB is attacked, with the Martians presumably intending to spread out by means of flying machines, thus advancing their own form of extraterrestrial imperialism.
Thus, the invaders get a taste of what's it's like to be invaded. But the metaphor doesn't quite feel the same when everybody is getting invaded all at the same time.
not only that! What Wells and in some ways this smart young man did not think of is, humans have always attacked one another to in-slave, take land and resources in its history. the Mongols who had I think the largest empire in world history were not European, nor was Islam who took 98 percent of its land mass by sword and indeed their prophet did the same. or even the great Zulu tribe who conquered other African tribes, like wise the Native tribes in north America who became empires of their own through the same methods.
There are so many parts of history where great powers came about from such actions and had to this very day mis-treated it's conquered and minorities. Least the European race have the honor of trying to stop slavery, though we know it still goes on.
Wells as a socialist will be heart broken, where those nations is suppose to be under socialism, are run by power hungry dictators, who stole the wealth of that country for themselves and their cronies.
Many times art can be understood in different ways. It’s not JUST about colonization. It’s a sci-fi masterpiece too and it’s perfectly fine to say on that level
As stated at about 1.57 in the video
Yup
But maybe if we explored the themes we are uncomfortable with we might be able to learn from history.
I believe colonialisation culture, like unregulated capitalism, is ultimately doomed to crash, like all empires.
The current trend in politics is a modern interpretation of corporate imperialism fought against civilians and in the battleground of acceptability.
There is no such future where infinite growth can be maintained.
The hubris of Atlantis is a tale that’s been forgotten for ancient aliens and grifters.
Vainglory was a sin of leadership, but power seeks to be outside scrutiny.
Yes its too much to ask. I came across your channel because I'm an old fan of Ray Harryhausen and I came across a video about how Ray Harryhausen had long wanted to do a faithful rendition of War of The Worlds. He has done some preliminary work some sketches and a short test shot using stop animation of a Martian exiting a Cylinder? You are probably already familiar. Anyway I want to compliment you on your critique and analysis of War of The Worlds; best I have ever seen or heard. I am definitely going to check out your other videos.
I don't know how the TH-cam algorithm got tripped to suggest this video to me, but here I am... now subscribed.
You make a great point! This is something i'm surprised I never thought of before. Excellent video, keep up the great work!
I'm also amused that the guy the narrator meets while hiding near a Martian landing site, the guy with Big Plans to dig in and prepare for a guerilla war against the Martian invaders, who would be a heroic protagonist in a 1930s pulp SF story, turns out to be largely delusional.
A'reyt Catherine. I really enjoyed this. I read the book when at school and the CD of the Album you showed was the first I bought, having only afforded to buy a former jukebox single of Forever Autumn, with The Fighting Machine on the B side as a kid.
I even quoted the bit about coming from Mars in comments on a recent Metatron channel video.
I was a kid at the time of the original Star Wars. The focus was on the future. The kids in my class at school were of parents from the empire that had gone. The geography teacher, Adrian Edmondson's dad, may have tried to entice us with tales from Africa, but I remember looking through my Star Wars cards, never imagining the teacher's son would later be in it.
I may have Indian ancestry, according to family rumours about Indian army origins, but that was the past. The futuristic theme of travel to another world is bound to draw the audience and generate more income.
One line from the CD from the artilleryman is "Not poems and rubbish - science" for which you could interpret not history but science fiction. You make a good case against this, but here on earth, money makes the world go round. That is why the chances of anything coming from Mars are a million to one, but still they came to Yorkshire to spy on KitKat production, I reckon.
I totally agree. Everyone (well, not quite everyone but way too many) focus sooooo exclusively on Plot other considerations such as theme or character fall by the wayside, all too often forgotten and dismissed.
Nice video. I live ten minutes walk from the house where Wells wrote WOTW in Woking. Well worth a visit as the down has a lot of monuments to him. Keep up the good work ;)
Bingo! Taught this for 40 years. Always wondered if anyone was listening or thinking.
Magnificent commentary on an aspect of this great novel which is, indeed, often overlooked. And you are quite correct; No-one to date has really got the Martians right!
I think this is some of your best work, Catherine. Well done.
Excellent video, as always 👍
Thank you for pointing out that almost every adaptation of The War of the Worlds gets the Martain designs completely wrong, as that's a problem that also extends to some cover art and illustrations of the novel both old and new. Such as how H.G. Wells hated Warwick Goble's design of the Martian Fighting Machines for the original 1897 Perason Magazine serial due to Goble's design being inaccurate to Wells' text like the fact the tripods had knees on the legs that leak green mist from the joints. So much so that Wells later wrote a paragraph in the 1898 novelization in the second chapter of Book 2 "What We Saw From The Ruined House" about his disapproval of Warwick Goble's designs and that they should disregard them and, by extension, all future illustrations as non-canon and The War of the Worlds would have been better off without them.
For adaptation that drives into the colonialism elements of H.G. Wells' novel, I highly recommend reading the Scarlet Traces comics by Dark Horse and 2000 AD. Scarlet Traces is a sequel to The War of the Worlds set 10 years after the Martian invasion of England and follows how the British Empire abuses the leftover Martian tech to place the entire Earth under the British Empire's metal heel leading to them invading Mars not out of revenge but in name colonialism after conquering all of Earth. Not to mention the Scarlet Traces team's 2006 comic adaptation of H.G. Wells' The War of the Worlds, which was commissioned by Jeff Wayne as he was doing a comic and merch deal with Dark Horse for a 2008 CGI animated film adaptation of the musical that never happened, and it's still the best adaptation of The War of the Worlds in a visual medium.
As someone who is writing my own War of the Worlds sequel novel, which even includes the Biped aliens that were used as food in the octopus Martian invaders' cylinder ships on their journey to the Earth briefly mentioned in H.G. Wells' novel in the second chapter of Book 2 "What We Saw From The Ruined House" and H.G. Wells' The Crystal Egg short story, which is often considered a prequel to The War of the Worlds, as a major story element instead of background worldbuilding. This is a great video and I'll happily share it with my co-writer. I look forward to seeing more of your videos about The War of the Worlds and you earn a sub from me.
Catherine, you make perfect sense - it is so obvious to me now. I will never view this story in the same way again!
Sound literary criticism in a very entertaining video. Thank you! 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
Loved this video. Learned so much about the context of the story and the underlying themes.
Nice work. The music is a nice touch.
This was a real eye opener. I've not read any Well's (I prefer history to fiction) but I may treat myself to a copy. 👍
Great analysis.
I mean, it only stands to reason that Martians would be pink. Little green men? er, cephalods? I don't believe a word of it. It;'s a pity about the recent BBC series: this deserves a proper budget treatment on the original theme
Alan Moore's League of Extraordinary Gentlemen got the Martians right.
Good video essay.
I've always wanted a proper adaptation of War of the Worlds, set in the period and sticking to the descriptions and themes of the novel.
Love it when Catherine drops a new video.
All good solid points. While I do understand other commenters' position on the matter of adaptation it *is* fascinating that, for the most part, social commentary in the form of satire or critical self-assessment is largely absent from the major adaptations.
And *Spielberg* of all should have known that this was a grand opportunity to do something bold like that: As you specifically mention US interventionism (the new colonialism), it's incredible that his movie touches briefly on "the terrorists" and alludes to 9/11, yet it fails utterly to explore what it was that brought about that terrible moment - *US interventionism* in the Middle East.
For a brilliant man who directed so many works of social commentary, this was surely one of the great missed opportunities?
-
And yes, the Martian thing gets me every time someone tries (and largely fails) to invent a creepy new alien format: The atrophied body and super-mind of the grotesquely-proportioned invaders from the book is itself a satirical commentary on Humankind and its potential bleak future. *sigh*
The closest thing we've ever had to an authentic depiction of the Wellsian Martian is actually in the lesser 50s alien invasion flick "Invaders From Mars", in which the telepathic Martian controller is a head with tentacles - and it's horrific! (They even have a bipedal subjugated species, although they are used as drones and cannon fodder, rather than as food on the voyage to Earth.)
Great little video. Many thanks.
And the Martians from the Pendragon adaptations, those were pretty dead-on (especially the 2012 version.)
This book has been translated into Cornish. Gwerryans an Planettys translated by Nicholas Williams. There's also a version in Northeast Scots by Sheela Blackhall.
To be fair, many adaptations just reflect the tensions of the time, and the theme of the Martians' design... Well, it's a design that would be considered cartoonish nowadays with all those cartoons and toys, I understand why they would want to change it.
With that beign said, I love this video
What the Jeff Wayne Martians? Are they accurate to the book?
@@CatherineWarr but in the mini game cutscenes you can see the Martians in the horsell common level
@@CatherineWarr fair enough
I think the Jeff Wayne musical is one of the few adaptations that accurately portrays the Martians the way they are described in the book. The others being the animated sequel, War of the Worlds: Goliath; and the 2005 Pendragon Pictures adaptation.
Also, fun fact, there was gonna be an adaptation by the great Ray Harryhausen that would have been faithful to the book. He took it to Hollywood and left it with Jesse Lasky, Jr. for six months, but they couldn't raise any money and, eventually, Cecil B. Demille gave George Pál permission to make his the 1953 adaptation we know today. Though confident that his friend George Pál would do a good job Harryhausen was still bitterly disappointed.
I would have loved to see what Harryhausen could do with it
I feel you have still missed the point of the book. It is more about how humans treat animals than about how we treat each other. Colonialism is a theme but it is only a secondary one. Wells was a lifelong vegetarian, an anti vivisectionist and was deeply concerned with animal welfare.
Your point about Martians feeding on human blood can be taken as a metaphor for colonialism but it can be taken literally to show one species killing another one for a tasty meal.
The passage you quoted:L "For that moment I touched an emotion beyond the common range of men, yet one that the poor brutes we dominate know only too well" goes on. "I felt as a rabbit might feel returning to his burrow and suddenly confronted by the work of a dozen busy navvies digging the foundations of a house."
And the second passage: ".Surely, if we have learned nothing else, this war has taught us pity-pity for those witless souls that suffer our dominion." is preceded by "(I)"crept out of the house like a rat leaving its hiding place-a creature scarcely larger, an inferior animal, a thing that for any passing whim of our masters might be hunted and killed."
Very well summarised, this stuff has been bothering me for years (though I think that the later paragraphs in book 2 are more about how we treat animals than strictly just colonialism). I will say that I think the reason most films change the appearance of the Martians is because the way they're described in the novel would be pretty hard to do in live action without looking really silly.
Love your stuff, keep it up. Learn stuff and its super entertaining.
It wasn't just the themes of colonialism that made the book legendary but the presentation of PTSD. In every alien invasion story including the unfaithful adaptations, humanity wins and everyone celebrates.
Wells' character though, doesn't have such a happy ending. Through the book, we are with him watching so many die as he's driven nearly insane by the terror of the Martians and the mental deterioration of certain characters like the Curate. Near the end, he stands in front of a Martian tripod screaming at it to put him out of his misery only to find the aliens dead from bacterial infection and collapses into a nervous breakdown. Even when reunited with his wife and the Martians' defeat, he is not fully recovered and is deeply troubled and fearful of the Martians' eventual return seeing the first invaders as simply "pioneers."
This was what I loved reading the book. Watching a character initially intrigued by the discovery of alien visitors become a broken man slowly rebuilding his mental condition following weeks of fleeing and hiding from merciless invaders.
Good take!
This is a point I have mentioned to a few people. Thankfully, it has, so far, not resulted in any heated arguments. So, my question is, how might one work these comparison "organically" into an adaptation, particularly into a visual narrative like a movie or mini-series. In the novel, Wells had the luxury to peek into the mind of his unnamed protagonist, or even at times as an omniscient narrator to express these thoughts. I may be forgetting some passages, but I don't think the protagonist discussed these disturbing parallels with any other character. How would you convey this information to the audience when the usual philosophy in visual media is to "show; don't tell", meaning, don't get bogged down with exposition. Would you opt for narration, a voice over by the lead stating his inner thoughts? Done skillfully, it could work, but I keep thinking how awkward it seemed in the David Lynch adaptation of "Dune" back in '84. Hmm, I just remembered, in George Pal's adaptation of "the Time Machine" he had star Rod Taylor as "George" do just that. He even has him look at a newspaper headline about the war in South Africa.
Mm, good point. Exposition is difficult to get right. The trick is to use it to keep the story moving and advance the plot, without having to have repeated 'time-outs' for another exposition dump. It can be done, and a good example of a movie doing this well eludes me right this second, annoyingly.
There's this wonderful 1940 radio interview with both H.G. Wells and Orson Welles! They even talk about the supposed hysteria, Adolf Hitler, and a little film Orson is working on called Citizen Kane...
Great video 👍
Great video 📹
Maybe when there's a new adaptation of this story, they could reference how Britain was once a colonized nation, by the Romans, the Germanic tribes of Northern Europe, and the Norman French.
Don't forget the Vikings...
I loved this video, thank you so much for talking about this!
As a First Nations person, I guess reading War Of The Worlds hits different. It’s fascinating to me to read so many comments expressing that they had never noticed this theme before - to me it was immediately obvious and impossible to divorce from the plot (the text itself makes it so obvious too!).
And then there are other comments still wanting to sweep it aside as “secondary” or unrelated to the plot. It seems like there is still so much cognitive dissonance amongst some non-Indigenous people and an intense urge to avoid having to examine the uncomfortable truths about colonialism that the novel tries to address.
Either way - loved it!
Thanks for another informative video. I've always thought the Tripods trilogy of novels by John Christopher was a sort of "what if the invaders had won" follow up to War of The Worlds.
As a kid, I was an avid sci-fi reader. Wells, Asimov, Bradbury, A C Clarke, Heinlein, Herbert....too many to mention. With other genres stuck on earth, sci fi had a whole universe to explore.
And as you rightly say, they could get an allegory or two in there too!
I really enjoyed those Tripods books as a kid. Never saw the BBC version, alas
Excellent piece on one of my favourite Sci-fi books Catherine.The best interpratation of the Martians physical appearance was actually in a totally different Sci-fi movie called the Trollenberg Terror. Ray Harehausen did draw up some drafts for some more acurate portrayals in the early fifties but the plans were scrapped by the studio due to budget constraints. Also, in the book the Martians used chemical weapons as well as the heat ray to devestating effect but this rarely appears in on screen adaptations ( although it was part of the BBCs adaptation ). Most of the characters in the the book are either badly portrayed or not portrayed at all in the screen versions. The only way to authentically make a screen version would be to make it very long, perhaps a trilogy, but would there be sufficient demand? I feel there wouldn't be, most audiances just want a shoot 'em up allien invaders movie.
its kinda crazy to me how frequently this aspect of the novel is forgotten given like half the passages in the text are wells basically turning to the reader and saying "Oh and by the way if you subscribe to that social darwinism bullshit, every horrifying thing I've described so far is perfectly justified in your stupid idiot worldview." like there's some real venom dripping from the book's politics and i kinda adore it for that lol. among everything else ofc
Volume two of the graphic novel 'The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen' involves Wells' Martian invasion. Nothing about colonialism but well-depicted Martians and author Alan Moore made an effort to follow the storyline as closely as he could while working with characters who are themselves characters from 19thC fiction.
Outstanding. Would you be able to recommend any resources about the book?
Thanks! I didn't use a lot of sources for this one - mostly it's all just textual analysis from the novel itself and a bit of general historical bio.
I actually have the movie by Timothy Hines that’s actually a adaptation of the book it’s pretty good but it doesn’t have any subtitles so I don’t understand what being said
What a treat! A splendid video tackling my favourite novel :D
Nice work Catherine really enjoyed it. It was always too deep a message for the rightwing flag waving drones to either want or understand. I think the 2005 version is the best adaptation considering America's history. Like avatar the message always needs wrapping in CGI and romance but the story is still underneath if you look closely. The bbc recent version was dreadful tripe. More of these types of vids would be great
Thank you. I love finding out the background to stories. I recently found out The Wizard of Oz is about capitalism. Yellow Brick Road. Gold Brick. And, Alice in Wonderland is about math. All the bizarre imagery is math paradoxes and constructs. The Cheshire Cat's smile is an old timey bridge. A catenary bridge. cat-enary, tee hee, grinning.
Are we in danger of conflating two different things here?
I agree that the original intent of a work is often missed. It's not so long ago that the Sun was complaining that kids today are so woke that they think the monster in Frankenstein was a victim (!?).
However...isn't the point of an adaptation to use the source material to comment on present day society? To loop back to your Western series, Soldier Blue was set in the old West. It didn't comment on Manifest Destiny, though, it was an explicit comment on the My Lai massacre and the subsequent Winter Soldier hearings. Based on that, can we expect that Welles (after the US had just passed three neutrality acts) would comment on imperialism? The same with Spielberg. Who would have predicted, in the later days of the 20th Century, that an unknown, faceless enemy would destroy the twin towers?
But, reading the original Shelley novel, wasn't the monster the victim of his 'father's hubris, contempt, abuse and rejection? Yes, he *chooses* to do the things he does to innocents, but not out of monstrous stupidity, out of *vengeance*. He is clearly portrayed in the first part of the story as a pitiable and innocent being. That's not how he finishes.
It's sci-fi, it's horror, but most of all, it's a tragedy.
Great review, and makes sense as much science fiction is often allegorical and a reflection on the state of society of the time.
Anybody else want to see a worthy adaptation of War of the Worlds? Just after the new Dune movie?
Why can't people make a War Of The Worlds adaptation with the ACTUAL MEANING. Its not all about money filmmakers
That's easy to say if you have a private source of $100 million. Otherwise, you are reliant on investors' money
Great video, Catherine! ( You must have been a bit sweaty after all that running..... :) )
Agreed - it is about colonialism. That said, as a New Zealander I'm very happy to be in one of the colonies of Britain!
Keep up the great work!
Impressive.
Most impressive.
Well done!
The martians were not just colonizing. Their planet was dying, they had no other choice but to leave their planet.
Why was it dying?
Maybe it was because their needs outstripped supply.
Sounds familiar.
Maybe the lesson is that not seeking sustainable existence puts societies on the path of colonialisation and ultimate fall.
Too many people say they dislike the mechanism of colonization - whilst cheerleading for expanding communism.
The adaptations also miss the point that the Martians invade out of desperation. Mars was a dying world, the Martians threw everything they had in a last ditch attempt to survive.
You definitely have made a good point here . I only read the book once . As a piece of dramatic literature ; I found it rather uninspiring . I completely agree with you about the politics . Britain by its amazing capacity for hypocrisy , has managed to get its history of slave trading and colonialism ; overlooked ; whilst at the same time managing to demonise their competitors ; for doing the same thing . As they did to Napoleon in the early 19th century . Partly this was due to the fact the British Empire generally exploited weaker peoples that were not in a position to defend themselves even in the wider circles of other Western nations . I did not know HG Wells was part of the Socialist movement of the early 20th Century though I was aware of the Fabian Society notably GB Shaw .
I think it was the lack of strong characters ; especially the main protagonist , that left me feeling uninvolved . I completely over looked the points you so clearly and explicitly point out .
Certainly the 2019 drama on BBC did a better job as a drama ; the characters were better fleshed out ; and you care what happens to them . Yes I do remember his description of the Martians , and the detailed explanation of why they had such peculiar bodies . I am content to accept your interpretation ; without revisiting the original text . I tend to read non fiction nowdays . I studied literature and history at college and have always tended to separate the two , which is probably why I missed the theme of colonialism completely . Of course this was rampant in the early 20th Century and lovers of Winston Churchill ; always downplay his overt racism and Empire loving even after it was going out of fashion in 30s and 40s Britain . He has to be the most over rated and misunderstood British politician of modern history .
Upton Sinclair, also a socialist, wrote The Jungle to expose the terrible working conditions in the meat packing industry. But people were mostly shocked by how disgusting it was, which lead to new food safety laws being passed.
“I aimed at the public's heart, and by accident I hit it in the stomach.” ― Upton Sinclair
Great take!
You did good kid!
British colonialism: JOLLY HO LADS
Martian colonialism: OOOOOOOOOOOOLAAAAAAAAAAAA
I've reread War of the Worlds many times over the decades, about every four or so years since the 60s. What the adaptations get wrong:
They don't portray it in its proper time period or location.
They shoehorn a woman companion into the plot.
They don't seem to realize the Narrator is mostly traveling alone and reflecting on what he encounters with temporary companions.
Till someone does, my favorite is the 1953 version set in California because I grew up with it and it is very good. My second favorite my be The Great Martian War (1913-1917) which I just watched yesterday, even though barely resembles anything in the book, it just looks convincing. The Speilberg tripods are the best, even though they are too large.
I'll never forgive the BBC for screwing up WotW as I thought if anyone could produce a satisfying accurate adaptation it would be them.
I have one problem with this interpretation, it's sure he touches on colonialism but he could do it not to sympathize with the conquered but more to warn the invaders of possible retaliation. He was a known Darwinist and later he even became a Eugenic, in 1901, 4 years after the publishment of War of the Worlds, he expressed his ideas on superior races in Anticipations, he stated that those who he believed were inferior should be eliminated from the society. To his defense, few years later he shifted his views and stood firm as human rights activist agains race prejudice. To sum it up, it's extremely complex to be sure what he had meant by World of the Worlds, but it's sure it's not only a book of science fiction but a social statement as well.
Politics and war have always been a part of human relationship---personal and nationally.
We might well condemn the bad (evil) side of such interactions, but it seems that as humans, we are almost bound up to follow such scenarios.
The antidote is of course, love.
Given that the whole world is now practically colonized, I don’t think the horror of the theme really resonates as well as it used to in more modern adaptations. But like with other classic stories, it leaves room up to some interpretation, so it makes sense as to why the most famous adaptations of the work tended to be made during times when threats like war and invasions were more prevalent. They’re a more resonate theme to relate to than colonialism.
After seeing Steven Spielbergs War of the World, 1950’s version, and the BBC series, I’d say Steven’s and the BBC series has the context of the story correct, but colonialism is pretty close to non existent in these adaptations, and I agree with your interpretation. H.G. Wells The War of the Worlds was actually pretty far ahead for its time and inspired a lot of sci-fi work we see now-a-days like Aliens, Independence day, Close Encounters of the third kind! Etc.
Hubret George Wells, WOW I never knew his name, You ask Why they can't get the martians right, I ask why can't they get an entire chapter right? The Thunderchild. Finally, I find it so delightfully Ironic to be talking about H.G. Wells making the horrors of colonialism plain and simple, while another country is currently trying and failing terribly on its gambit for colonialism. (not gonna mention any names but you get the idea, I think)
Thank you, I enjoyed this. I'd never considered the story in this way but it makes sense.
I am a big fan of science fiction, and I just want to give a big thanks to Wells for creating one of the most influential books in human history. But it is a shame for how it’s message has been lost to time.
Perhaps another aspect of the book often not discussed, is that despite the books dystopian characteristics, it is not a science fiction story at all. It is a dark horror story about the end of mankind.
The BBC version was very woke and had a very unlike the feeling or events of the book aspect to it. It had a specifically left leaning modern interpretation to it, which was distant from the socialism of Wells.
I felt that as much as colonialism the book also considered man as a moderately intelligent mammal and placed it in the line of evolution, as not too distant from other animals. The main character's friend, who was working class and a gardener for instance. Wells was a vegetarian.
9/11 with ailens 😂lmao
Excellent! I'm a fan of H.G. Wells, and I think you do him great justice.
Hi Catherine, I love quoting parts of the original story to people as I work in Regents Park Barracks in London.
Look it up a see what Wikipedia says 😉
Basically Regents Park Barracks was built in 1821 & is on Albany Street next to Regents Park.
Now the link.... in the book there is a line...”the sound of drumming and trumpeting came from the Albany Street Barracks”.
😁
This is quite common for Well's work. He was a socialist first and he made sure to pepper his thinking into his work. Take The Time Machine, it is an exploration of what happens to the different social classes if the divisions of capitalism remain unchanged.
Good heavens the Artilleryman! I thought you'd surely burned!
you are right about colonialism being one of welles's major points in the story. .the problem is it is almost impossible to present colonialism from one side only. .if welles could have incorporated the martians' viewpoint in the story as well it might have worked as a moral tale, but it would have failed as dramatic narration. .the complications would have drowned out the suspense and "adventure." .just how the martians' side could have been presented escapes me; even their thought processes would have to be so alien as to be untranslatable. .the tale would have degenerated to a sociological presentation in a monograph.
Dang bro My Kids Just give the opinion About Another Adaptation of Wells Story like Jeff Wayne, Steven Spielberg,George paul.However, there is little bit cut the Narratortion 12:24 You saying about Never Get any Further Than Just Superficially Telling Story. However No either Design are good, The Martians themselves. Okay if you want to saying everything about them!? We look at some Jeff Wayne, Indeed in the game, Martians More Like Wells Say About them but And in The live action Tour 2009 or 2010 The Martian more like octopus, Blob ,Bird Brain Like Thing, but It's okay you know. Plus the Machine, we talking About Machine, In Musical version Of The War Of the World Martians Machine Are Are very, very. Different then those Adaptation Like Mosquito,Wasp Or Moth But, The Leg Are Good At All, We're looking to Film. In the Film Martians War Machine Head Are Good More like Sea Creature like Mantaray Fish With the Little bit Hood Like Head, But. The Leg Not either good or some reason. We're looking at the mini series Of Bbc War of the world, Yes They're saying about Wells Story, The leg can be Split the part but. The Head Are good, Also The Heat Ray Are Looking Like Warping beam Which not either Consider has a Rays, Or Wil Consider Has Heat Rays, You Know? but Your opinion are good!?
Please do more H.G. Wells. And other 19th century science fiction.
So the martians are the good guys?
The point of the story is there are no good guys. The central character is not a meaningful protagonist as his choices do not really influence events in a meaningful way. No-one wins, there is no triumph. Mankind is powerless against the Martians, no human scheme can stand against them. The invasion fails only because the Martians are vulnerable to terrestrial bacteria, something humanity had no hand in whatsoever.
This makes me hate the movie Independence Day more.
⚘Very Cool and Very Interesting..
No I don't think it is.
It's not surprising that any critical commentary is rejected in the retelling
Just look at some of the comments, that also brush it under the carpet.
Don't worry about the dirty reality of colonialism, just enjoy the spectacle for the sake of entertainment.
Not sure how the ending relates to the end of imperialism.
Going to have to read the novel now to see if that too is something the adaptations left out!
I'll claim your interpretation is the best.
Wells did have a "Noble Savage" attitude; but we're all the same... which is why we now reject colonialism...
Starship troopers probably came closer to this theme than any movie, science fiction or other
Yeess finally 1000%
Slay
Jeff wayne and Spielbergs WoTW's are seen too much as gospel or the most accurate
Interesting. However the passages you quoted feel rather like the author explaining his political beliefs and trying to weave a political thread through what is a science fiction story. It is no surprise that screenplay writers ignore those thoughts and dramatise the actual story. There is probably a short film in a dramatisation of H.G. Well's life and the process of writing the book, seeing the public reaction to it, and the adaptations (if any were made during his life).
Leaving out the contemporary political aspect didn't make the films any better, though.
Science fiction is inherently political, though. Otherwise the writer would just write a contemporary story. Wells didn't set out to write science fiction, he set out to write a story about, 'what if someone did to us what we have been doing to other people?'. The sci-fi is just a mechanism to allow us to step back and think about the question calmly. If he had just written 'what if black people colonised white people' it would have been too inflammatory.
Well he failed in his mission, because everyone I have asked knows the war of the worlds story and none of them has read the book. His message was lost mostly because he failed to incorporate it into the storyline. Besides which, colonisation was almost never followed by a mission to exterminate, so the comparison falls pretty flat, except for the bit about being more advanced technologically.
@@radman8321 'I told you so, you bloody fools' is supposed to be what he wanted on his grave.
This was a fantastic video-some great points made about colonialism!
G.H.Wells was a totally loyal Victorian British gentleman, a renowed writer admired and cherished in his society. If he ever considered Colonialism it would most likely be as a Good Thing, bringing British superior culture and civilization to bare feet dark-skinned people in Africa and India. He would praise Colonialism as a gift donated by her Majesty to those in need of Enlightenment. Wells, a revolutionary? How extraordinary, by Jove.
It’s kind of hard to take the allegories to colonialism seriously, especially nowadays since we know a lot of the "uncomfortable realities" about European colonialism are either half truths or straight up lies. So it makes sense that modern adaptations don’t include them since the old European empires are practically gone so propaganda slandering them is a mute point🤷🏻♂️
Well in the novel its more just a nod/ wink wink thing, Its not ABOUT colonialism, but it is paralleling colonialism. So no ide prefer adaptations dont yell in our faces "Colonialism is bad! You should feel horrible for existing because you were born a country founded on colonialism!" Ide prefer not XD
No it’s not it’s about veganism