The Day the Earth Stood Still

This 1951 science fiction film looks hokey, perhaps cheesy, at first glance. But, after taking time to reflect on the movie, one can recognize the innovative ideas that it introduced to filmmaking and the universal ideas that it addresses. Peace is the prominent theme that characters reveal

A strange turn of events brings a spaceship down into the heart of the people. The first being to make its entrance is an alien named Klaatu. His greeting upon arrival is an attempt to offer a gift to the president. This gesture is misjudged and someone shoots at the hero of the film. A robot immediately immerges from the ship and melts the weapons of the soldiers who are standing guard. Klaatu soon heals and escapes from confinement in a hospital to live among the people under an alias. He chooses the name ‘Carpenter’ and seeks shelter with a family of people who rent rooms. Our hero seeks out and converses with a scientific leader to find a way to communicate with the entire world and encourage a new wave of peace on earth. To begin the process, Klaatu stunts electricity in everything but flying planes and hospitals and any place that lives depended on it. This would