Kolda Mars Attacks

Mars Attacks! came out right after Independence Day, which is a film about the human race coming together to defeat the aliens, and uses patriotism as a source of drama and pride. In Mars Attacks!, all traces of patriotism are destroyed and then regarded by the aliens as a joke. The lack of drama about the deaths of all the characters makes the film feel much lighter and funnier. The makers of this film clearly do not take themselves too seriously, which is refreshing. And the Hollywood super stars in the movie are also poking fun at the “invincibility” of stardom. Most of them sre killed by aliens along the way. And with the invincibility of stardom, the invincibility of the government is also made fun of. 

 The government is portrayed as powerless in the scene where the alien Prime Minister issues his formal apology and then zaps the entire congress to red and green bits. This powerlessness is further shown in the failure of the nuclear missal, which was simply captured and inhaled by the aliens while they laughed at the impotence of the military. It is funny because the general was so forceful with the president to sign the agreement to use the missal because he was absolutely sure it would take the aliens down. But indeed it did not. There wasn’t even much of an explosion.

 Jack Nicholson is the all-important leader of the Unites States of America but also a big-talking hustler in Las Vegas. Tim Burton is pointing out that the people with government positions have shadows just as much as every one else. This double Jack Nicholson appearance also confuses the audience and makes them think that maybe it is the same person; that he is deceiving the public to think that he is a purely good man, when in reality he is not. This deception might make sense, as the aliens also use this tactic. They tell the humans not to run and that they come in peace right before frying everyone to death, which is a little bit like the way the U.S. government is viewed.