E.T. Positive and Negative Messages

Michael Knowlton

Blog 4

E.T., the Positives and Negatives

                “E.T.” is about an alien that lands in a forest in California and is accidentally left behind by his own. The alien then goes to a nearby community where he encounters Elliot. Elliot is a young boy that takes the alien into his home and begins to take care of him and hide him from his mom. Eventually Elliot names the alien E.T. and tells his older brother, Michael, and his younger sister, Gertie, about E.T. While in Elliot’s home, E.T. learns how to communicate and tells Elliot that he needs to go back home. Elliot helps E.T. build a communication device and protects him from government forces trying to get to E.T. Finally, E.T. is reunited with his family safely and is sent back home thanks to Elliot, Michael, and their friends. Although E.T. is classic film and very appreciated, there are both positive and negative messages within the movie.

There are quite a few of positive messages, but the one that stands out the most is that we should accept others even if they look different. This is most likely the main message that the film is trying to send to its viewers. Instead of trying to kill the alien or scare it away, Elliot attempts to befriend him. Although Elliot did get scared at first glance, he eventually brought E.T. into his home and taught him about Earth and the way things work. One of the first scenes of E.T. in the house, we are shown Elliot slowly getting E.T. into his room and trying not to scare him. Elliot then gives E.T. a blanket so he can sleep in a warm environment instead of sleeping outside in the cold. Elliot then fakes that he is sick to his mom and spends the whole day trying to teach E.T. different aspects of life. For example, he explained what Coka-Cola is and even made him a sandwich with chips and a Coke. These are all signs of friendship and accepting someone into your life. He took care of E.T., taught him new things, gave him food, and kept him safe. Another example that shows that they were friends was when they were under medical care. Eventually, the doctors began moving Elliot away from E.T. Elliot then proceeded to scream at them and yelling at them, “Don’t hurt him!” Obviously, since they were friends, it is clear to see that Elliot accepted E.T. into his life and bonded with him over time. Although this film does have a positive message of making friends with everyone, it also has a few negative messages.

               

The most glaring negative message was the idea that it is ok to let unknown people/ things into your house. When Elliot first encounters E.T. in the middle of the night, he brings him inside the house. Instead, he could have brought blankets for E.T. to stay in the shed. Also, along with this, the film also says that it is ok to keep secrets from your parents. Elliot’s mom never finds out about E.T. until the end of the movie. Him, his brother, and sister kept E.T. a secret from his mom which could have led to many bad things. E.T. could have taken them away, he could have killed them, or he could have destroyed their home. The film basically is sending the message that it is ok to hide living things in your house without your parents knowing. Obviously, this message could lead to many dangerous outcomes. It could lead to a young boy or girl letting in a total stranger off the streets, or even letting in a dangerous wild animal into their home.  This message can cause many issue to young viewers and could worry parents.

                When I watched this film as I kid, I did not notice half of the things I did watching it a second time. All the different jokes and references that are considered inappropriate for a child were in the movie. Although these jokes might not be appropriate for a younger audience, it did make the movie a lot more entertaining and fun to watch.