MovieChat Forums > Things to Come (1936) Discussion > "We're going to stop your war...."

"We're going to stop your war...."

posted 8 years ago by Blueghost
2 replies | jump to latest

By bombing you with our air force and gas bombs to get you come to the future.

That's the thing I don't get about this movie. The Wings over the World people are going to stop warring nations by bombing them with chemical weapons? By employing an air force and using the exact same military tactics that got them mired in a 40 year long war in the first place?

I don't know about anyone else, but I furl my brow at that.

That, and how come the fighters didn't have any effect on the "gas of peace" bombers? And even one fighter was "shot down" for no reason from the "gas of peace" bombers?

I mean the film is a marvel to look at and watch, but thematically it's flawed to the core; "We're going to stop your war by moving in our guys and bombing you." I mean talk about the pot calling the kettle black.

[–] liscarkat (16592) 2 years ago

It's kind of like Klaatu in "The Day the Earth Stood Still". His planet has evolved to a peaceful existence, and if we on Earth don't immediately shape up they're going to destroy us.

Then there's the U.S.S. Enterprise. "We're here...on a peaceful mission." (But our ship has a zillion megatons of destructive force waiting to be unleashed at the touch of a button, just in case you guys don't want to get with the program.)

[–] ElizabethJoestar (943) 2 years ago

Yeah, it's one of the things that makes Welles' utopia rather disturbing. I haven't read enough to know whether he meant that to be ironic or if it is a case of the pot unknowingly calling the kettle black.