MovieChat Forums > The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951) Discussion > what do you think Klatuu used to make it...

what do you think Klatuu used to make it stop?


When Klatuu stopped everything on the planet at noon for 30 minutes, what do you think was used? references to other sci-fi films would be fine to explain the technology as I know it wasn't mentioned in this film. Just curious as to how it would be accomplished and I'm sure it could be done for longer than 30 minutes as he just did it for a short time to prove his point

"What are we supposed to use? Harsh language?"

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I used to ponder this question over the years and have come to this conclusion: The technology Klaatu used to stop everything is known in the world he came from but not on earth. We here on this planet have not advanced enough to even begin to understand how he did it.

Bottom line...I give up.

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To use a joke from the reviewer SFDebris "Well, y'know... Quantum."

I would wager it has something to do with the fundamental understanding of the smallest forms of quantum mechanics, string theory, things of that nature. The capacity to manipulate the most base particles that make up matter and energy. If you could suspend their activity in a very fine-tuned and controlled way, it's possible you could freeze up all machinery.


Though I don't think it would be possible to be selective. That seems a bit too wizardian and convenient.

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He used the power from the Higgs boson.

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What about an EMP like in Goldeneye and View to a Kill?

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EMPs would destroy everything electronic, not temporarily render them powerless. Remember that airplanes and (I think) hospitals were left unmolested.

Just some alien technology that requires we suspend our disbelief for. In reality, it's probably against the laws of physics to do what he did in any time period or technology.

It is bad to drink Jobu's rum. Very bad.

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[deleted]

Perhaps some sort of EM-device or weapon. It is known from cases of encounters of people with UFOs (flying discs, or so called flying "saucers") that cars stop working when in vicinity of those flying objects. Devices on airplanes have been known to stop completely, i.e. they stop working (see the Tehran military UFO encounter, 1976); or car engines completely shut down; radio and other electronic devices start malfunctioning or completely stop working. So, assuming those real world flying objects are of some very advanced (possibly alien) origin (yes, alien, no matter how incredible that may sound--there's more than enough evidence accumulated over the past decades to support that theory), we could then very well imagine that Klaatu, since he is coming from a very advanced civilization, uses some sort of device (or devices) that achieves similar effects those objects achieve when they are in close proximity of our vehicles and electrical devices, only on a massive scale.

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[deleted]

It was 30 minutes, not 20. In the elevator when the power went out, he said "It must be 12:00." She acknowledged that it was. Later when the lights came back on, he remarked "it must be 12:30." She looked at her watch and said, "exactly."

"Cum Grano Salis"

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He used an interocitor.

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