English
The cult classic 1958 film “The Blob” starring a young Steve McQueen, is not only interesting to watch, it also gives the viewer a number of insights into that era. The milieu in Post World War II America is the dominant sign in the film. The era is the signified and there are a number of signifiers. The film begins with the theme song “Beware of the Blob, it creeps and leaps” and the viewer is made aware of the fascination for monsters that Americans had during that period. Spook movies as they were called were very popular and this is conveyed through the movie that is being shown at the movie theater in the film. Interest in the unknown, outer space and extraterrestrials is projected through the landing of the shooting star and the emergence of the blob from within; this is the second signifier. The red colored Blob is also the metaphor and metonymy of Communism. It was the McCarthy era; the Cold War with the Soviet Union was ongoing. There is an all pervading fear of Communism taking over the United States if not the entire world and the need to stop its progress is essential.
The 1950s small town America was a good place to be. The symbols of the burgeoning new consumerism, another signifier, are evident. The film opens with Steve and Jane, a young couple parked in a car on a hilltop ostensibly to watch for shooting stars. They actually witness something from the sky land with a loud bang but cannot locate it. This episode is the signifier of the American interest in the unknown. There had been many reports on UFO sightings at that time. And this runaway hit film is a tale of horror and the havoc wreaked on the small town by a soul-less, vertebrae-less, faceless monster. Paradigmatically we have a peaceful small town on the one hand and the terrifying Blob on the other.
America during the period depicted in the film had just come out of the Second World War and the Korean War. Its new consumerism is evident throughout. Steve’s family has two cars; the departmental store has rows and rows of shelves packed with goods, the cold storage is filled with hanging legs of ham; movie theaters and diners are air conditioned. These are all signifiers of post war American consumerism. Sgt Richie’s late night chess games over the radio, another signifier, gives indications of the advances in technology and its use in entertainment. The doctor’s chamber with its modern equipments showcases the progress in science.
The juxtaposition of the movie hall filled with viewers watching a horror film and the Blob sliding in through the air conditioning duct is intertextuality that adds to the thrill factor. The Blob completely encases the diner where Steve, Jane and the others are hiding and it is the carbon dioxide of a fire extinguisher that stops its progress. The gas from more than two dozen extinguishers finally freezes the Blob and Lt Dave gets the help of the Air Force to transport it to the Arctic so that it stays frozen forever. This episode is the signifier of America’s win over the threat of Communism; its ability to contain it and remove it from close proximity.
Sgt Bertie of the police force is a representative of the war veterans who lived in America, a part of society but apart, since their experiences at the war had left them bitter and with a chip on their shoulder. “I think they’ve got it for me. They’ve heard about my war recordand they want to break me down to see what makes me tick” he tells his colleague Sgt Richie. Lt Dave’ comment “He acts like he is still fighting the war” signifies the aggression that is still suppressed within all the war veterans.
“The Blob is both a typical low-budget film of its era and unusually bold: its use of colour and simple special effects are highly effective, and the title monster is all the more watchable because of its simplicity”(Lambie, 2015). Within the simplicity of this red gelatinous mass lies the message about that era; that of the threat of Communism, a signifier. The Blob starts off as a white gelatinous mass but as the film progresses and as it swallows one victim after another it gets larger and redder. This symbolizes the growing threat of Communism as perceived by Americans during that period, particularly the powers that be in McCarthy’s counsel. The Blob ultimately becomes so huge that it engulfs the entire diner where Steve, Jane and the others are hiding. The political connotations are all the more apparent in the last conversation in the film between Lt Dave and Steve: “It’s not dead is it?””No, it’s not, just frozen. I don’t think it can be killed but at least we got it stopped.””Yeah, as long as the Arctic stays cold.” This aptly signifies the fear Americans had about Communism and the need to keep it at bay and the underlying fear that it could rear its ugly head again..
Works Cited
Lambie, Ryan. The Strange History of the Blob Movies. January 29, 2015 Retrieved on May 7, 2016 from
http://www.denofgeek.com/movies/the-blob/33809/the-strange-history-of-the-blob-movies#ixzz47ntwFjPS
Dialogues from the film The Blob, Director Irvin S Yeaworth Jr. September 1958 Retrieved on May 7, 2016 from
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xlt3zd_the-blob_shortfilms
Works Cited
Kellogg’s Sugar Frosted Flakes: They’re Gr-r-reat. 1982 Accessed on December 8, 2015
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dxHK7z99zYo
Kellogg’s Frosted Flakes: Show Your Stripes. 2015 Accessed on December 8, 2015
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qsCp4XUs2ps
