Them or Us: Archetypal Interpretations of Fifties Alien Invasion Films

by Patrick Lucanio

Preface
Science fiction & horror
Myths & motifs of the monster movie
Iconography % convention
Meaning & value
Conclusion
Notes
Bibliography
Filmography
Index

207 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1987

Reviews

[Mia]

An interesting analysis but I was not convinced by Luciano's argument for a Jungian methodology being the "proper" way to analyse 50s alien invasion films.

[Fraser Sherman · Rating 1 out of 5]

If I'd realized this book is literally about 1950s alien invasion movies as embodiments of Jungian archetypes, I wouldn't have bothered. This is the kind of pretentious waffling Monty Python once mocked as "clever people who talk loudly in restaurants." When the kid protagonist of 1953's "Invaders From Mars" tries warning people something's wrong it's not a kid warning people that Martians have landed, it's “the eruption of the self archetype into consciousness.”
I also fault Luciano for lumping SF monster movies in with alien invaders (though from a Jungian perspective I suppose they may function the same) and declaring that nobody before him has devoted any thought to the boundaries between SF and horror; genre buffs devote a lot of attention to that stuff, actually.

[Erik Graff · Rating 2 out of 5]

Years ago I aspired to be an analytical psychologist and, in preparation for this, read The Collected Works of C.G. Jung and many other books pertaining to depth psychology. This interest culminated in a book-length paper concerning the Kantian roots of Jung's thinking and pretty much stopped there. I'd gotten what I could get out of it and moved on to other fields. Still, old friends imagine I remain enthusiastic about Jung and his followers.

One such old friend mailed me this book. Not being very much interested in Jung any more, I picked it up mostly because of its subject matter, namely science fiction films of the fifties and sixties. Having been quite a fan of such films as a little kid, I was hoping for a trip down memory lane and, in fact, this book did deliver in that regard. What the author had to say about Jung, however, was mostly a distraction, his understanding of the psychiatrist being rather routine, his book being like hundreds of others applying the principles of analytical psychology to this, that or the other thing.

[Kathy Davidson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This booked has a list of things an alien invasion story should have. It is also entertaining.