| MEN IN BLACK |
| Michael Harris ENG 101 Oct. 19, 2001 Literature Critical Analysis By pointing out that the world is often not as it appears, the novella, Men in Black, pokes fun at modern, American society. In doing so, it leaves almost no stone unturned as it spoofs, amony many things, bureacracy (the United States government and its agencies such as the FBI), modern gadgetry, cosmetic surgery, our desire for cultural conformity, tabloid newspapers, TV cop shows, quiz show trivia, and American xenophobia. By constantly turning the ordinary into the extraordinary and the mundane into the fantastic, Men in Black questions our sense of "what is reality?" This novelization by J.J Gardner, from the screenplay by Ed Soloman, is heavy-handed satire disguised as light, comedic, science fiction. Strangly paralleling the current feelings of fear that prevail in the United States because of terrorist bombings and the threat of biological warfare, this book version of the movie Men in Black, contains the age-old theme of good versus evil. It also evokes the feeling of panic that accompanies the impending destruction of the planet Earth. From the first page of the book, the reader has a feeling of uneasines and imminent doom. Given this information, one would think that the book is serious drama, but it is a satire that was written in 1997 by an author whose foresight is directed towards America's gullibility, penchant for superheroes, involvment in political wars, and ever increasing involvement in technology. The plot is simple. Two men, both superheroes and renegades, have to save the earth from destruction, but within this simple plot there is substantial satire that pokes fun at American society. According to M.H. Abrams "satire can be described as the literary art of diminishing or derogating a subject by making it ridiculous and evoking toward it attitudes of amusement... laughter is used as a weapon" (167). Accordingly, Men in Black satirize is America's uneasiness with strangers - our collective xenophobia. The story opens with a nervous truck driver who is carrying a load of illegal aliens across the Mexican / Texan border. On the first page of the book, we have a foreshadowing of an insect invasion as Federal agents who surround the driver of the truck are described as, "insects... the kind that splatter across your windshield across your windshield suddenly and without warning..." There seems to be a parallel between the alien insects that are revealed later in the book, and the illegal aliens who pour into the United States on a daily basis. For example, problems with not speaking the English language are referred to frequently. The illegal Mexicans at thte beginning of the story "don't speak English," but a suspicious Mexican who does not speak "a word of Spanish" (Gardner 4; ch.1) is revealed to be a known alien (from outer space) who replies with "grunts, squeaks and saliva- not in English or Spanish" (5; ch.1). Additionally, later in the book, there is a discussion regarding an alien, whose "English wasn't so good" (85;ch.15). Xenophobia, prevails throughout the story. Suspicion and hatred toward others who appear different or foreign is manifested through a hatred of the alien, intergalactic insects that are living on Earth in various disguises. When the Men in Black discover that an intergalactic bug is out to destroy the earth, the character of Kay says, "Bugs thrive on carnage... they consume, infest, destroy. They live off the death and decay of other species." To with Jay, his partner, replies, "So basically you have a racial problem with all insect-based life-forms?" (59;ch.9). Our preoccupation with "bigger is better" is expressed through the character of an alien in the form of a Pug dog who says, "You humans... When're you going to learn that size doesn't matter. Just 'cause something's important doesn't mean that it's not very, very small" (85). Our workable ethic is expressed by being on "Centaurian time." When the push is on to find the villainous "Bug" who will destroy the earth, one of the men at MiB headquarters, explains that they are on, "Centaurian time... thirty-seven- hour days (73) He adds, "Give it a few months and you'll get used to it. Or you'll have a psychotic episode." The humor and absurdity of the satire is expressed through the fact that ordinary humans are contantly turing into gruesome aliens. These aliens are using Earth as an "apolitical zone" for those of them who are without a planet, thus a reference is made to the movie Casablanca. The absurdity of an alien disguised as the Pug dog, is further exemplified when the Pug, who is leaving the planet Earth, tells Kay that he has to, "be walked before the flight" and that he, "pulled out a tiny suitcase... and scurried away," (85; ch.15). Finally, the arch antagonist, "Bug" has been disguised throughout most of the story as a farmer named Edgar. Our fascination with weapons is revealed through an artillery of "multi-barreled handguns" (75), "a series four de-atomizer, a Noisy Cricket" (70) and the ever-present "neuralyser." The author pokes fun of Velcro, Microwave ovens and Liposuction. Aliens carry luggage and immigration documents and pass by a human customs agent when they decide to leave Earth after learning that it is in danger of being blown up. The ultimate slap in the face towards mankind comes when two warring alien spaceships position themselves on either side of Earth. They proceed to fire at each other by piercing Earth with the beams from their weapons. Why? Because one of the alien tribes has violated the protocol of the Andromeda Convention and the treaty "requires that the antagonists meet in a part of the universe devoid of intelligent life-forms" (97). In the epilogue, the author says, "From the outer reaches of the univers, everything seems to be contained in one tiny ball, one marble, resting on a patch of red dirt." This fast, tightly written novella by J.J. Gardener, from the screenplay by Ed Solomon, warns us in a satirical fashion to never take anything at face value, to look beneath the human veneer for deeper truth, even if it scares us. Works Cited Abrams, A.H. A Glossary of Literary Terms. 6th ed. Fort Worth: Texas Harcourt Brace & Company, 1993. Berardinelli, James. "Men In Black." A Film Review by james Berardinelli 2 July 1997 <http://www.movie-reviews.colossus.net/movies/m/mib.html> Gardener, J.J. MIB: Men In Black. New York: Scholastic Inc., 1997. Maslin, Janet. "Men In Black." New York Times on the Web 1 July 1997 <http://www.ask.com/main/followup.asp?qcat=Men+In+Black&qsrc> |
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