Long Live Paranoia.
Paranoia has always played in important part in good science fiction stories. It has been used to great effect over the years and has often been at the centre of the plot.
In the fifties it was at the heart of some classic films. ‘Invasion of the Body Snatchers’, ‘The Thing from Another world’ and ‘It Came from Outer Space’ all had strong themes of paranoia. They walk unseen among us was probably the most popular storyline in films of that period and it worked a treat. It has since been blamed on the Americans fear of Communist activity in their country. Whether this is actually true or not is debatable but at the end of the day it doesn’t even matter; whatever it was that influenced these movies made them into masterpieces.
Paranoia is still just as effective in sci-fi cinema and many of those old films have been remade (often more than once). In the sixties the television series, ‘The Invaders’ also made great use of the theme. The idea of one man knowing that aliens had already landed on our world made compulsive viewing. The popular show ran for several years and it still has a strong cult following today. The star of the series, Roy Thinnes, even made a cameo appearance in ‘The X Files’ where he (ironically and paradoxically) played the part of an alien stranded on Earth.
There are certain elements of storytelling and cinema that have remained unchanged and this is how it should be. If something works then you do not fix it. The fear of not knowing if someone is who or what they appear to be is a brilliant premise for a film.
Good news everyone, I’ve been paid for that last photography job that I did, you all know what that means, it’s about time to hit the high streets and pick up that new pair of asics running shoes that I have been waiting to get. Irene, are you up for a quality time this weekend?
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