Within Hope vs Fear
Across Steven Spielberg’s UFO and alien films, children are not simply side characters who make extraterrestrial stories more accessible. They function as moral instruments. Again and again, Spielberg measures the meaning of alien contact through what happens to children and through how adults respond to them.
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Why Children Become the Test of Contact
Spielberg’s alien stories frequently place children closer to the unknown than adults. Adults often arrive carrying prejudice, bureaucracy, obsession or panic. Children approach the unfamiliar with fewer assumptions. This does not mean Spielberg presents children as wiser than adults. Rather, he uses their reactions to expose whether contact is creating understanding or destroying it.
In the hopeful films, children recognise personhood before institutions do. They respond to the alien as a living being deserving care. In the darker films, children become the vulnerable population whose fear exposes the cost of invasion. The result is a recurring pattern: the moral quality of an alien encounter is judged not by technology or spectacle but by what it does to childhood. [SYFY]syfy.comhow et the extra terrestrial imagined a kinder first contactHow E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial Imagined a Kinder First Contact25 Oct 2023 — Steven Spielberg's E.T. the Extraterrestrial imagined ali…
Elliott and Protective Empathy
The clearest example appears in E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial. Elliott discovers a frightened alien and immediately confronts a choice. He can reveal the creature to adults who may treat it as an object of investigation, or he can protect it. Spielberg structures the film so that Elliott’s decision becomes the audience’s moral guide.
The bond between Elliott and E.T. is not based on scientific curiosity. It is based on emotional identification. Their famous psychic connection allows Elliott to experience the alien’s feelings and vulnerabilities, transforming first contact into an exercise in empathy rather than conquest. The relationship encourages viewers to see the extraterrestrial not as a threat but as a being capable of loneliness, fear and affection. [Musings of a Middle-Aged Geek]musingsofamiddleagedgeek.blogMusings of a Middle-Aged GeekRevisiting Steven Spielberg's “E.T.” after 40 years…June 30, 2022 — 30 Jun 2022 — Elliott is also empathical…
This child-centred perspective also shapes Spielberg’s portrayal of authority. Government agents and scientists are not presented as villains in a simple sense, but they arrive through containment procedures, quarantine measures and surveillance. Elliott’s protective instinct becomes the standard against which adult behaviour is measured. The question is not whether the adults are technically correct. The question is whether they can recognise the alien’s humanity as quickly as a child can. [Musings of a Middle-Aged Geek]musingsofamiddleagedgeek.blogMusings of a Middle-Aged GeekRevisiting Steven Spielberg's “E.T.” after 40 years…June 30, 2022 — 30 Jun 2022 — Elliott is also empathical…
Within the larger contrast between friendly and hostile aliens, E.T. suggests that successful contact depends on preserving childlike empathy. Communication begins not through power but through care.
Barry and Traumatic Wonder
Close Encounters of the Third Kind offers a more complicated version of the same idea. Barry Guiler is fascinated by the strange lights and objects associated with the UFO presence. Critics and commentators have long noted that Barry’s openness represents a childlike willingness to engage with the unknown, while adults struggle to interpret what they are seeing. Spielberg himself connected the film’s communication theme to tolerance and openness toward difference. [Wikipedia]WikipediaClose Encounters of the Third KindClose Encounters of the Third Kind
Yet Barry’s story also reveals the ambiguity of Spielberg’s early UFO imagination. His abduction is simultaneously wondrous and frightening. The sequence is staged from the perspective of a terrified parent, Jillian, turning what might have been a purely magical event into a nightmare of helplessness. Several analyses of the film emphasise the tension between wonder and terror in Barry’s disappearance. [Scott Holleran]scottholleran.comScott HolleranMovie Analysis: Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977)4 Sept 2017 — The scenes in which Barry is seized from his mother… [Reverse Shot]reverseshot.orgclose encounters third kindClose Encounters of the Third Kind24 Apr 2012 — Yet outside of three year-old Barry's chillingly voluntary abduction, there are scarcely…
This duality matters because it prevents Close Encounters from becoming naïve. The aliens are not judged solely by their apparent friendliness. Instead, Spielberg asks viewers to hold two emotions at once:
- Barry experiences curiosity and attraction.
- His mother experiences fear and loss.
- The audience must decide how much trust to place in beings that inspire both reactions.
By the film’s conclusion, Barry is returned unharmed, helping establish the aliens as fundamentally benevolent. Yet the memory of the abduction remains important. Spielberg suggests that even positive contact can be disruptive and emotionally costly. Children reveal both the promise and the danger of reaching beyond human experience. Reddit [Scott Holleran]scottholleran.comScott HolleranMovie Analysis: Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977)4 Sept 2017 — The scenes in which Barry is seized from his mother…
Rachel and Survival Panic
The role of children changes dramatically in War of the Worlds. Here, there is no meaningful dialogue with the extraterrestrials. Communication collapses before it begins. As a result, children no longer function as bridges to the unknown. They become the people adults must save from it.
Rachel Ferrier, played by Dakota Fanning, is central to Spielberg’s reimagining of H. G. Wells’s invasion story. The film repeatedly filters catastrophic events through her fear, confusion and vulnerability. Rather than focusing on military resistance or scientific explanation, Spielberg keeps returning to the emotional experience of a child trapped inside an incomprehensible disaster. [Wikipedia]WikipediaWar of the Worlds (2005 filmWar of the Worlds (2005 film
Rachel’s terror serves a narrative purpose beyond suspense. It becomes a measure of adult responsibility. Ray Ferrier’s growth as a father is tested through his ability to protect his daughter. Unlike Elliott’s story, where a child teaches adults how to empathise, War of the Worlds asks whether adults can maintain empathy during panic.
The contrast with E.T. is revealing:
Friendly ContactInvasion ContactChild reaches toward the alienChild retreats from the alienCuriosity drives the storySurvival drives the storyEmpathy creates connectionFear creates urgencyAdults risk harming the alienAliens threaten the child
Through Rachel, Spielberg transforms the invasion narrative into a family drama. The aliens are judged not by what they say but by the fear they produce in the most vulnerable people. [Wikipedia]WikipediaE.T. the Extra TerrestrialE.T. the Extra-TerrestrialIt tells the story of Elliott, a boy who befriends an extraterrestrial that he names E.T. who has been stran…
Children as Spielberg’s Moral Compass
Looking across these films, a consistent pattern emerges. Children occupy the emotional centre of alien contact because they reveal what adults are becoming.
In Close Encounters, Barry’s wonder challenges adult fear while exposing the risks hidden inside fascination. In E.T., Elliott demonstrates that compassion is the prerequisite for meaningful contact. In War of the Worlds, Rachel shows what happens when contact becomes pure threat and empathy is reduced to the struggle to survive. [SYFY]syfy.comhow et the extra terrestrial imagined a kinder first contactHow E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial Imagined a Kinder First Contact25 Oct 2023 — Steven Spielberg's E.T. the Extraterrestrial imagined ali…
This is why children remain so important within Spielberg’s UFO cinema. They are not merely audience surrogates. They are ethical measuring devices. Friendly aliens are ultimately validated when children can safely preserve their openness and empathy. Invasion aliens are condemned because they force childhood into fear. By watching what happens to children, Spielberg asks a larger question about humanity itself: when confronted with the unknown, do we respond with care or with panic? The answer determines whether contact becomes a miracle or a catastrophe. [SYFY]syfy.comhow et the extra terrestrial imagined a kinder first contactHow E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial Imagined a Kinder First Contact25 Oct 2023 — Steven Spielberg's E.T. the Extraterrestrial imagined ali… [Wikipedia]WikipediaClose Encounters of the Third KindClose Encounters of the Third Kind
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The UFO Experience
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One of the most influential books on UFO culture and the mystery-oriented approach echoed in Spielberg's work.
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Endnotes
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Source: Wikipedia
Title: Close Encounters of the Third Kind
Link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Close_Encounters_of_the_Third_Kind -
Source: syfy.com
Title: how et the extra terrestrial imagined a kinder first contact
Link: https://www.syfy.com/syfy-wire/how-et-the-extra-terrestrial-imagined-a-kinder-first-contactSource snippet
How E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial Imagined a Kinder First Contact25 Oct 2023 — Steven Spielberg's E.T. the Extraterrestrial imagined ali...
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Source: reddit.com
Title: close encounters of the third kind spielberg
Link: https://www.reddit.com/r/movies/comments/rgp6g3/close_encounters_of_the_third_kind_spielberg/Source snippet
As for whether he's abandoned his family forever, I'd point to the journey they took Barry (the little kid) on. They lured him out of his...
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Source: Wikipedia
Title: War of the Worlds (2005 film)
Link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_of_the_Worlds_%282005_film%29 -
Source: reddit.com
Title: war of the worlds 2005 is a great movie but
Link: https://www.reddit.com/r/movies/comments/lpcpmv/war_of_the_worlds_2005_is_a_great_movie_but/Source snippet
War Of The Worlds (2005) is a great movie but goddamn if...Keep in mind Dakota Fanning's character is losing her shit in the middle of a...
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Source: reddit.com
Title: I disagree with most people
Link: https://www.reddit.com/r/TrueFilm/comments/1i6frdd/i_disagree_with_most_people_including_steven/Source snippet
including Steven SpielbergSpielberg has gone on record that he dislikes how he wrote the family drama in CEOT3K. family behind to go with...
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Source: Wikipedia
Title: E.T. the Extra Terrestrial
Link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E.T._the_Extra-TerrestrialSource snippet
E.T. the Extra-TerrestrialIt tells the story of Elliott, a boy who befriends an extraterrestrial that he names E.T. who has been stran...
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Source: youtube.com
Title: Why I would show E.T. The Extra Terrestrial to ALIENS (VIDEO ESSAY)
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EIcrxBvptQISource snippet
E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial | E.T. Phone Home in 4K HDR...
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Source: youtube.com
Title: E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial | E.T. Phone Home in 4K HDR
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l-69HTc-ZHUSource snippet
Steven Spielberg's Messiest Masterpiece: Close Encounters of the Third Kind (Movie Review)...
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Source: musingsofamiddleagedgeek.blog
Link: https://musingsofamiddleagedgeek.blog/2022/06/30/revisiting-steven-spielbergs-[e-tSource snippet
Musings of a Middle-Aged GeekRevisiting Steven Spielberg's “E.T.” after 40 years…June 30, 2022 — 30 Jun 2022 — Elliott is also empathical...
Published: June 30, 2022
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Source: scottholleran.com
Link: https://www.scottholleran.com/movies/movie-analysis-close-encounters-of-the-third-kind-1977/Source snippet
Scott HolleranMovie Analysis: Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977)4 Sept 2017 — The scenes in which Barry is seized from his mother...
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Source: reverseshot.org
Title: close encounters third kind
Link: https://reverseshot.org/archive/entry/629/close_encounters_third_kindSource snippet
Close Encounters of the Third Kind24 Apr 2012 — Yet outside of three year-old Barry's chillingly voluntary abduction, there are scarcely...
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Source: lifeandnothingmore.wordpress.com
Title: close encounters of the third kind
Link: https://lifeandnothingmore.wordpress.com/2016/05/29/close-encounters-of-the-third-kind/Source snippet
Encounters of the Third Kind - Life and Nothing More29 May 2016 — This introductory sequence is quite humorous as the three kids vie for...
Published: May 2016
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Source: musingsofamiddleagedgeek.blog
Title: close encounters of the third kind still watching the skies 40 years later
Link: https://musingsofamiddleagedgeek.blog/2017/08/27/close-encounters-of-the-third-kind-still-watching-the-skies-40-years-later/Source snippet
It is a movie about feeling your way through an intellectual challenge, not nitpicking it down to...Read more...
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Source: hero.fandom.com
Title: Rachel Ferrier
Link: https://hero.fandom.com/wiki/Rachel_FerrierSource snippet
Ferrier - Heroes Wiki - Fandom... Worlds. She is Ray Ferrier's 10-year old daughter, who suffers anxiety disorder and struggles to surviv...
Additional References
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Source: medium.com
Title: may 5 2023 close encounters of the third kind f2d68756a9ab
Link: https://medium.com/%40zawmer.amaden/may-5-2023-close-encounters-of-the-third-kind-f2d68756a9abSource snippet
May 5, 2023 — Close Encounters of the Third KindUFOs are swirling around above that rural house and MD is scared of it. But Barry is into...
Published: May 5, 2023
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Source: mygeekblasphemy.com
Title: i guess youve noticed something a little strange with dad
Link: https://mygeekblasphemy.com/2011/03/03/i-guess-youve-noticed-something-a-little-strange-with-dad/Source snippet
I Guess You've Noticed Something A Little Strange With Dad.3 Mar 2011 — [Roy Neary]({{ 'roy-neary/' | relative_url }}) (Dreyfuss) becomes obsessed with his close encounter an...
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Source: chud.com
Title: tugging on the beard close encounters of the third kind
Link: https://chud.com/174/tugging-on-the-beard-close-encounters-of-the-third-kind/Source snippet
CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND18 Feb 2008 — Her child Barry (Cary Guffey, all of 4 years old at the time) has been abducted by the al...
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Link: https://www.facebook.com/letterboxd/posts/as-[disclosure-daySource snippet
it's a time capsule of early- 2000s fears, and a reminder of...Read more...
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Source: instagram.com
Link: https://www.instagram.com/reel/DWwl7QSMb1j/?hl=enSource snippet
se Encounters... yet aliens still haven't contacted him! Spielberg...
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Source: instagram.com
Link: https://www.instagram.com/p/DM2xGy2OlVM/Source snippet
and survival, creating a film that still feels...Read more...
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Source: fromdirectorstevenspielberg.substack.com
Title: ride away spielberg war of the worlds
Link: https://fromdirectorstevenspielberg.substack.com/p/ride-away-spielberg-war-of-the-worldsSource snippet
invaders and his attempts to wield them are rendered futile by Spielberg.... invasion as more of an extermination than a war. Yet he cli...
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Source: fanfare.pub
Link: https://fanfare.pub/spielberg-celebration-revisiting-close-encounters-of-the-third-kind-583264a87ebbSource snippet
Spielberg Celebration: Revisiting 'Close Encounters of the...2 Jun 2026 — Regarding Jillian, Barry is abducted during a sequence that I...
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Source: abcnews.com
Link: https://abcnews.com/Entertainment/wireStory/steven-spielberg-faith-alien-life-future-movies-power-133556739Source snippet
Steven Spielberg on his faith in alien life, the future of...3 Jun 2026 — Steven Spielberg on his faith in alien life, the future of the...
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Source: facebook.com
Link: https://www.facebook.com/groups/577478936403574/posts/1443018363182956/Source snippet
s to its star Dee Wallace for the TELEGRAPH...
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