Within Vulnerable Alien
One of the most distinctive ideas in E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial is that first contact does not begin with language, science or technology. It begins with feeling. Spielberg and screenwriter Melissa Mathison created a bond between Elliott and E.T. that allows each to experience the emotions of the other, turning an alien encounter into an exercise in empathy.
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When First Contact Becomes Shared Feeling
The relationship between Elliott and E.T. is not presented as a conventional friendship alone. As the story develops, the two become emotionally linked. The film repeatedly shows them reacting to the same experiences despite being in different locations, suggesting a telepathic connection that functions less as a superpower than as a form of emotional recognition. [Wikipedia]WikipediaE.T. the Extra-TerrestrialE.T. the Extra-Terrestrial
This idea was not merely an incidental plot device. Spielberg later explained that the concept of E.T. feeling Elliott’s emotions emerged during his collaboration with Melissa Mathison. According to Spielberg, Mathison proposed that E.T. should be so sensitive that he could directly experience Elliott’s feelings, making empathy one of the creature’s defining characteristics. [The New Yorker]newyorker.comThe New Yorker The Screenwriter of "E.T." and "The BFG" Says GoodbyeThe Extra-Terrestrial." Mathison's approach was highly involved, influencing not just the script but the filming method as well, includin…
The famous “ouch” motif captures the nature of the bond. When Elliott hurts his finger, E.T. responds with healing and understanding rather than analysis. The scene transforms physical pain into shared experience. The connection is emotional before it is intellectual, and the film repeatedly returns to that principle. [The New Yorker]newyorker.comThe New Yorker The Screenwriter of "E.T." and "The BFG" Says GoodbyeThe Extra-Terrestrial." Mathison's approach was highly involved, influencing not just the script but the filming method as well, includin…
How Elliott and E.T. Mirror Each Other’s Emotions
The strongest evidence for the bond appears in scenes where one character’s emotional state affects the other.
At school, Elliott suddenly becomes intoxicated and impulsive because E.T., back at home, is drinking beer while watching television. Elliott experiences emotions and sensations that do not originate in his own environment. The result is comic, but it also demonstrates the depth of the connection. E.T.’s experiences become Elliott’s experiences. [Wikipedia]WikipediaE.T. the Extra-TerrestrialE.T. the Extra-Terrestrial
The same mechanism drives the frog-dissection sequence. Elliott becomes overwhelmed by sympathy for the frogs and releases them. On the surface, it appears to be an act of childish rebellion. Through the telepathic bond, however, it also reflects E.T.’s perspective as a vulnerable outsider threatened by capture and examination. Elliott reacts emotionally before he can rationalise why. [Wikipedia]WikipediaE.T. the Extra-TerrestrialE.T. the Extra-Terrestrial
Critics have long noted that the connection changes Elliott’s personality. Pauline Kael argued that the telepathic relationship allows the normally cautious boy to act on feelings he usually keeps hidden. Through E.T., Elliott becomes more emotionally open and spontaneous. The alien does not merely communicate with him; he helps him access parts of himself that were previously restrained. [Wikipedia]WikipediaE.T. the Extra-TerrestrialE.T. the Extra-Terrestrial
The mirroring works in both directions. E.T. feels Elliott’s loneliness, while Elliott experiences E.T.’s fear, homesickness and longing for reunion. Each becomes a channel through which the other’s emotions can be understood. The film turns empathy into a literal narrative mechanism. [Time]time.comet 40th anniversary steven spielbergthe Extra-Terrestrial," which continues to capture the essence of childhood memories and emotions even 40 years after its release. Direct…
Why Empathy Comes Before Scientific Explanation
A striking feature of E.T. is that the film never attempts to provide a scientific account of the telepathic connection. There is no laboratory theory, technological explanation or detailed mythology. Instead, Spielberg asks the audience to accept the bond because it expresses an emotional truth.
This choice reflects a larger pattern in Spielberg’s UFO imagination. In Close Encounters of the Third Kind, communication begins through music and shared wonder. In E.T., communication becomes even more intimate. The alien is understood not because humans decode him but because they care about him. The emotional relationship arrives before any attempt to classify or explain it. [EW.com]ew.comSpielberg shot the film in continuity to help the child actors perform more naturally. This approach, along with Matheson's insightful wr…
The film therefore shifts the meaning of first contact. Traditional science-fiction narratives often focus on translation, technology or diplomacy. E.T. suggests that genuine understanding may begin with recognising another being’s suffering. Elliott does not need to know where E.T. comes from to understand that he is frightened and alone. That recognition is enough to create responsibility. [Common Sense Media]commonsensemedia.orgCommon Sense MediaE.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial Movie Review9 Oct 2025 — While hiding E.T., Elliott develops a close friendship with the al…
A later reflection on the film described the emotional bond between Elliott and E.T. as an introduction to empathy itself: the act of reaching across a profound difference and imagining another life from the inside. That interpretation helps explain why the relationship remains central to the film’s emotional power decades after its release. [Time]time.comet 40th anniversary steven spielbergthe Extra-Terrestrial," which continues to capture the essence of childhood memories and emotions even 40 years after its release. Direct…
How the Bond Drives the Rescue Plot
The telepathic connection is not simply thematic. It is also the engine of the story’s most important events.
Because Elliott senses E.T.’s feelings, he becomes committed to protecting him long before adults understand what is happening. The bond motivates secrecy, trust and cooperation. Elliott’s determination to help E.T. “phone home” grows directly from his ability to feel the alien’s longing for reunion. [Wikipedia]WikipediaE.T. the Extra-TerrestrialE.T. the Extra-Terrestrial
Later, when E.T.’s health declines, the connection becomes physically painful. As E.T. weakens, Elliott weakens as well. The film presents their relationship as so complete that the suffering of one becomes the suffering of the other. This shared deterioration raises the stakes of the rescue effort. Saving E.T. is no longer only about helping an alien survive; it is also about preserving the emotional link that has transformed Elliott. [Musings of a Middle-Aged Geek]musingsofamiddleagedgeek.blogrevisiting steven spielbergs e t after 40 yearsElliott acutely and involuntarily feels ET's fear as the withered alien…Read more…
The climax depends on this logic. Government authorities view E.T. as an object of investigation, but Elliott experiences him as a feeling being whose inner life he already knows. The conflict is therefore not merely between children and adults or freedom and control. It is between two ways of understanding the unknown: through examination or through empathy. [Encyclopedia Britannica]britannica.comEncyclopedia Britannica E.Tthe Extra-Terrestrial | Film, Steven Spielberg, Plot, Cast…Apr 3, 2026 — E.T. (voiced by Pat Welsh, uncredited): A gentle alien who ge…
The Emotional Core of Spielberg’s Alien Vision
Within Spielberg’s wider body of UFO stories, Elliott and E.T.’s telepathic bond represents one of his clearest statements about alien contact. The connection bypasses language, expertise and institutional authority. It insists that the most meaningful encounter with the unknown begins when one being recognises the feelings of another.
That idea helps explain why E.T. remains a uniquely vulnerable alien. The film never asks viewers to admire him primarily for his powers or his origins. Instead, it invites them to share his fear, loneliness and hope through Elliott. The telepathic bond turns extraterrestrial contact into an act of compassion, making empathy itself the film’s most important form of communication. [The New Yorker]newyorker.comThe New Yorker The Screenwriter of "E.T." and "The BFG" Says GoodbyeThe Extra-Terrestrial." Mathison's approach was highly involved, influencing not just the script but the filming method as well, includin… [Time]time.comet 40th anniversary steven spielbergthe Extra-Terrestrial," which continues to capture the essence of childhood memories and emotions even 40 years after its release. Direct…
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Endnotes
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Source: ew.com
Link: https://ew.com/movies/[e-tSource snippet
Spielberg shot the film in continuity to help the child actors perform more naturally. This approach, along with Matheson's insightful wr...
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Source: time.com
Title: et 40th anniversary steven spielberg
Link: https://time.com/6183061/et-40th-anniversary-steven-spielberg/Source snippet
the Extra-Terrestrial," which continues to capture the essence of childhood memories and emotions even 40 years after its release. Direct...
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Source: Wikipedia
Title: E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial
Link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E.T._the_Extra-Terrestrial -
Source: ew.com
Title: steven spielberg and aliens tracing a decades long obsession 11995978
Link: https://ew.com/steven-spielberg-and-aliens-tracing-a-decades-long-obsession-11995978Source snippet
His 2026 return with “[Disclosure Day]({{ 'disclosure-day/' | relative_url }})” reflects both his earliest and most apocalyptic tendencies—merging curiosity with an urgent questio...
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Source: britannica.com
Title: Encyclopedia Britannica E.T
Link: https://www.britannica.com/topic/ET-The-Extra-TerrestrialSource snippet
the Extra-Terrestrial | Film, Steven Spielberg, Plot, Cast...Apr 3, 2026 — E.T. (voiced by Pat Welsh, uncredited): A gentle alien who ge...
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Source: youtube.com
Title: E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial: Saving the frogs HD CLIP
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fn7iqDIBzScSource snippet
THE EXTRA-TERRESTRIAL - Steven Spielberg on E.T...
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Source: youtube.com
Title: THE EXTRA-TERRESTRIAL
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aiqLxSuXBzISource snippet
Henry Thomas Audition for E.T The Extra Terrestrial...
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Source: newyorker.com
Title: The New Yorker The Screenwriter of “E.T.” and “The BFG” Says Goodbye
Link: https://www.newyorker.com/culture/culture-desk/the-screenwriter-of-e-t-and-the-bfg-says-goodbyeSource snippet
The Extra-Terrestrial." Mathison's approach was highly involved, influencing not just the script but the filming method as well, includin...
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Source: musingsofamiddleagedgeek.blog
Title: revisiting steven spielbergs e t after 40 years
Link: https://musingsofamiddleagedgeek.blog/2022/06/30/revisiting-steven-spielbergs-e-t-after-40-years/Source snippet
Elliott acutely and involuntarily feels ET's fear as the withered alien...Read more...
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Source: commonsensemedia.org
Link: https://www.commonsensemedia.org/movie-reviews/et-the-extra-terrestrialSource snippet
Common Sense MediaE.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial Movie Review9 Oct 2025 — While hiding E.T., Elliott develops a close friendship with the al...
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Source: collider.com
Title: Why E.T
Link: https://collider.com/et-the-extra-terrestrial-movie-40-years-later/Source snippet
and Elliot's Bond Still Captivates Us 40 Years Later11 Jun 2022 — When Steven Spielberg made E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial he described the...
Additional References
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Source: pluggedin.com
Link: https://www.pluggedin.com/movie-reviews/ettheextraterrestrial/Source snippet
E.T. The Extra-Terrestrialpositive elements: Elliott and E.T. develop a deep friendship. The boy exhibits patience and kindness as he gen...
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Source: instagram.com
Link: https://www.instagram.com/p/DZdFPj7zZeY/Source snippet
Released on this date 44 years agoE.T. and Elliott's profound, symbiotic telepathic bond functions as... Director Chloe Okuno and cinema...
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Source: medium.com
Link: https://medium.com/%40hopegchavez/the-power-of-saying-goodbye-348c125cba35Source snippet
The Power of Saying GoodbyeThe film allows us to mirror the emotional bond Elliot shares with E.T., effectively forcing us to question if...
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Source: facebook.com
Title: et the extra terrestrial is the first movie that scarred me for lifeettheextrate
Link: https://www.facebook.com/DoubleToasteddotcom/posts/et-the-extra-terrestrial-is-the-first-movie-that-scarred-me-for-lifeettheextrate/1711354960763062/Source snippet
the Extra-Terrestrial is the first movie that scarred me...Instead of being afraid, Elliott reaches out with empathy, hiding the alien i...
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Source: oscars.org
Title: how steven spielberg chose henry thomas play elliott et
Link: https://www.oscars.org/news/how-steven-spielberg-chose-henry-thomas-play-elliott-etSource snippet
How Steven Spielberg chose Henry Thomas to play Elliott...3 Nov 2014 — Casting director Marci Liroff explains in this week's video that...
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Source: ploominator19.wordpress.com
Title: the emotional connection in e t the extra terrestrial
Link: https://ploominator19.wordpress.com/2022/04/15/the-emotional-connection-in-e-t-the-extra-terrestrial/Source snippet
the Extra-Terrestrial15 Apr 2022 — ET the Extra-Terrestrial is a movie rooted in empathy. The two main character Elliot (Henry Thomas) an...
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Source: facebook.com
Link: https://www.facebook.com/groups/2207678628/posts/10161800601958629/Source snippet
dhood innocence, emotional isolation, and the need for connection...Read more...
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Source: movies.stackexchange.com
Title: how does elliott start feeling behaving like e t
Link: https://movies.stackexchange.com/questions/37126/how-does-elliott-start-feeling-behaving-like-e-tSource snippet
when Elliott is at school and E.T. is alone at home with the dog, strange things start happening. When E.T. drinks beer, Elliott starts f...
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Source: tomtomrant.wordpress.com
Title: emotional bond, and ET puts together the device to “phone home”.Read more
Link: https://tomtomrant.wordpress.com/2023/06/14/attention-training-in-e-t-the-extra-terrestrial-1982/Source snippet
wordpress.comAttention-training and the alien: 'E.T.: the Extra-Terrestrial'...Jun 14, 2023 — Attention-training and the alien: 'E.T.: t...
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in Mexico with Sally, and his mom cannot even stay at the dinner...
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