Today we had a seminar discussing the movie The Thing and an over view of the text Look to The Skies. During our seminar we discussed many things such as gender roles, the roles of the main characters, and the historical links that could be made. In the handout it mentioned that gender roles are according to the theme of the movie it could promote them or discourage them. In the case of The Thing it promoted gender roles. One of the main points of discussion was the role that the main characters of power played in the movie. In seminar we agreed that the lieutenant and the scientist were the two figures of main power. The reason why they are the characters of power is because the lieutenant made all decisions and the scientist challenged his orders. The lieutenant seems to be the anti diplomatic, get rid of your enemy type of guy. In contrast the scientist is the one that wants peace and agreement with the visitor. In seminar we discussed what was the purpose and point of view of the movie. We came up or painted the idea that the movie is conservative and anti détente. The reason for this is that thought the movie the visitor is seen as a hostile, blood thirsty, irrational, character. Even if the visitor is smart and capable of extraordinary things, it is still irrational. At the end the visitor is shown to be such a brute that it hurts the only person that offered it friendship and dialogue. What this shows is that if you and your enemy are so different don’t try and talk to it because it is just use less. In the other hand the heroes of the movie try and stop the monster they don’t want to talk to it, they seek to kill it. The movie creates a scenario and gives such vile characteristics to the creature that the only true option is to kill it. This one-way scenario makes the scientist look stupid, and the lieutenant, as a rational logical hero.