Why Do Alien Invasions Make For Good Movies? – Episode 080

November 2, 2016

In this episode, Brent and Erik talk about alien invasions—when are the aliens the monsters and when are we the monsters? We cover the fear alien invasions inspire, and the deeper issues about how aliens can force us to confront our own humanity. But of course, sometimes there isn’t a deeper metaphor, and it’s just us versus them, and we talk about that too.

We also check in about writing and publishing. Erik talks about NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) and how it kicked him into gear for writing. Brent talks about the world of book blurbs and the difficult place it can put authors who are asked to blurb a book. (If you want to skip the check-in, the main topic starts at 4:42.)

Your Hosts

Brent Hartinger
Erik Hanberg

Links Mentioned This Episode

Media Carnivores Patreon Campaign
“They’re made out of meat!”

Media Consumed This Episode

The Arrival (film, 2016)
The Twilight Zone (TV series)
District 9 (film, 2009)
Avatar (film, 2009)
Invasion of the Body Snatchers (film, 1956)
Signs (film, 2002)
Independence Day (film, 1996)
Close Encounters of the Third Kind (film, 1977)
Men in Black (film, 1997)
2001: A Space Odyssey (film, 1968)
The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (series)
Star Trek (series)
The World’s End (film, 2013)
Starship Troopers (film, 1997)
Edge of Tomorrow (film, 2014)
War of the Worlds (film, 2005)
The Three Body Problem (book, 2014)
Ender’s Game (book, 1985)
The Avengers (film, 2012)
The Andromeda Strain (book and film)
Dark City (film, 1998)
Evolution (film, 2001)
Star Trek: First Contact (film, 1996)

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