Books2Movies Club discussion

Klaatu barada nikto! I think there isn't a person who hasn't ever heard this sentence, at least once in a lifetime. Well, now you have a chance to read it for yourself in the original source story.

Farewell to the Master by Harry Bates is a story that was inspiration for a famous sci-fi classic, The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951), and its remake, The Day the Earth Stood Still (2008).

You can read the story for free online. It is in public domain and available here: The Nostalgia League Library Archive: Farewell to the Master.

The story is totally different from the movie. There's not even that famous sentence! Inspiration is clear, but still. The story does warn humans not to be so annoyingly stupid, but the movie goes beyond that warning. I liked the twist at the end of the story. We didn't actually get a conclusion to the encounter, were the alien's intentions benign or not? (view spoiler)[Now that Gnut procured the device that would allow him to make better copies of humans, what does that mean? Have we unintentionally allowed aliens to populate among us in hiding? (hide spoiler)]

I may have seen the 1951 movie when I was a child, but I do not remember a thing about it. I hope it is better than the 2008 movie because this one irritated me. I think we crossed that tipping point a long time ago, and I wish there's something to force us to change our ways, but this movie isn't likely to be that beacon of change. Characters were so annoying. I wished them all evaporated. The leading US authorities were idiots. I have no idea what was the point of summoning so many scientists in the first place if you were so resolute to ignore them. And that boy Jacob. If they wanted to provide an epitome of why humans should be eradicated, they succeeded. Yes, he lost his father, but intentionally and constantly hurting everyone around yourself without any logic whatsoever, asks for trouble. I do not believe in spanking, but that kid asked for it so many times.