Close Encounters: Genre and Context

This chapter discusses the genre and context of Steven Spielberg's Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977). It begins by tracing the emergence of science fiction in literature and in cinema. The chapter then looks at how film serials popularised pulp science-fiction cinema in the form of rocketships, ray guns, alien invaders, evil intergalactic emperors, and damsels in distress. One can see them as the inspiration for the likes of Star Wars and the myriad superhero blockbuster movies that continue to dominate Hollywood today. In 1968, Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey returned science fiction to its origins in Greek mythology. It is perhaps the first example of ‘transcendent’ science-fiction cinema, exploring the human need to place trust in a force larger than ourselves. In the early 1970s, science-fiction films were more overtly concerned with identity and environment, and how both were increasingly shaped or misshapen by technology. Meanwhile, post-9/11 has seen a move towards intelligent science fiction as a bankable commodity within Hollywood. Part of the genre's continuing appeal is, of course, the showcasing of state-of-the-art cinema technology within the sci-fi narrative. Special-effects technology has evolved in line with cinema's own development.

Conclusion: We Are Not Alone

This concluding chapter explains why Steven Spielberg's Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977) remains a singular science-fiction film. In the intervening years since the release of Close Encounters, one can arguably see in the convergence of science fiction, ufology, and SETI, a continuing desire for the kind of transformative ‘encounter’ with alien intelligence that Close Encounters represents. The cultural impact of Close Encounters and ‘transcendent’ science fiction in general has, in fact, served to increase public awareness of the work being done in the scientific community to detect extraterrestrial life. Even now, cosmologists involved in SETI are proposing a more active form of search for alien civilisations, in which radio signals will be aimed at parts of the galaxy where Earth-like planets exist and with it an increased possibility of contact with intelligent life. However, the recent detection of these Earth-like planets that may be capable of sustaining life in the ‘habitable zones’ of distant stars has prompted scientists to consider stepping up activities to what is known as METI (Messaging to Extraterrestrial Intelligence). Regardless of the objections of some scientists to METI, the scientific community in general seems to be in consensus that the likelihood of intelligent life existing elsewhere is high (the so-called ‘Drake Equation’), even though the probability of detection may be low.

Close Encounters: Cultural Impact

This chapter reflects on the cultural impact of Steven Spielberg's Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977). During the filming of Close Encounters, a rumour spread that the film was being secretly sponsored by an American government agency as part of its acclimation programme to ready humankind for imminent first contact with extraterrestrials. In some ways, there is a sense — conspiracy theories aside — that Spielberg may have achieved something along those lines. As such, the cosmic outlook of Close Encounters has influenced not only subsequent science-fiction films but also the continuing fascination with extraterrestrial life and a whole UFO subculture. Even if the film itself is all but forgotten in certain quarters, its impact can still be felt keenly on popular culture and in the SETI/ufology community at large.

Introduction: ‘The UFOs Are Coming!’

This introductory chapter provides an overview of Steven Spielberg's Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977). Close Encounters is a UFO movie that arose from a resurgence of ufology in the 1970s, which coincided with the growth of New Age movements, mysticism, alien-abduction cults, and an increasing belief in conspiracy theories. The film speaks to Utopianism, the belief within international relations theory that war can be eliminated either by perfecting man or by perfecting government. Utopianism is, of course, a key concept in science fiction. The chapter then looks at Jack Kroll's review of Close Encounters, which demonstrates how so many of the political criticisms surrounding the film stem from the time of its initial reception, and how its cultural denotation as ‘transcendent’ science fiction was immediately recognised and accepted by some — but not all — critics. The chapter also details the synopsis of the film.

Close Encounters: Influences and Production Background

This chapter examines a number of filmic influences on Steven Spielberg's Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977), which give it an element of intertextuality. Rather than lending Close Encounters an air of postmodern pastiche, the intertextuality of the film helps to shape its inner meaning and philosophy. The chapter highlights how Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) is a major influence on Spielberg's film in a number of ways. Other influences on Close Encounters include Disney films; other great American filmmakers; Alfred Hitchcock and Frank Capra; and astrophysicist J. Allen Hynek's book The UFO Experience: A Scientific Report (1972), which rekindled Spielberg's long-term personal interest in the UFO phenomenon that had begun as a teenager growing up in Arizona, and which had already resulted in his feature-length amateur film, Firelight, made in 1964 when he was sixteen. The chapter then details the production background of Close Encounters, including its script development and filming process.

Close Encounters: Analysis

This chapter presents a detailed analysis of Steven Spielberg's Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977). The long take is a Spielberg staple: examples exist in each of his films, but it is an aspect of his work rarely commented upon, possibly because his plan séquences are characterised by their very invisibility. The effect of the long take on the viewer is to draw them into the scene, increasing emotional involvement; and this reflects Spielberg's essentially intuitive approach to filmmaking. Arguably, the plan séquence shots in Close Encounters are some of the most effective of Spielberg's career for this reason. The chapter then looks at Spielberg's collaboration with Hungarian-born cinematographer Vilmos Zsigmond on Close Encounters, which links Spielberg interestingly to the New Hollywood of the 1970s. It also explores the characters and themes of the film, as well as John Williams' contribution to Close Encounters.