Analysis Of The Film Cloverfield

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This essay will explore how horror films reflect the fears of both individuals and societies focusing on the film Cloverfield (Cloverfield, 2008). Films can often serve as an astute reflection of reality in a varying number of ways depending on the genre. The horror film can often serve as an analogy for the horrors of the real world. In the case of Cloverfield Director Matt Reeves creates a solid allegory of the September 11th terror attacks on New York City. “The horror film can bring us uncomfortably close to the worst that could ever happen—to a character or to ourselves” (Kawin, 2012). Cloverfield opens with a group of twentysomething New Yorkers having a going-away party for their friend. One of the group, Hud, is tasked with using …show more content…

In Cloverfield’s case the Statue of Liberty stands in for the World Trade Centre, the symbol of American freedom decapitated by the unseen danger. Cloverfield’s producer J.J. Abrams makes no attempt to hide the Cloverfield’s intention of echoing the traumatic events of 9/11. In an interview with Time magazine in 2008 Abrams stated “With Cloverfield we were trying to create a film that would be entertaining and, as a by‐product of the subject matter, perhaps be a catharsis. We wanted to let people live through their wildest fears but be in a safe place where the enemy is the size of a skyscraper instead of some stateless, unseen cowardly terrorist.” (Winters Keegan, …show more content…

To judge if Cloverfield is truly successful in its goal of accurately depicting the fear, panic and confusion of New Yorkers on the streets adjacent to the World Trade Centre on the morning of 9/11 we need to look to those who were there on the attacks. In an article titled “On Cloverfield and 9/11” author Jessica Wakeman compares her experience of watching Cloverfield for the first time with her personal experiences on the morning of 9/11 saying “Cloverfield . . . blew me away for its spot-on depiction of being attacked . . . The first 45 minutes of Cloverfield is the closest I think I can get to showing sometime else what 9/11 was like for me on an emotional level. Cloverfield nails what that morning felt like: the confusion at first, and then fear over-whelms and all you can think about is the possibility of dying and needing to escape by getting out-out-out but where can you go because the subways and trains aren’t running?” (Wakeman,

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