The Incredible Shrink Man Essay

The Incredible Shrinking Man is a film detailing the events of what happened to man named Scott Carey, after he was sprinkled by some sort of mist. This mist immediately evaporates and Scott heads inside, believing it to be rain. Six months pass and Scott is sprayed by insecticide. He goest to the doctor for a routine examination and realizes that he’s become shorter. He goes to a laboratory to be examined by scientists and it is concluded that the mist and the insecticide caused his height change. They manage to stop him from shrinking, but it soon becomes apparent that the solution was only temporary. At six inches tall, Scott can no longer live in his home. He moves into the doll house, separating himself from his loved ones. His life in

the doll house is cut short, however, when the cat breaks in.

Scott flees to the cellar to protect himself. His wife, thinking that he’s been eaten by the cat, closes the door to cellar, trapping him in the littered room. In his time in the cellar, Scott creates shelter for himself and a source of water. He encounters a new foe in the form of a spider. After fighting it off and eventually killing it, Scott realizes he doesn’t fear shrinking as he once did. He has grown accustomed to the environment surrounding him. He makes his way outside and assures himself of his continued existence.
The Incredible Shrinking Man was delightful to watch. The reason for this is that the film uses certain filmmaking techniques quite effectively. The sound, the cinematography, and lighting are used to their upmost potential. This is no more apparent than in the last scene of the movie. In this scene Scott has finally killed the spider and is now making his way outside. A monologue begins that tells the viewers that Scott is a surviver, that

he still exists. The lighting in the scene is coming from the front. It’s low-key lighting designed to show the viewer that he is leaving his uncertainty behind. Throughout the film, shadows danced around him, showing the viewers that Scott was afraid. In this last scene the light is in front of him; he is embracing himself, he no longer fears what lies ahead. The cinematography in this last scene is perfect. In the beginning of he scene, the camera is a long shot, showing the viewer Scotts entire body. The landscape that Scott is in the beginning appears to be a barren wasteland, a place that Scott has no hope of surviving in. As Scott makes his way outside, the camera focuses on him until it eventually zooms out. This shows the viewer that Scott is now a part of the environment, that he is able to survive in this new world he is in. The camera continues to shrink out until it goes to space. This is during Scotts narration of God. It hints that within the eyes of God, everyone is equal, no matter the size. The sound polished off this scene. It begins soft, depicting Scotts exhaustion. As Scott makes his way outside, the music, which is the only other sound other than the narration, crescendos. It takes on a more whimsical note. This tells the viewers that Scott has let go of his fears and is ready for the world around him.
The film was made in 1957. Around this time, public concern over radioactive fallout from nuclear-weapons tests were rising. The cloud that Scott innocently noticed in the beginning of the movie was one that many Americans were wondering about. Radiation fears were present in society. It was widely speculated to be present everywhere, reaching a level beyond the senses. Radiation in cinema was used quite often, a way to symbolize a break in the normal structure of everyday reality. The Incredible Shrinking Man depicted this break from normality quite spectacularly. Scott was a working man, a man whose routine was interrupted when a cloud of radiation misted over him. He experienced the fear that permeated the American population after fallout from the Bikini test in 1946. A ship, contaminated with radiation, was being washed by sailors. This obviously did nothing and one of the sailors had become contaminated with radiation. He had to amputate the infected area. The fear that permeated the population and the change radiation threatened them with was shown in The Incredible Shrinking Man. The monster depicted in this film was one many Americans understood. Scott had to leave everything he held dear: his wife, his job, and his old life. He had to grow accustomed to the life that fate had handed to him. There was nothing else he could do, the same going for the soldier with the amputated arm.
The Incredible Shrinking Man was just as entertaining as it was frightening.

In my humble opinion it reigns supreme in 50’s sci-fi genre. The film has a theme that it sticks to: as he shrinks and becomes one with the environment around him, Scott gains some amount of spiritual enlightenment. The idea of transcendentalism is laid quite splendidly throughout the film, none more so than in the final scene. During his narration Scott tells the audience that he can no longer hate the slide that was tormenting him throughout his time in the cellar. Scott understands that the spider has as much of a right to live as he does. He is saying that existence is neither inherently good nor evil, it simply is. He looks up at the sky, completely bruised, battered and exhausted, yet he is no longer afraid. This part of the last scene is where the film earns its title as the best. Scott has been abused by fate and yet has the strength and determination to declare his continued existence. This ending is far cry from other 50s sci-fi films, where destruction is the resolution of the crises. The Incredible Shrinking Man decides to however, end on an uplifting note. It is truly

incredible.