Stuck Watching the Skies: What Alien Invasion Films can tell us about Challenges to Hegemonic Authority by Yaochong Yang A thesis presented to the University of Waterloo in fulfilment of the thesis requirement for the degree of Master of Arts in Political Science Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, 2013 © Yaochong Yang 2013 I hereby declare that I am the sole author of this thesis. This is a true copy of the thesis, including any required final revisions, as accepted by my examiners. I understand that my thesis may be made electronically available to the public. ii Abstract This project analyzes two sets of alien invasion films to understand lay opinions on hegemonic authority. It defines hegemonic authority along two major lines: neo-Gramscian hegemony and hegemonic stability theory. The project uses alien invasion films to study challenges to hegemonic authority because of the unique and confrontational narrative alien invasion films typically possess. Through a comparative process, the project concludes that alien invasion films reveal paradoxical relationships of power, where the hegemon encourages aggressive pre-emptive policies against its challengers but at the same time depends upon these challengers to maintain its power. It argues that despite arguments of growing globalism and cosmopolitanism in the world, the liberal hegemon remains clearly divided among notions of Us versus Them. iii Acknowledgements I would like to express immense gratitude to my supervisor, Dr. Veronica Kitchen, a scholar of endless patience, approachability, and intelligence. I am most grateful for her assistance in making my thesis much more coherent and readable, as well as her guidance. I would also like to thank Dr. Daniel Gorman for his encouragement, his enthusiasm, and his interest in my project. I owe a great deal to his concern about metaphor versus literal interpretations that influenced the course of my study. I would also like to thank him for his knowledge in American hegemony, which led me in the right direction. My thanks also go out to Dr. David Welch, who encouraged me to pursue my own interests above all else. Without his suggestions and ideas, I would have likely been studying aircraft carriers and hated every minute of it. I would also like to thank and apologise to Dr. Gerard Boychuk, who had to read my chapter on literature and methodology prior to editing. Additionally, I would like to thank my friends and colleagues, specifically Drew Snider and Anthony Christopher Coughlin, for trudging through the muck of incomprehensibility that were my initial drafts. Lastly, I would like to thank coffee, Amazon, and Netflix, of which none of this project would have been possible otherwise. iv Table of Contents List of Illustrations…………………………………………………...…………………………...vi Chapter 1 ...................................................................................................................................................................... 1 Why is Fiction Important? ................................................................................................................................................ 2 Why Aliens? ............................................................................................................................................................................. 8 In Conclusion .......................................................................................................................................................................... 9 Chapter 2 ................................................................................................................................................................... 10 Basic Background of the Alien Invasion Subgenre ............................................................................................. 10 Box Office Earnings and Relevance ........................................................................................................................... 13 In Conclusion ....................................................................................................................................................................... 15 Chapter 3 ................................................................................................................................................................... 16 Popular Films and Political Science ........................................................................................................................... 16 Limits of the Words Validity and Relevancy .......................................................................................................... 16 Case Selection and Arbitrary Selection by Relativity ......................................................................................... 17 The Role Political Science Plays .................................................................................................................................. 21 Comparing Methodology between Political Science and other Humanities fields ............................... 23 General Concerns and Symbolism .............................................................................................................................. 25 Summary ............................................................................................................................................................................... 28 Defining Alien Invasions ................................................................................................................................................. 29 Passive Alien Invasion Films ........................................................................................................................................ 32 Methodology - Epistemological Challenges and Issues ..................................................................................... 33 Addressing Reverse Regression .................................................................................................................................. 37 Structure for Chapters 4 and 5 .................................................................................................................................... 39 In Conclusion ....................................................................................................................................................................... 41 Chapter 4 ................................................................................................................................................................... 43 What do We Mean by Hegemony? .............................................................................................................................. 43 Forming Identity ................................................................................................................................................................ 46 The Hegemon as a State .................................................................................................................................................. 50 The Alien Invader in Society ......................................................................................................................................... 53 In Conclusion ....................................................................................................................................................................... 65 Chapter 5 ................................................................................................................................................................... 67 Overview and Introduction ........................................................................................................................................... 67 The Hegemon as a State .................................................................................................................................................. 67 In Conclusion ....................................................................................................................................................................... 78 Chapter 6 ................................................................................................................................................................... 80 The Value of Alien Invasion Fiction ........................................................................................................................... 80 The Role of Film in Future Analysis ........................................................................................................................... 81 The Role of Methodology ............................................................................................................................................... 82 Liberal or Global Hegemony? ....................................................................................................................................... 83 In Conclusion ....................................................................................................................................................................... 86 Bibliography ............................................................................................................................................................. 87 v List of Illustrations Comparing Technology in Fiction (Figure 1) …………………………………...………35 vi Chapter 1 What can alien invasion films tell us about how a hegemon and its society reacts to outsiders,