E.T. , The Extra-Terrestrial - Love and Ethics
E.T. , The Extra-Terrestrial (1982)
Famous for...
- Its box office success – the fourth most popular film ever after 1st.Gone with the Wind; 2nd. Star Wars;
and 3rd. The Sound of Music.
- Not getting the best film Oscar when everybody expected it to (Gandhi won).
- Star Wars star, Drew Barrymore’s first film as the five-year-old Gertie (pictured
right).
Director
Steven Spielberg (pictuired right
below) whose other great films include:
Oscars
Four (but not best film or director)
Schindler’s List was
Spielberg’s first director Oscar and Saving
Private Ryan his second.
Key characters
E.T., an alien creature - pictured right.
Elliott (Henry Thomas), his ten-year-old friend.
The story
A group of alien botanists collect vegetation samples in a Californian forest. They flee into their spaceship on
seeing American government agents, but one of them (E.T.) is left behind.
E.T. is found by a lonely ten-year-old boy (Elliott) at home where he lives with his:
- recently separated mother (Mary, pictured right).
- five-year-old sister (Gertie).
E.T. and Elliott (pictured right) share the same feelings and experiences. E.T. gets drunk
and similarly Elliott burps and falls onto his classroom floor in a drunken stupor.
Elliott returns home and tells off Gertie for dressing E.T. up in girls’ clothes. After learning to speak,
E.T. points his long finger to the heavens and says “E.T. home phone”.
After flying in the air on a bicycle, Elliott and E.T. arrive at the forest where E.T. tries out his hand
built transmitter to contact home but fails to get a reply. They are both beginning to feel
ill. Elliott falls asleep but E.T. has gone when he wakes up.
The next day Elliott persuades Michael (pictured right) to look for E.T. in the forest. Government
officials have been searching for E.T. and follow Michael who:
- finds E.T. dying (from air pollution).
- discovers that Elliott is also very ill.
They are both put on life support equipment, when Elliott:
- loses his telepathic connection to E.T.
Scientists are now in the house, and the nicest of them (Keys, pictured right) tells Elliott
that E.T. is dead and will be taken away in a coffin.
But Elliott’s loving farewell message resurrects E.T. who says repeatedly “E.T. phone home”.
Elliott tells an overjoyed Michael who hides E.T. in Elliott’s bicycle basket.
They (and Michael’s friends) race off on their bicycles to the forest, where E.T. has arranged a rendezvous with
his spaceship to return home. But they are chased by policemen and government officials, who trap the cyclists with
an armed roadblock.
E.T. magically makes the bicycles fly (pictured right) so they can get to the spaceship. They
are joined by Elliott’s mother and Keys, the scientist.
After a sad and emotional farewell, E.T. gets on the spaceship and goes home.
Lessons for love and ethics
1. We need friends
E.T. is a loving friend for the lonely Elliott who (like the film’s director, Steven Spielberg) suffered from
the break-up of his parents’ marriage.
Despite their painful farewell, E.T. tells Elliott that their friendship will never die, because he will always
be in his mind (saying “I’ll be right here” with a glowing fingertip, pointing to his head,
pictured right).
2. Be sensitive
Before meeting E.T., Elliott insensitively mentions his father’s romantic holiday to his mother.
But E.T. makes him empathetic and understanding, and they both feel each
other’s feelings.
3. Love licks looks
E.T.’s heart of gold makes him beautiful, despite his physical ugliness.
The confectionery company, Mars, unwisely thought him so ugly and frightening that it didn’t allow
M&M’s in the film (used by Elliott to lure E.T. back to his home).
Hershey’s Reece’s Pieces were used instead and its sales rose 65%!
4. Stand up for what you believe in
Elliott courageously defends E.T. against:
- capture by the government.
- his family’s initial disbelief.
- taunts from Michael’s friends.
5. Learning is lovely
Super-intelligent E.T. learns to:
- build a transmitter to contact his alien world.
Elliott learns from his:
- the value of closely scrutinizing everything.
“How do you explain school to higher intelligence?”, Elliott asks his brother, Michael.
6. Treat people with dignity
On discovering that Gertie has been dressing up E.T. in girls’ clothes, Elliott tells her:
“You should give him his dignity”.
7. Protect the planet
E.T. is nearly killed by air pollution.
Key quotes on love
E.T. phone home, E.T.
I’ll believe in you all my life, every day, E.T. I love you, Elliott’s words that
resurrect E.T.
I’ll be right here, E.T. (touching Elliott’s forehead).
Key quotes on ethics
Be good, E.T.'s last words to Gertie
Two film websites to
recommend
1. filmsite.org (run by Tim Dirks).
2. aveleyman.com (run by Tony Sullivan)
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