From: utzoo!decvax!cca!hplabs!hao!menlo70!nsc!katic@sri-unix
Newsgroups: net.movies
Title: ET as JC (superstar or astronaut?)
Article-I.D.: nsc.235
Posted: Mon Oct 25 12:15:57 1982
Received: Sun Oct 31 07:29:56 1982
Expires: Mon Nov  8 11:15:57 1982

This was a letter to the editor in the Nov 82 issue of "Fantastic Films."  (Get
it if you want a good overview of Dark Crystal, among other things.)  It is an
interesting study in parallelism.  I can't say that I agree with the writer (I
don't), but I'll let you see for yourself.

Katic	(....!nsc!katic)

================================================================================

			SEEING E.T. IS BELIEVING

	I think that one of the most important keys to E.T.'s popularity is the
story base used for much of the movie.  The story base is one of the most
universally known stories in the world yet it is so buried in symbolism that it
escapes conscious recognition.

	Through the last half of the movie I was impressed with a sense of
familiarity for what was happening.  The kids loved the movie.  Even my 3 year
old stayed awake.  E.T.'s last line caught my attention in particular because it
was so similiar to something I had read in the New Testament.

	That night I found in the last verse of the book of Matthew almost the
same words as given by E.T.  As my wife and I discussed this coincidence we
discovered other simularities.  The obvious ones were:
	1.  A night long vigil in "prayer" while the disciple slept.
	2.  A death scene in which the victim is voluntarily giving up his life,
	    yet, you given the impression that those around him are killing him.
	3.  Entombment of body following death.
	4.  Resurrection.
	5.  Final ascension with similiar quotes.
	6.  The power to heal.

	Encouraged by these discoveries, we tried to work backwards
chronologically to see what else might fit.  This is how we found:
	7.  The last supper.
	8.  The sacrament.

	There were several things in the movie that seemed out of place or
disjointed, such as the incident with the shirt.  Just following the rather
obscure last supper, Elliot and Mike were searching the garage for parts to
make a transmitter.  Elliot was acting for and speaking for E.T.  If sacrament
can be defined as an emblem that is partaken of to remember or honor another,
then the shirt incident was an attempt at recreating that same type of emotion.

	"What about the frogs?", my wife kept asking.  "How do thay fit in?"  I
dismissed it as not fitting the story base, but I was wrong.
	9.  "They represent the release of the sacrificial animals in the
	    temple," she finally concluded.  This was also an incident in which
	    Elliot was acting and thinking as E.T.

	Four items out of sequence, out of context and rather obscurly related
to the story base were:
	10. Betrayal kiss.
	11. Attempted healing of a sword cut ear.
	12. Procession through the streets.
	13. Elliot's mother's name was Mary.

	The next day, I was anxious to find anyone I could talk to who had seen
E.T. to see if they were also enlightened on the true nature of the whole thing.
Everyone I talked to could remember at least the general idea of what E.T.'s
last line was, but no one had associated it with the story base.  When I
explained my theory to them, some became true believers and tried to find
additional clues.  Others were skeptical and expressed disbelief at what they
perceived as an attempt to ruin a good movie.

	Checking in a dictionary I came up with the interesting fact that:
	14. The name Elliot is from Elijah or Elias.  Elias has several uses
	    including that of messenger as in the case of John the Baptist.

	I did not catch the name of the quy with the keys, but if it wasn't a
first name of Pete or a last name of Simons, they sure missed a bet.

	A friend of mine, by now a convert, pointed out that:
	15. E.T. was first found in a brightly illuminated small building out
	    behind the house.

	Some of the other clues that have filtered through are:
	16. To the casual observer, E.T. could be described as a gluttonous man
	    and a winebibber or at least a beerbibber.  Elliot, on the other
	    hand, if I remember correctly, refused the drink offered him.
	17. The "fading into the crowd" trick when the mother looked into the
	    closet.
	18. Marching Roman soldier impression given by the men rolling the tube
	    up the hill.
	19. The sword in the side, represented by the electric shock
	    stimulation.
	20. The "centurion type" being first to officially acknowlegde death of
	    the victim.
	21. The "rending of the veil" upon death as the oxygen tent was opened.
	22. The shrouding of the body.
	23. Isiah refers to the Savior to come as one who "hath no form nor
	    comeliness; and when we shall see Him, there is no beauty that we
	    should desire him."

	Now this could all be just a series of coincidences, but knowing that it
is the nature and disposition of the all movie producers to want to turn a
profit, I feel that the story base would hardly be left to chance.

	If in fact E.T. was based symbollically on events in the Savior's life,
then what will the sequel be based on?  There aren't many people around who
profess to have knowledge of Christ's activities following the final ascension.

	After all of this, I still think that it was a great movie.  It helped
us see past the veil of familiarity to realize anew that joy and fulfillment
come through loving service to others.  Pity the guy who got all emotional about
the movie but when he went home that night he kicked the dog out of the way,
grumbled at the wife for not having supper ready and yelled at the kids for
being to noisy.  He was not converted.

	Joe Thompson
	Mesa, Arizona

================================================================================

Did that guy see the same movie I did?  What's next: The Church of the Holy ET??

katic	(....!nsc!katic)