Spielberg Uses Aliens to Expose America’s Fear, Deception and Need for Empathy

In Steven Spielberg’s new film “Disclosure Day,” Daniel, played by Josh O’Connor, shows his girlfriend Jane, played by Eve Hewson, stolen recordings from the cyber defense company he fled. The footage reveals that the U.S. government and the company hid the existence of aliens, and that those creatures were subjected to cruel experiments. One scene shows a small alien, bound and stabbed, while a younger version of Richard Nixon appears to display alien bodies and asks, “Are these children? Are these animals?” Jane is shaken to tears as Daniel says this is why he took the risk to speak out.

The film centers on a conflict between Daniel and his boss Hugo, played by Colman Domingo, who want the truth exposed, and a senior executive, played by Colin Firth, who believes people like him should decide what society is allowed to know. The pro-disclosure side argues that the abuse of aliens, and the use of their technology to help humans dominate other humans, shows a collapse of moral judgment and an inability to recognize the other. Hugo says the lesson from the aliens is the opposite of fear, insisting that “empathy is the superpower of the universe.”

The article places the movie in Hollywood’s long history of alien stories, from fears of outsiders and technology to hope and connection. It cites films such as “The Day the Earth Stood Still” in 1951, “Invasion of the Body Snatchers” in 1956 and again in 1978, “Close Encounters of the Third Kind” in 1977, “Mars Attacks!” and “Independence Day” in 1996, “Men in Black” in 1997, Spielberg’s “E.T.” in 1982, “War of the Worlds” in 2005, “Arrival” in 2016 and “Nope” in 2012.

The piece argues that Spielberg is returning to the gentle, empathetic side of his alien mythology. In this version, the apparent enemy is really a warning about humanity itself, especially governments and corporations operating in secret and pushing the world toward catastrophe, even World War III. The article says the current U.S. climate, including talk of aliens and the expulsion of foreigners, makes this kind of story especially relevant, because loving, vulnerable aliens may help Americans confront lies, abuse of power and the need for acceptance.