The War of the Worlds: Reading the Fragile Existence of Humans in the Age of Anthropocene

Rakhiparna Ghosh

Published in Literary Oracle — Vol.8, Issue I, May 2024

Keywords: Ecology, Fragility, Anthropocene, Science Fiction, Human, Climate Change, Survival

Abstract:

H.G. Wells’ science fiction The War of the Worlds (1898) in its imagined reality connects the isolated human existence with the universe and the unknown that exists beyond human understanding. The anticipation of the possibility of extraterrestrial life beyond human existence gave way to the understanding that humans on earth are not superior. Wells’ being influenced by the ideas of evolution propagated by Charles Darwin drew a conflict between organic beings with and beyond life on earth and its ecosystems. If looked through an ecocritical perspective, Well’s work can be seen as containing a greater sense of destruction and fragility of life on earth beyond human existence. The novel has inspired several other works and has been adapted into various films. While many interpretations of the text have revolved around social and political conflicts, a latest adaptation, an ongoing television series War of the Worlds (first aired in 2019) narrates concerns relevant to the age of the Anthropocene. One of the major changes is the aliens depicted in the series. The series re-imagines the weird Martians as aliens who are found to be a race of humans from the future. This paper will explore how the new adaptation draws from the original novel, but changing the aliens gives way to address the issues that are lurking in this age. With the arrival of the alien race on the Earth, the TV series shows an awareness of human beings as planetary forces through the struggle for survival between the two races of human life. The TV series brings about a dialogue relevant to the current time about who we are as humans, the fragility of human existence, and how humans are consciously transforming the planet we live in and its environment.

https://doi-ds.org/doilink/06.2024-54563729/LiteraryOracle/2024/V8/I1/A10