The Concrete Mixer story
Invaders from Mars land in an idyllic American town... and are welcomed with open arms, while also learning the true nature of the American way of life. Directed by: Eleanor Lindo. Story by: Ray Bradbury.
14 total · 2 choice · 5 major · 7 minor
| Theme | Level | Motivation |
|---|---|---|
| attack from outer space | choice | The story is premised on some invaders from Mars, bent on conquering Earth, landing in an idyllic town in the Midwestern United States. |
| order vs. freedom | choice | A main point of the story was to show how the totalitarian, militaristic, imperialistic an powerful society of the Martians succumbed to the culturally far more appealing patterns of life in contemporary America, much in the way that blue jeans and rock n' roll sometimes said to have conquered the Soviet Union. |
| foreign customs | major | The Martian invaders struggled to comprehend the customs and hedonistic culture of the residents of the idyllic American town where they had made landfall. |
| heroism | major | The Martian invader Ettile Vyre proceeded in trepidation, fearing a possible human hero likely named "Rick" would somehow thwart their invasion. |
| Martian extraterrestrial | major | The story is premised on some invaders from Mars, bent on conquering Earth, landing in an idyllic town in the Midwestern United States. |
| resisting a temptation | major | The Martians' invasion of Earth failed because all the Martians were seduced by the frivolous life available in the idyllic American town where they had happened to make landfall. |
| totalitarian dystopia | major | The Martians had a strict military order with severe censorship on disapproved literature. They were likely meant to be a reflection of the contemporary Soviet Union as seen through American eyes. |
| cowardice | minor | The story began with the Martian Ettil Vyre awaiting his execution for refusing to go along on a mission to invade Earth. |
| creative writing | minor | In the introduction, Ray Bradbury shared with the viewer the wellsprings of creativity that inspire his writing. |
| father and son | minor | The Martian Ettil Vyre had a heart to heart talk with his young son the night before Ettil left to invade Earth. |