Andover Class of 88

ET is not the same

Remember seeing E.T. when it first came out at the movie theatre? It was a smash hit! It made Ressee Pieceies a household product and launched the career of Drew Barimore. The images from E.T., such as the bicycle flying across the moon, are unforgetable.

I decided to recreate the magic by renting E.T. For the kids (and me too). To my surprise, the kids were bored and didn't make it even half way through the movie.

What happened to this classic movie's popularity? Like everything popular: it has been overdone. The theme of an alien befriending a child is now a common theme throughout media. From Katie and Orby (PBS) to Transformers - it has been done and redone countless times. Today, that classic movie is just another knock-off of a tired theme.

For a scarce few of us, E.T. was a pivitol movie whose impact was huge yet momentary. Future generations might become completly unaware of this classic and its impact on modern lore.