Annotated Bibliography: Analyzing the Film Men in Black

This annotated bibliography provides an in-depth analysis of the film *Men in Black*, examining various perspectives through a collection of reviews, articles, and book chapters. It begins with a foundational understanding of science fiction as a genre, referencing works such as Heather Masri's anthology, which contextualizes the film within its cultural and thematic landscape. The bibliography then explores the film's portrayal of human-alien encounters, drawing on postcolonial theories and comparing it to other science fiction films like *The Host* and *Avatar*. Ethical considerations related to media representation, violence, and stereotyping, as discussed by Valenti, are also addressed. Reviews from sources like RogerEbert.com, The New York Times, and the BBC are summarized, highlighting the film's action, humor, special effects, and critical reception. The bibliography concludes with a discussion of the film's use of profanity and its impact on audience perception, as well as the film's portrayal of aliens as 'others' within society. The bibliography provides a comprehensive overview of the film's critical reception, thematic concerns, and cultural impact.

Running head: ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY ON MEN IN BLACK
Annotated Bibliography on Men in Black
Student’s name
University
Author’s note

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ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY ON MEN IN BLACK
1. Masri, H. (Ed.). (2008). Science Fiction: Stories and Context
Masri’s pioneer work presents a concise retrospective of the genre science fiction. Also, the
author presents a comprehensive discourse on the genre and it’s the cultural context surrounded
by the genre of science fiction. The collection of fictional stories, edited by Heather Masri, is
categorized into thematic sections, such as alien invasion or artificial life etc. and further, are
critically analyzed connecting the theoretical and applied motifs. Masri herself has opined in the
forewords of the book that the work might serve as a useful starting point of researching the
contextual background of the genre. By and large, the purpose of this anthology is to provide the
reader a social and cultural contextualization of science fiction as a mainstream genre. It
carefully analyzes the background, motifs and often neglected social and political connotations
of each story, constructing a solid foundation to study and understand science fiction as a work
of art. The significance of the book in the present context of researching lies in its effective
insight into understanding science fiction as a genre in itself.
2. Bökös, B. (2019). Human-Alien Encounters in Science Fiction: A Postcolonial
Perspective.
The purpose of this article by Bökös is to relate the human-alien encounter, as portrayed
by the mainstream science fiction movies, with existing social theories in order to understand
their thematic representation and contextual background. In this article, Bökös presents three
Hollywood movies, namely The Host, Avatar and The Body Snatchers, and subsequently
analyzes them in relation to postcolonial theories. In the due process, Bökös tries to revisit the
cultural and historical backgrounds of the two conflicting groups, i.e. the human and the aliens;
thereby examining the aftermath of their encounters as portrayed in those movies. The findings

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and the assertions of this article is particularly important in understanding the present
representation of the movie Men in Black, as the film also uses the setting of human–alien
encounter, although from a unique perspective than Bökös’s. Men in Black depicts the aliens as
immigrants in the planet earth, and puts them under the purview of regular law and order. Hence,
the contextualization of the thematic focus is necessary to understand while examining the
movie. To this end, Bökös’s perspective might offer significant insight.
3. Valenti, M. (2018). More than a Movie: Ethics in Entertainment
In this book, Valenti reviews and examines the impact of films as a creative media on
society. The discourse further extends to a critical evaluation of the ethical responsibility of
media as a significant player of society. Valenti includes the representation of women,
stereotypes, violence, sex and portrayal of the USA in the eyes of the international audience.
Also, he discusses the extent of freedom of expression as maintained by the media, as well as the
impact on children. The essence of the entire discourse rests on his central question “Does
Influence Imply Responsibility?”. The importance of the ethical analysis of media’s role in
public life relates to the present discussion as a poignant parameter of analyzing representation,
stereotyping, as well as the depiction of violence in a movie. The movie Men in Black essentially
portrays the aliens as ‘others’ in context of society and governance, not to ignore the use of
violence in the movie, it is important to determine whether the filmmakers exercise their creative
liberty within the limits of ethical responsibility.
4. RogerEbert.com (1997). Men In Black movie review & film summary (1997)
The notable critic website describes the movie Men in Black as big budget action
movie, although not intending to convey any serious social or political message. The
movie revolves around the story of Agent M (played by Tommy Lee Jones) and Agent J

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(played by Will Smith), who work for the national agency to keep a check on alien
immigration and activity on earth. The story culminates as these two agents are tasked
with mitigating an imminent alien attack, threatening Earth’s sovereignty. Without much
deviations from mainstream trends, the film proceeds to tell a story of vanquishing the
alien threat through a series of action-packed events. The movie, set in the sci-fi genre,
provides a series of gag reels through the reactions, or apparently the lack of it, as
displayed by the two central characters. The movie also incorporates some high-end
special effects as per the technology and trends of its own time.
5. Maslin, J. (1997). Men in Black. [online] Archive.nytimes.com.
Men in Black, the action-packed sci-fi movie directed by Barry Sonnenfield, is cited as one of
the major box-office hits in the year of 1997 by New York Times. The reviewer, Maslin,
compares the movie with other notable sci-fi works like The Man from the U.N.C.L.E. The
Independence Day, The French Connection, The Suits and The Skin etc.; and subsequently
recognizes their apparent influence on then making of MiB. However, she remarks that the
movie in question stands out in comparison to the earlier stalwarts in its peculiarity and deadpan
reaction to aliens, as if tgey were a regular inhabitants of our planet. Maslin also praises the
movie for its ambitious cast ensemble, advanced special effects and nonetheless the remarkable
visual style. Rick Baker, the creator of the aliens and other special costumes in the movie won an
Academy Award for his inputs in the movie. And the illusion is greatly aided by Industrial Light
and Magic or the special effects.
6. Haflidason, A. (1997). BBC - Films - review - Men in Black.
The BBC reviewer also describes Men in Black as a sci-fi comedy, abundant with
enjoyable humour and spectacular special effects. The movie, according to Haflidason, surpasses

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the average sci-fi movies till its date with the help of the peculiarity and quirky themes of its plot
line. Most importantly, the human-alien encounter in this movie is shown with such a simplistic
yet action-packed manner that incites enjoyment and refreshing fun among the audience. The
execution of the story is excelled by the praise-worthy performances of Tommy Lee Jones and
Will Smith. The uniqueness of the movie lies in Jones and Smith’s apparent lack of reaction to
the funny events and creatures shown in movie, thus normalizing and making the setting reliable
to the viewers.
7. Pluggedin.com. (1997). Men in Black Movie Review
Apart from examining the quirky plot and enjoyable action-packed humour of the movie, this
particular review emphasizes one of the significant aspect of Men in Black—the abundant use of
profanity and the apparent sexual innuendos used in the script. The comic implication of such
slangs refrains the movie from getting too dark or serious. On the other hand, the use of profanity
as well as comic violence erans the movie a rating of PG 13— which implies a strict parental
guidance, barring it from being teen-friendly.
8. Commonsensemedia.org. (1997). Men in Black - Movie Review
Along with providing a brief summary of the movie, this particular review emphasizes the
exaggeration of mock violence and grotesque creatures, which may disturb sensitive children
who cannot discern reality from fiction. The review identifies the central premise of the movie
as the ‘otherness’ of the aliens and the treatment of human beings towards them, while
maintaining the mainstream motif of alien threat to the sovereignty of the planet earth.

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References
Bökös, B. (2019). Human-Alien Encounters in Science Fiction: A Postcolonial Perspective. Acta
Universitatis Sapientiae, Film and Media Studies, (16), 189-203.
Commonsensemedia.org. (1997). Men in Black - Movie Review. Retrieved 3 February 2020,
from https://www.commonsensemedia.org/movie-reviews/men-in-black
Haflidason, A. (1997). BBC - Films - review - Men in Black. Retrieved 3 February 2020, from
http://www.bbc.co.uk/films/2000/09/01/men_in_black_review.shtml
https://www.pluggedin.com/movie-reviews/meninblack/
Maslin, J. (1997). Men in Black. [online] Archive.nytimes.com. Available at:
https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/library/film/black-film-review.html
[Accessed 3 Feb. 2020].
Masri, H. (Ed.). (2008). Science Fiction: Stories and Contexts. Bedford/St. Martins.
Pluggedin.com. (1997). Men in Black Movie Review | Plugged In. Retrieved 3 February 2020
RogerEbert.com, (1997). Men In Black movie review & film summary (1997) | Roger Ebert.
Retrieved 3 February 2020, from https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/men-in-black-
1997
Valenti, M. (2018). More than a movie: Ethics in entertainment. Routledge.