Film Analysis #4 - The Iron Giant

As hinted by the “duck and cover” cartoon playing in the background of Hogarth’s class, the world of The Iron Giant is tinted with a severe fear of technology. The Cold-War concerns here equate machinery with violence and destruction and little else. Kent Mansley makes constant harmful decisions based on this assumption—that the Iron Giant can’t possibly mean anything outside of destruction (most likely from Russia).  The film goes on to argue that technology, like Hogarth himself, is what we choose it to be.  

Hogarth’s innocence is initially what drives the idea of technology being used for good. When he and the giant first become friends, the Giant starts to eat railroad tracks. Inevitably, a train comes along. Hogarth instructs the Giant to rebuild the railroad—which doesn’t turn out so well, but it starts a pattern of the Giant working to repair and build rather than destruct. When the Giant is hit by the train, he can rebuild himself as well. Hogarth also uses the Giant for fun games, transportation, and basically an amusement park ride. Hogarth is the one who, through his childlike innocence, retrains the Giant to build rather than destroy.

Dean and his art also speak of how technology can be used for good. Dean makes art out of the scrap metal he has in the yard—repurposing technology to make something beautiful. When the Giant stays in the junkyard, Dean has him help create enormous pieces of art. Later on, they are able to use the art as a guise for hiding the giant. Additionally, it’s Dean’s art that first brings Annie and Dean together.

Obviously, the outer struggle between Kent Mansley and the Giant is the most obvious conflict between technology and destruction. When Mansley first hears about the giant, he is convinced that the giant must be from the USSR. When the Giant takes a bite out of his car, he assumes that there is a monster around, and does not see that it’s actually quite an innocent act—the Giant was hungry! When Mansley reports the Giant to the general, he overblows the situation as he assumes that the Giant will inevitably lead to huge destruction. When the military comes, they start attacking and cause much more destruction than the Giant ever has. Mansley even goes as far as insist that they destroy the Giant with a nuclear bomb. Even when the Giant is saved by Hogarth and is able to return back to his kind state, Mansley has already set off the bomb and there’s no stopping it. It’s up to the giant to save everything.

Overall, the theme of this movie can be summed up by the Giant’s inner struggle between what he is programmed to be and what he wants to be. In the end, he chooses to be the Superman. This movie critiques the way that many treat technology. The film suggests that even when it’s the status quo to use technology and assume that destruction is inevitable, we can use it to rebuild and create good relationships.