Midweek Mention... Close Encounters of the Third Kind

This week on Bad Dads Film Review, the dads look to the skies for Steven Spielberg’s Close Encounters of the Third Kind, a film packed with UFO classifications, mysterious lights, mashed potato mountains, musical alien communication and one of cinema’s more questionable parenting decisions.Sidey begins by digging into what a “close encounter of the third kind” actually means, using J. Allen Hynek’s UFO classification system as a guide. The dads move from first and second kind sightings into the third kind itself, before noting that later fourth and fifth kinds make parts of Spielberg’s film feel even stranger in retrospect. From there, the conversation follows the film’s global mystery: missing aircraft in the Sonoran Desert, the SS Cotopaxi, Bermuda Triangle mythology, air traffic controllers who definitely do not want to file an official UFO report, and Claude Lacombe’s calm international investigation.The episode then turns to Roy Neary, whose roadside encounter with the impossible changes him completely. The dads talk through the power outage, the lights, the shaking truck, the radio interference and the physical burn that marks Roy’s experience as more than just a sighting. What follows is one of Spielberg’s most famous depictions of obsession, as Roy becomes consumed by an image he cannot explain: first in shaving foam, then in mashed potato, and eventually in the enormous Devil’s Tower model that takes over his family home.Barry’s abduction also gets plenty of attention, partly because the sequence remains so unsettling and partly because Dan remembers the repeated cry of “Barry!” as one of those film moments that became permanently lodged in family folklore. The dads discuss Spielberg’s clever methods for directing such a young child, the way Barry’s toys come to life, and the strange mixture of fear and wonder that runs through the whole sequence.As the film moves toward Devil’s Tower, the dads dig into the bigger ideas underneath the spectacle. Close Encounters is a film about translation, interpretation and communication: people trying to understand languages, music, symbols, visions and experiences that do not fit ordinary life. Reegs picks up on the repeated non-verbal communication, while the group discuss how the aliens never feel like a straightforward invading force in the Independence Day mould. Spielberg’s first contact is eerie and overwhelming, but also curious, musical and strangely hopeful.The final act gives the episode its big Spielberg moment: the government cover story, the fake contamination zone, the secret landing site, the five-note musical conversation, the glass-shattering alien volume and the mothership reveal that still looks astonishing nearly fifty years later. The dads also touch on production trivia, including model details, Easter eggs such as R2-D2, and the famous Spielberg/Lucas percentage swap between Close Encounters and Star Wars.Naturally, the Bad Dads courtroom saves its harshest scrutiny for Roy boarding the alien ship. Is he a terrible dad for abandoning his family, or does his altered mental state earn him some kind of cosmic mitigation? Sidey is ready to place Roy firmly in the Bad Dad category, while Dan offers a partial defence on the grounds that Roy has clearly been changed by forces beyond normal human control. Either way, it leads into a broader discussion of Spielberg’s recurring interests in fathers, fragmented families, engineers, artists, music, communication and wonder.The verdict is a unanimous strong recommend. Nearly fifty years on, Close Encounters of the Third Kind still works as spectacle, mystery, family drama, spiritual science fiction and pure Spielberg awe. It is hopeful without being naïve, strange without becoming hostile, and still technically impressive thanks to practical effects, patient build-up and one of cinema’s great mothership reveals. Roy may or may not get a full Bad Dad pardon, but the film itself absolutely gets a pass.You can now text us anonymously to leave feedback, suggest future content or simply hurl abuse at us. We'll read out any texts we receive on the show. Click here to try it out!We love to hear from our listeners! By which I mean we tolerate it. If it hasn't been completely destroyed yet you can usually find us on twitter @dads_film, on Facebook Bad Dads Film Review, on email at [email protected] or on our website baddadsfilm.com. Until next time, we remain... Bad Dads