H. G.

Wells The War of the Worlds, Timothy Hines Interpretation of the Hubris and
Victorian England
Scott Abel
The War of the Worlds showed humanity as helpless against a vicious onslaught of
Martians armed with mechanical beasts and the iron will to mercilessly slaughter humans
and spill their blood as fodder for a new civilization. The most influential alien invasion
story ever written warned of the perils of arrogance and vanity because hubris tempted
fate as humanity remained just an insignificant spec in the universe. Unlike the more
famous interpretations of H. G. Wells science fiction classic, H. G. Wells The War of the
Worlds as directed by Timothy Hines remained more faithful to the original novel by
placing the setting in 1898 Great Britain rather than focusing mainly on the United States
in the 20th or 21st century. The film examined the themes of social hierarchy, science, and
wealth in face of an extraterrestrial invasion from Mars. The War of the Worlds quickly
became less about military struggle and more about survival against overwhelming odds
and the significance of all humanity regardless of social status. The 2005 Timothy Hines
version of H. G. Wells The War of the Worlds interpreted Victorian society as
overconfident in the face of a clearly superior military force to the point of hubris as an
allegory for criticizing social inequality and wars of aggression in the times of Victorian
Great Britain and in the 21st century.
The initial scenes of the film focused on the immense wealth Great Britain
accumulated by the late 19th century and how improving technology revolutionized
Britons everyday lives. Hines placed archival footage of Great Britain before the
introduction of the characters with a brief explanation of 19th century British society. The

black and white archival film revealed the prosperity of Great Britain, along with the
technological innovation of the period. The film depicted important technological
innovations of the 19th century such as Big Ben, Tower Bridge, and the locomotive as
symbols of human progess. The narrator proclaimed the hubris of mankind, with
particular implications toward Great Britain, with its petty inventions and empires.1
Mankind fooled itself through hubris into believing the invulnerability of its own
progress and therefore neglected the possibility of its own destruction by a society with
superior weaponry.
Hines depicted the early scenes in the film as deceptively serene with Britons
going about their daily lives without much concern or discomfort. Men and women
dressed impeccably with close attention toward grooming. A sofa, chairs, and a detailed
painting filled well-decorated pub in the first scene. The house of the protagonist, the
writer, possessed plentiful porcelain, along with furnishings such as furniture and a clock
in portrayal of his comfortable lifestyle. The domestic served the protagonist and his
wife, who made life easier for them but also demonstrated the class divisions within
British society through the virtually nonexistent relationship the domestic and the rest of
the characters.2 The wealth of a few became an important theme within the film,
representing mankinds hubris through the neglect of the needy as mankind was unworthy
of survival because of its rigid social inequality and economic disparity.
The hubris from scientific progress remained an important theme throughout the
film, playing a critical role in the beginning of the story. A scientist named Ogilvy rushed
to the site of the meteorite crash early in the film as his curiosity increased when he
1

H. G. Wells The War of the Worlds, produced by Timothy Hines, 180 minutes, Pendragon Pictures, 2005,
DVD.
2
H. G. Wells The War of the Worlds, produced by Timothy Hines, 180 minutes, Pendragon Pictures, 2005,
DVD.

discovered artificiality of the object but never suspected any ill-will on the part of any
extra terrestrials until a Martian heat ray incinerated its first person. Rather, he sought
assistance in rescuing the individuals trapped inside the cylinder by bring more people
to the site. The people gathered at the crash site wondered what models had the extra
terrestrials brought for humanitys improvement. Thoughts that the creatures traveled so
far to Earth to share technology represented the extreme hubris of the spectators. Ogilvy
wrote to Lord Hilton requesting troops at the scene to protect the creatures from the
people, not suspecting in the least bit that humanity needed protection. People gathered
around the capsule like it was picnic as the scientist proclaimed the capsule the scientific
discovery of our time.3 Britons portrayed immense overconfidence through the
complete lack of any fear toward the creatures from another world despite possessing no
knowledge of the visitors. The arrogance of scientific and technological progress blinded
even the brilliant.
The observers of the capsule only expressed any fear of the creatures when they
emerged from it with their slimy tentacles, but even then they returned to the capsule for
further observation. A machine from the creatures incinerated nearly all those in the
vicinity of the capsule leaving only their bones. Even after the annihilation of the
observers with the utmost impunity, the confident protagonist bragged that the British
Army and the rest of humanity would kill all the creatures for their vile attack. He
boasted that the army would capture or kill the Martians by sundown and one character
merely suggested that the insurance company would have to pay a pretty penny over
the attack. Characters dreamed of battlefield glory and heroism even as the Martians

H. G. Wells The War of the Worlds, produced by Timothy Hines, 180 minutes, Pendragon Pictures, 2005,
DVD.

obliterated churches without much of an effort. The hubris by the Britons in the film was
astonishing especially considering the overwhelming superiority of the Martians
weaponry and the ease of which heat rays vaporized human beings.
Britons maintained incredible confidence even with immensity of the destruction
experienced throughout the country. One soldier, the artilleryman, remained plucky even
after he witnessed the destruction of his entire company at the first battle and boasted that
there would be a fair shot in the next fight. In another engagement an artillery piece
destroyed one of the mechanical fiends and yet the Martians wiped out an entire town.
The confidence in the military reigned supreme throughout most of film. Even after the
destruction of London, the appearance of the Royal Navy inspired optimism amongst
fleeing Britons. The characters smiled at the sight of a Royal Navy warship firing upon
the Martians. Although the HMS Thunder Child destroyed two machines, she sank after
a collision with one. The observers only realized the futility of the navys effort upon
witnessing a Martian flying machine.4 With the helplessness of even the most
sophisticated and powerful of mankinds weaponry, becoming food for Martian as
domestic animals and fodder for Martian plants was humanitys apparent fate.
The film possessed religious overtones particularly toward the end and especially
in relation to the hubris of mankind. A British curate lamented how the Martians
destroyed all his hard work of educating the masses about Christianity and the new
church finished three years earlier. The curate begged to know his sins and why he
deserved such an awful punishment to which eventually the protagonist responded how
mankinds folly was the oppression and neglect of the poor. Ultimately, once the

H. G. Wells The War of the Worlds, produced by Timothy Hines, 180 minutes, Pendragon Pictures, 2005,
DVD.

characters either died or admitted the folly of humanity did salvation occur. The savior of
humanity was not a new weapon or technology but the tiny bacteria that killed the
Martians who fell en masse to the Earths diseases.5 The humblest of creatures
accomplished where the mightiest or most brilliant of men failed and therefore Martians
and bacteria humbled humanity into peace with the conclusion to the war to end all wars.
Hines film kept a significant amount of Wells critiques of British society during
the turn-of-the-century as arrogant and generally indifferent toward the needy. The film
criticized the political and social ideology of politicians such as William Gladstone, who
promoted an ideology of moral self-improvement without state interference. The state
needed only to remove barriers for the moral advancement by individuals and private
enterprises. Politicians such as Gladstone preserved the social order for progress within
the established social framework, which stressed inequality as part of Gods plan and
significance the aristocracy for political administration. According to Ian St. Johns
depiction of Gladstones liberalism, the state played little role in societal improvement,
while divinely ordained progress pushed humanity through the ages.6 Wells challenged
notions of humanitys divine progress because technology itself without morality failed to
lift humanity from poverty, while Hines carried on that critique of society and politics
into the 21st century. Even a society that achieved the pinnacle of progress, the Martians,
became evil through their own greed. Victorian Britain praised its own progress, but
failed to support the poor and threatened the promotion of the progress it championed.
The War of the Worlds drew parallels between era of the films setting and its
release in regard to societal critiques. Historian Drew Gray expressed similar concerns in
5

H. G. Wells The War of the Worlds, produced by Timothy Hines, 180 minutes, Pendragon Pictures, 2005,
DVD.
6
Ian St. John, Gladstone and the Logic of Victorian Politics, (New York: Anthem Press, 2010), 252-253.

Londons Shadows regarding the social disparity of London and the cost of progress
throughout the British Empire. Gray blamed the capitalist system for the economic
inequality and high mortality rates that powered the industry and progress of the British
Empire. The Victorian perception regarding wealth and power of the British Empire
neglected the exploitation of millions throughout the world that made it possible.7 Hines
connected the social and political issues of the Victorian Era of the original novel such as
the greed and oppression to contemporary dilemmas. Wells criticized the Boer War
through his novel by employing a Martian invasion as a literary device for empathy
regarding Great Britains colonial wars as the Martians represented the darkness of
mankind and the desire for material gain at the expense of others. An attack on Great
Britain sought empathy with Wells readers to those who the British Empire subjugated.
Hines drew parallels between the Boer War and the conflict in Iraq, along with the social
discord and economic inequality of contemporary times.8 Gray and Hines employed the
economic disparity and imperial conflict during the late Victorian Era as warnings to
contemporary society about the costs of social discord and the dark side of humanity
through the employment of evil characters who murdered innocent Britons in spectacular
fashion.
The hubris of Martians and humanity yielded a terrible price in The War of the
Worlds with one species likely extinct and the other suffering a great catastrophe. Hines
reiterated Wells religious and moral themes of The War of the Worlds to warn society
about the cost of war, the neglect toward the poor, and aggression to foreigners, which
Wells audience ultimately ignored as evident on the battlefields of World War I. Hines
7

Drew Gray, Londons Shadows: The Dark Side of the Victorian City, ( London: Continuum, 2010), 232236.
8
John C. Snider, Interview: Timothy Hines, SciDimensions,
www.scifidimensions.com/nov04/timothyhines.htm.

interpretation of the film repeated the warnings of neglect toward the poor and
unnecessary wars through the perspective of Victorian Great Britain in hope of restricting
greed and oppression. Although in the film humanity possessed little means to destroy
the Martians, the material disparity between social classes and the arrogance of military
marked justification for humanitys near-destruction. The film also warned that scientific
and technological progress alone was insufficient for the improvement of the human
condition because even with the most advanced technology such innovations meant only
death and destruction without a strong sense of morality.

Works Cited:
Gray, Drew. Londons Shadows: The Dark Side of the Victorian City. London:
Continuum, 2010.
H. G. Wells The War of the Worlds. Produced by Timothy Hines. 180 minutes. Pendragon
Pictures, 2005. 1 DVD.
Snider, John C. Interview: Timothy Hines. SciDimensions.
www.scifidimensions.com/nov04/timothyhines.htm.
St. John, Ian. Gladstone and the Logic of Victorian Politics. New York: Anthem Press,
2010.