The Host – the enemy – or friend – within

The Host – the enemy – or friend – within

 

The hostThe enemy within can easily be symbolized by aliens. The enemy threat from abroad is more associated with vampires. They come from the east and they want our blood. The aliens however, want our bodies. To live in. And they want our entire world and our way of life.
The Invasion of the Body Snatchers, a massive box office hit in the 1950s, coincided with the red scare, the American fear of communists lurking within their country and wanting it.
Coincidence?
Not really.
the Host , however, is not a political movie. It is more philosophical than controversial.
There is a saying that you should never judge anyone until you have walked a mile in their shoes. How about a new saying: “Don't judge anyone until you have walked a mile in their body?”
That is a fate which is reality for one of the main characters in Stephenie Meyers The Host – Wanderer, also known as Wanda, the alien, has lived in many different life forms, but inhabiting a human, well, that is a whole new experience for her!

She has been taught that humans are evil and must be conquered (from within), humans are destroying the planet they are living on, and they must be subdued.
However, Wanda has also been warned that humans have very powerful emotions and memories - more so than any other life form she has ever inhabited. And Wanda’s assigned human being, Melanie Stryder, is especially headstrong. She won't give over her body to Wanda - so Wanda is stuck living with another mind ... one that is continually bombarding her with memories and emotions.

The saying being of two minds becomes reality. Melanie is pulling in one direction. Wanda in another. Somehow reluctantly Melanie and Wanda become friends.
Of all the translations of the book The Host the Swedish one really hits a note with the somewhat different title: “Genom dina ögon” which literally means: “Through your eyes”. Wanda has to learn what the world looks like through someone else’s eyes. And so does Melanie.

The Host PosterIt is difficult to mention The Host author Stephenie Meyer without somehow mentioning Twilight - the world wide vampire success story. While J.K. Rowing left the fantasy world and Harry Potter (and her old fantasy fans left her) to write a "realistic" story Stephenie Meyer just took a sidestep from fantasy to science fiction - and another worldwide phenomenon was born. Fantasy and sci-fi fans have that in common that they are very faithful to their authors and stay with them though long series and also, most fantasy and sci-fi fans cross over to the "other" genre.
Melanie is a much stronger and older character than Bella in the Twilight books, but even in The Host there is a romantic triangle. One soul loves one guy, the other soul another. The rivals are played by Max Irons and Jake Abel. There is a soul for each guy to love – but only one body.
In the sci-fi world it is relatively unusual to have both a female protagonist - Melanie, played by Saoirse Ronan, and a female antagonist - The Seeker, played by Diane Kruger. The Seeker is a Terminator-like character in killer designer heels.
The action and the chase is not, however, the main thrill of The Host, that is the role of the philosophical questions of good and evil and of everything being intertwined – literally.
Wanda starts her existence believing that humans should be taken over – for their own good, of course – and in the end she is won over by the exciting emotional life that humans have.
Wanda goes from the enemy within to the friend within.
She too, wants to be human. And walk another mile in her own shoes.

Belinda Graham