Editing The Thing (1982 film) (section)

==Thematic analysis==
The central theme of ''The Thing'' concerns paranoia and mistrust.{{sfn|Berlatsky|2011}}{{sfn|Taylor|2016}}{{sfn|Tallerico|2017}} Fundamentally, the film is about the erosion of trust in a small community,{{sfn|Lingan|2010}} instigated by different forms of paranoia caused by the possibility of someone not being who they say they are, or that your best friend may be your enemy.{{sfn|Vlastelica |2017}}{{sfn|Tallerico|2017}} It represents the distrust that humans always have for somebody else and the fear of betrayal by those we know and, ultimately, our bodies.{{sfn|Tallerico|2017}} The theme remains timely because the subject of paranoia adapts to the age. The immediate concern of ''The Thing'' is the inability to trust one's peers, but this feeling can be widened to represent distrust of entire institutions.{{sfn|Marlborough|2016}}

Developed in an era of [[Cold War]] tensions between the United States and the [[Soviet Union]], the film evokes the threat of nuclear annihilation by [[Mutual assured destruction|mutually assured destruction]]. ''Diabolique''{{'}}s Daniel Clarkson Fisher notes that preferring annihilation to defeat is a recurring motif, both in MacReady's destruction of the chess computer after being [[checkmate]]d and his vow to destroy the Thing even at the expense of the team.{{sfn|Clarkson Fisher|2017}} Clarkson Fisher and ''[[Screen Rant]]''{{'}}s Michael Edward Taylor see the team's accusatory distrust and fear of assimilation as an expression of the American [[Red Scare]] of the 1950s and 1960s, while Taylor also sees a commentary on the isolationism of the [[me generation]] in the 1970s.{{sfn|Taylor|2016}}{{sfn|Clarkson Fisher|2017}} ''[[Slant Magazine]]''{{'}}s John Lingsan said the men display a level of post-[[Vietnam War]] (1955–1975) "fatigued counterculturalism"{{snd}}the rejection of conventional [[social norm]]s, each defined by their own eccentricities.{{sfn|Lingan|2010}}
[[File: H. P. Lovecraft, June 1934.jpg|thumb|upright|The work of writer [[H. P. Lovecraft]] was an inspiration for Carpenter's work. The shapeless, undefinable Thing has been compared to Lovecraft's indescribable, otherworldly forces.{{sfn|Grey|2011}}|alt=A photo of H.P. Lovecraft]]

''[[The Atlantic]]''{{'}}s Noah Berlatsky said that unlike typical horror genre films, women are excluded, allowing the Thing to be identified as a fear of not being a man, or being homosexual.{{sfn|Berlatsky|2011}} ''[[Vice (magazine)|Vice]]''{{'}}s Patrick Marlborough considered ''The Thing'' to be a "scathing examination" of manliness, noting that identifying the Thing requires intimacy, confession, and empathy to out the creature, but "male frailty" prevents this as an option. Trapped by pride and stunted emotional growth, the men are unable to confront the truth out of fear of embarrassment or exposure.{{sfn|Marlborough|2016}} Berlatsky noted that MacReady avoids emotional attachments and is the most paranoid, allowing him to be the hero. This detachment works against him in the finale, which leaves MacReady locked in a futile mistrust with Childs, each not really knowing the other.{{sfn|Berlatsky|2011}}

[[Nerdist Industries|Nerdist]]'s Kyle Anderson and ''[[Strange Horizons]]''{{'}}s Orrin Grey analyzed ''The Thing'' as an example of author [[H. P. Lovecraft]]'s [[cosmic horror]].{{sfn|Anderson, K|2017}}{{sfn|Grey|2011}} Anderson's analysis includes the idea of cosmic horror in large part coming "from the fear of being overtaken", connecting it to Lovecraft's xenophobia and Blair's character arc of becoming what he most fears. In contrast, Anderson compares Blair to MacReady, who represents a more traditional Hollywood film protagonist.{{sfn|Anderson, K|2017}} Grey describes the creature as fear of the loss of self, using Blair's character as an example. Discussing The Thing in the context of the first of three films in Carpenter's "[[John Carpenter#1980s: Continued commercial success|Apocalypse Trilogy]]", Grey states the threat the monster poses to the world "is less disconcerting than the threat posed to the individual concept of self."{{sfn|Grey|2011}}

The Thing never speaks or gives a motive for its actions, and ruthlessly pursues its goal.{{sfn|Harrison|2016a}} ''[[Den of Geek]]''{{'}}s Mark Harrison and Ryan Lambie said that the essence of humanity is free will, which is stripped away by the Thing, possibly without the individual being aware that they have been taken over.{{sfn|Harrison|2016b}}{{sfn|Lambie|2012}} In a 1982 interview, when given the option to describe ''The Thing'' as "pro-science" like ''Who Goes There?'' or "anti-science" like ''The Thing from Another World'', Carpenter chose "pro-human", stating, "It's better to be a human being than an imitation, or let ourselves be taken over by this creature who's not necessarily evil, but whose nature it is to simply imitate, like a chameleon."{{sfn|Rosenbaum|1982}} Further allusions have been drawn between the blood-test scene and the [[HIV/AIDS in the United States|epidemic of HIV]] at the time, which could be identified only by a blood test.{{sfn|Kirk|2011}}{{sfn|Murphy|2018}}

Since its release, many theories have been developed to attempt to answer the film's ambiguous ending shared by MacReady and Childs.{{sfn|Bradley|2016}} Several suggest that Childs was infected, citing Dean Cundey's statement that he deliberately provided a subtle illumination to the eyes of uninfected characters, something absent from Childs. Similarly, others have noted a lack of visible breath from the character in the frigid air. While both aspects are present in MacReady, their absence in Childs has been explained as a technical issue with the filming.{{sfn|Eddy|2016}}{{sfn|Glicksman|2017}} During production, Carpenter considered having MacReady be infected,{{sfn|Kim|2012}} and an alternate ending showed MacReady having been rescued and definitively tested as uninfected.{{sfn|Menzies|2017}} Russell has said that analyzing the scene for clues is "missing the point". He continued, "[Carpenter] and I worked on the ending of that movie together a long time. We were both bringing the audience right back to square one. At the end of the day, that was the position these people were in. They just didn't know anything{{spaces}}... They didn't know if they knew who they were{{spaces}}... I love that, over the years, that movie has gotten its due because people were able to get past the horrificness of the monster{{spaces}}... to see what the movie was about, which was paranoia."{{sfn|Bradley|2016}} However, Carpenter has teased, "Now, I do know, in the end, who the Thing is, but I cannot tell you."{{sfn|Rome|2013}}